Tuesday, December 30, 2008

December 30, 2008 Parker and King Demoted but Keep County Jobs. King Resigns Constable Position Effective December 31
















Hamblen County Constable Paul King has resigned as Constable with an effective date of December 31. His resignation letter (above left) is dated December 9 and is addressed To Whom It May Concern. The "December 9" resignation letter was not turned in until December 16.

King's resignation had first been requested by County Mayor David Purkey in a December 5th letter to King (above). When the County Mayor received no response from King, the Hamblen County Ethics Committee met on December 15 and backed up the request for King's resignation. Apparently, the next day (December 16), King turned in his "December 9" resignation letter to Wanda Neal, Administrator of Elections, and she faxed it to county attorney Rusty Cantwell.

King was manager of Cherokee Park when he and his boss (Cherokee Park Director Frank Parker) were indicted in May 2008 by a Hamblen County grand jury for theft over $500 for charging Albert Walker $750 to get Walker's car out of the Sheriff's impound lot when both knew that no money was due to remove the car. [Parker was also indicted for felony official misconduct].




On December 5, County Mayor David Purkey sent a disciplinary letter to each man. (Click on images above to enlarge and read).

Frank Parker was demoted from Director of Cherokee Park to Maintenance Technician and was "suspended without pay for multiple three (3) day periods encompassing the month of February."

Paul King was demoted to Sanitation Worker, suspended without pay for multiple 3-day periods encompassing the month of January, and "transferred to an undetermined county department effective February 1, 2009." County Mayor Purkey also requested King's resignation as constable to avoid ouster proceedings.

On December 16, King finally turned in his resignation letter to Wanda Neal.

No comments: