New Information...Is Nitro as bad as portrayed?

[neverlander]

The news has been buzzing...Karen Fritz has lost. All of her recent law suits and complaints have amounted to nothing.
The Gazette article is here:

http://wvgazette.com/News/200803210695


I got a copy of this press release:

March 20, 2008



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:



ETHICS COMMISSION FINDS THERE IS NO PROBABLE CAUSE FOR ETHICS COMPLAINT FILED BY KAREN FRITZ AGAINST NITRO POLICE CHIEF JACK JORDAN



On March 19, 2008, the Probable Cause Review Board of the West Virginia Ethics Commission ruled that “probable cause does not exist to believe that the Respondent violated any prohibition in the Ethics Act.”

Ms. Fritz admitted to offering the Nitro City Treasurer $250,000 to get rid of Chief Jordan.



Recently, Fritz failed in her attempt to oust four Nitro City Council Members when three Circuit Court Judges unanimously ruled there was no basis for the petition. Ms. Fritz also failed in her ethics complaint against Nitro Fire Chief Ernie Hedrick when the Ethics Commission determined it was lawful and not a violation of the Ethics Act to receive overtime pay like other fire chiefs throughout West Virginia.



The investigation by the Ethics Commission actually revealed that the City of Nitro underpaid Chief Jordan $1,494.92 for the work on the Nitro City Park. Chief Jordan has not requested payment for the monies owed and stated that he has no plans to make a request.



When reached for comment Chief Jordan said, “At the beginning of this I told Rusty Marks of the Gazette that I would be exonerated and I was. I knew I had done nothing wrong.” Chief Jordan’s attorney, John Dascoli, added, “When this meritless complaint was filed right before the holidays Jack and his family went through a lot of grief and stress that continued until today. There was no basis at all for this complaint and, in fact, the City owes Jack money. It is a shame that taxpayers have to foot the bill for a three month investigation that began without merit and ended with the same conclusion.”

And this statement read by Jordan at the press conference last night:

I thank you all for coming.

First I would like to thank the Council and the people of Nitro for supporting me throughout this ordeal. I am grateful to the Ethics Commission. Their wisdom in seeing these allegations as the bad faith claims they are is no surprise to me. My family and I have endured a lot in recent months. I will be looking at my personal options and seeking ways to recoup the losses caused by this frivolous action by Mrs. Fritz.

More importantly though is the damage done to the City and it’s citizens by the many actions filed by Mrs. Fritz. She has filed legal actions that required the City to hire attorneys and defend against false allegations. This has cost the taxpayers of Nitro over $100,000 and the embarrassment of being in the media far too often. These costs have also burdened taxpayers outside of the City. To date none of her actions have been supported by the courts. Her motives are unclear, but what is clear is that these actions have not benefited the citizens of Nitro. The citizens of Nitro are capable of seeing her deceptions. I hope the City of Nitro will also explore its options to recoup for its citizens the legal fees paid in defense of those frivolous actions and false allegations.

We the employees and citizens of this great city must stand strong and not allow individuals who have a personal agenda to destroy who we are and what we stand for. The time for “witch hunting” must end. I plan to continue meeting the needs of our citizens and to bring back a sense of faith and trust in our city government and its employees.

Thank you.

They say it has cost them $200K to defend all these "bad faith" claims , that is about the amount the auditors report said they were over budget for the year. Not so strange when you REALLY look at it.

[pwdgroup]

1. Media

It appears the media are playing up everything negative about everything possible... Its as though they are intentionally throwing gas on an already out of control fire.

Do they ever print anything positve (either way) about the city?? Has to be something good going on not releated to this saga???

[neverlander]

2. Not much

Very little positive has been printed since Fritz came on the scene nearly 4 years ago. Prior to that everything was fine. They printed both good and bad. Trust me when I say she nearly single handedly created this mess, but I am sure she had help! I view this latest information as good, since it is closer to the truth.
She claims, of course that it is because she "revealed" corruption. Most others are not convinced there was any corruption. Inexperienced leadership perhaps, mistakes made, certainly but none of these people were "trained" for the jobs they had. Also, few people believe any of them did anything intentionally wrong. It is a small town and we all realize there were problems but inability, and incompetence are a far cry from corruption. We were getting by and managing until the "big Karenuna" appeared on the scene to "save" us. We knew what we had and were dealing with it in a more appropriate (less envasive, less public) way. It is very possible to cause change from the inside out and not air dirty laundry for the world to see...she made that impossible.

[slyfox]

3. I Have My Suspicions

I have felt for sometime that the City of Nitro is getting a bad rap in the media.

Just a few months ago the city is on the verge of financial ruin and now they are back on track looking at a small surplus.

Can anyone explain how this can be so.