OES Director Candidates Interviewed; Campbell’s Not Seeking Position

Ron Wilshire

Ron Wilshire

Published August 22, 2014 4:50 am
Image

clarion-county-oesCLARION, Pa. (EYT) — Clarion County Commissioner Butch Campbell would like to have someone designated as the new OES (Office of Emergency Services) Director in the near future after interviewing three candidates this week and possibly one additional person. 

All three commissioners typically hire employees at a salary board meeting following a public commissioners’ meeting.

Campbell told exploreClarion.com that he had no interest in taking the full-time position, despite rumors that he was seeking the position.  Campbell was appointed interim OES Director after the commissioners fired the former director, Lance Theiss.

“No,” said Campbell.  “If I was interested in the position, I wouldn’t have put it through the interview process and wasted people’s time.”

The director’s position was advertised on the county’s website, and applications were being accepted until a suitable candidate was found.

“It said we would continue to advertise until we had a successful pool of candidates, and we do have a successful pool of candidates,” said Campbell. 

The position advertisement has now been removed from the county website.

Campbell Feels He Would Have Been Qualified

Although he is not interested in the position, Campbell feels he would have been qualified for the job.

“I would have qualified for the job,” said Campbell.  “I would have come real close for what we were looking for in the position. College degrees are nice, but say you’ve got a college degree in French Art History that qualifies as a four-year degree.  I definitely think years of experience count.“

Rumors continue about the 911 situation, and they frustrate Campbell.

“The rumors were — the commissioners left Lance Theiss go, so that they could give the OES director’s job to Dan Gruver,” continued Campbell. “We didn’t do that.  I took it over, and some people said obviously I have no qualifications to do so.  I put it out there — my background — and people started saying now he wants the job, and they fired Lance so he could get the job.  We advertised it and went through the interview process.  I’m not going to waste people’s time if I wanted that job.”

Campbell and Gruver are not certified for National Crime Information Center (NCIC) searches, but every dispatcher (17 to 20) is qualified to do that type of search.

Gruver was not required to obtain any additional training or certification for the deputy OES director position, according to Campbell.

“The rumor is out there that I am not qualified to serve as regular or interim 911 coordinator,” said Campbell. “To the best of my knowledge, there are no state requirements for the county’s appointment of a 911 coordinator, and the assistant is the same way.”

 Labor Attorney Hired

In a related issue, Susan Buechele, a Clarion County 911 supervisor, filed an employment discrimination complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) and the EEOC (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) against Clarion County, alleging the county failed to promote her based on sex and age.

She was reportedly one of three people interviewed for the deputy OES position when Gruver was hired.  She also reportedly applied for the director’s position.

Campbell would not comment on who has applied for the director position or who has been interviewed.

Commissioners approved a new contract on behalf of Human Resources with Campbell, Durrant, Beatty, Palombo, & Miller, P.C. to provide legal representation for labor and employment issues, effective June 25 at a cost of $190 an hour, plus expenses.

Campbell said that the hiring of a labor attorney was not precipitated by the Buechele complaint.

“We had a very qualified firm handling our labor issues,” said Campbell. “We just decided to change. Our current solicitor (Dillon McCandless King Coulter & Graham of Butler) was initially hired by the county as a labor attorney, and after Terry Pope left, the services were expanded to include the whole solicitorship.”

When asked if there were any additional complaints or suits in the works, Campbell said not to his knowledge.

 

Community Partner