SEWER DISTRICT WOES CONTINUE

For the past couple of years the Oldham County Sewer District has often been at the front of the news. Their lack of capacity, inability to operate efficiently, and their financial status issues have been the center of discussions. Meanwhile Judge Murner has continued to promise that an audit of the district was right around the corner. At the last fiscal court meeting once again the subject of their finances was brought up by Magistrate Scott Davis.

State law requires that all districts receiving more than $750,000 per year have an annual audit. Magistrate Scott Davis has been inquiring of Judge Murner about the audit for several months. Murner has always said that the audit will be forthcoming very shortly. However, as of yet, no audit has been performed, and according to Murner the audit may not be done in the near future.

Murner said that the books of the sewer district are in such bad condition that it was necessary for Stan Clark, the county treasurer, to reconstruct the books as far back as 1998. Without question this reflects that the oversight of the sewer district was nil. There is a good likelihood that there were instances of misfeasance, malfeasance and nonfeasance of office by people in charge of the district over the years. However, nobody has chosen to try to bring those people to justice. They have chosen to sweep the dirt under the carpet.If the books have bben improperly maintained since 1998, it possible that an audit has not been conducted since then. What would you think if that were the case?

Knowing that the books of the sewer district were in horrible condition, Murner still asked the fiscal court to assume responsibility of several million dollars of debt. What is worse is that the majority of the members of fiscal court blindly followed his suggestion. I asked the fiscal court to at least wait until an audit was completed before accepting the responsibility of the debt but they refused to do so. The fact is that most of the members are totally irresponsible or stupid and neither bodes well for the citizens of Oldham County.

Magistrate Davis also asked that Murner explain why Magistrate David Voegele was denied access to the meeting of the Oldham LaGrange Development Authority (OLDA) meeting that was being conducted to discuss the contract proposal by Talmadge Hocker for the Oldham Reserve even though Murner was allowed to attend and he is not a member of OLDA. Murner stated he had nothing to do with the decision to keep Voegele out of the meeting and that he was asked to join the meeting because he had worked closely with OLDA during the negotiations. Murner may have worked closely with OLDA but he certainly has not shared his information with the fiscal court even though the court/county is paying for all of the legal bills for the negotiations. Considering that Murner prefers to operate in secrecy it should come as no surprise that he would not keep members of the court informed.

If my memory serves me correctly, I believe that Murner and other members of the Kinser court constantly complained about Mary Ellen Kinser keeping information from them. I challenge any member of that court to prove to me that she was more secretive than Judge Duane Murner. The present fiscal court needs major changes. All the public can hope for is that some of the people challenging incumbents are successful and that they are not willing to endure the secrecy that the present court has endured.

ARE CRIMINAL CHARGES IN OLDHAM COUNTY'S FUTURE

Recently, the Oldham County Fiscal Court awarded a contract to clean the Oldham County Fiscal Court Building to a company called Classic Cleaning. At the time I thought that it was a conflict of interest as Classic Cleaning is owned by Wendi McGohon and Tina Schaaf, both of whom are employed in the office of Oldham County Judge-Executive Duane Murner. Further, there was another company that sought the contract through a bid.

Approximately one month ago I received an anonymous letter advising me that Oldham County Jail inmates were cleaning the Fiscal Court Building and that McGohon and Schaaf were not actually performing the work. On January 26, 2010 my wife personally witnessed an inmate cleaning the Fiscal Building. Additionally, I have been informed by at least three other people that inmates were being used to clean the building.

Upon receiving the anonymous letter, the first question that I asked myself was “Did the bid request for proposals make the inmate help available to the other bidder involved in the process?” I doubt that it was, and have heard that it was not. When was the decision made to allow the contractors to use inmates to clean the building? Frankly, this smells like “bid-rigging”.

I intend to do more investigating of this matter. I believe that there is enough information and witnesses available at this point to take the matter to authorities outside the county. I have been told that the county has stopped allowing the inmates to clean the Fiscal Court Building due to complaints, including those made by individuals working in the Fiscal Court Building. However, the toothpaste is already out of the tube and if you have tried to put toothpaste back in a tube, you know that it is almost impossible. The fact is that any other bidder on the contract should have a basis to file suit against the county unless something is done to make the losing bidder(s) “whole”.

It is a shame that a county which has enjoyed the reputation that Oldham County enjoyed just a few years ago now seems be under a cloud all the time. If this trend continues Oldham residents will be looking for “vanity” license plates that don’t reflect their home county.

As I say, stay tuned. Certainly more will follow on this issue.

JD SPARKS SEEKS 5TH DISTRICT MAGISTRATE POSITION

Oldham County Conservative J.D. Sparks Runs for Oldham County 5th District Magistrate

Pewee Valley, KY (January 27, 2010) – Local resident J.D. Sparks filed registration papers to seek the Republican nomination for Magistrate for the fifth district in Oldham County, Kentucky. Long time resident of Oldham County, Sparks plans to be the “true conservative” on the ballot and feels that fiscal responsibility, smart growth and good schools are keys to a successful future for Oldham County. Sparks understands the balance necessary to grow Oldham County responsibly while maintaining the traditional, welcoming atmosphere that has enhanced its excellent reputation.

Politically, Sparks was nominated as an Alternate Delegate to the 2008 GOP National Convention. He has previously served as Precinct Captain, the Oldham County representative for the Fourth District Republican Convention Resolutions Committee and Legislative District Chair for the Jefferson County Republican Party. Sparks has been recognized multiple times by the Republican National Committee and served as the National Voter Registration officer for the Republicans Abroad while living in Japan.

In this election he plans to run as a long time conservative Republican and community supporter. He is a graduate of local leadership programs such as Leadership Oldham County, Oldham County Police Citizen’s Academy, LaGrange Police Citizen’s Academy and is currently participating in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Citizen’s Academy in Jefferson County.

Sparks is a United States Marine Veteran and currently serves as a nationally recognized newsletter editor for the Marine Corps League Detachment 729 in Kentucky. Among his civic involvement, he works with the United Way in reviewing programs and funding for Oldham County and surrounding areas, has worked on committees for the Red Cross, KIDS Center for Cerebral Palsy and serves as the regional contact for the National Rifle Association’s legislative efforts.

Sparks currently serves as an executive vice president in the finance industry, where he assists publicly traded firms with SEC filings and Public Relations. His company works to bring new business opportunities to the region and has been recognized in recent years as a “Best Small Business” in the Incredible Awards and as a “High Impact Company” by Louisville Chamber of Commerce (GLI). He has two of the largest online networking groups in the area (Greater Louisville Networking and Semper Fi Network on linkedin.com) and works to support the growth of business in the area.

Sparks has the support of political leaders in the area as well as national figures. War hero Scott O’Grady, who was shot down in Bosnia and featured on the cover of Time magazine, has endorsed Sparks.

Sparks is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago and Jefferson Community College. He resides in Pewee Valley with his wife Yuko and two sons, where he is active in their Cub Scouts and Soccer teams.

MY APOLOGY TO MAGISTRATE BOB LESLIE

In my article of January 26, 2010 I discussed the firing of Oldham County Code Enforcement Office Mitch Nobles. During that discussion I stated that six of the magistrates voted to fire Mich Nobles and that two abstained. By saying that I inferred that Magistrate Bob leslie also voted to fire Nobles. The fact is Bob Leslie was not present during the executive session during which that decision was made.

Please allow me to take this opportunity to set the record straight and offer my apology to Magistrate Bob Leslie.

NOW DO YOU BELIEVE THAT I AM NOT RUNNING FOR OFFICE IN 2010

Over the past three years I have spent a lot of time attending various public meetings conducted by different local government agencies. I have also played a large role in opposing many local government proposals. Additionally, I have started this web site in order to expose the illegal and ill conceived actions of local government.

Because of my efforts many people claimed that I was trying to increase my public exposure in order to seek public office in 2010. Most of the people making those accusations were people who would not do anything for the public unless it benefited them.

Well, the filing deadline for 2010 has come and gone and I did not file for any office. I hope that my naysayers will start trying to contribute to the community instead of criticizing my motives. I intend to continue to uncover public corruption and to expose the actions of elected officials to the public. I will also expose illegal activities of non elected public officials. The time has come for the people of Oldham County to regain control of the local government and to make the government work for them.