The Red Springs board room saw a capacity crowd Tuesday evening during a regular monthly meeting. Michael Futch | The Robesonian RED SPRINGS — The board room was full Tuesday evening for the regular monthly meeting of the Red Springs Board of Commissioners at Town Hall.
Many of the 50 or so residents in the audience were on hand to support recently fired town Police Chief Mark Caskey and his lieutenant detective, Christopher McManus.
Adding to the tension in the room, the air conditioner was not working and people were complaining about the stuffy heat.
According to two sources, Red Springs Fire Chief John Ammons also had been fired by the town, but in a reversal, instead was named fire chief over the fire department, streets and sanitation.
On the heels of these doings, allegations have been made of wrongful termination, unlawful discrimination and unprofessional behavior.
Caskey and McManus were in the audience, but they did not speak during the meeting.
Town Manager Jane O’Neal, who has been cited as a central figure in the town’s troubles, did have this to say during the meeting:
“Legally, I can’t comment on the situation for which a lot of you are in attendance. I can say I have been in a management position for over 40 years. I have worked for counties and towns and corporations. I’ve never taken an action frivolously or without great thought, great consideration.
“I let the facts and the evidence lead me to a decision regardless of the individuals involved. Enough said on that subject.”
During the meeting’s comments period, Mayor Edward Henderson also briefly touched on the situation in the town.
“I’m going to ask you a question. I’m not looking for an answer. Do we have a problem? No, we don’t have a problem. Do we have two problems? No, we don’t have two problems. Do we have three problems? No, we don’t have three problems. Do we have four problems? No, we don’t have four problems,” he said.
“I don’t even know how many problems we have,” Henderson concluded.
With that, the board went into closed session where no action was said to be taken.
Earlier in the meeting, a couple of residents spoke during the public comment session, casting their opinions on the problems that are swirling around the town of roughly 3,152 residents.
“I am a very concerned citizen in Red Springs,” Jane Taylor said from the podium. “And I’m here to tell you I’m very concerned how things are being run in the town. And I’d appreciate that those we have elected sit up there and do their job and do it diligently.”
Bob Hollingsworth followed Taylor and had this to say: “I’m just going to say a few things, and I think I’m going to say what a lot of people here are feeling. What’s happened over the last three weeks in this community has been exhaustingly disappointing. We elected you guys to represent us. What’s happening in this community isn’t what the citizens of this town have wanted to happen.
“We don’t want to lose a fire chief; we don’t want to lose a police chief. We don’t want to lose those people. They’ve been here and done good jobs. You know, if you say nothing, if you do nothing, then your silence implies your consent. We’re feeling you agree with what’s going on. I’ve had several commissioners talk to me about what they think is the thing to do but nobody has done anything.”
Hollingsworth said those board members who are not doing anything about the situation will pay in future elections.
“It’s very, very disappointing to have my colleagues and my friends sit here and do nothing about what has happened here,” he said.
In other business :
– The Red Springs Board of Commissioners voted to rezone property from residential and general business to residential-multi-family district near 4657 Daniel McLeod Road.
– Listened to a Juneteenth Celebration presentation from Eva Patterson-Heath of the Red Springs Family and Community. The organization is sponsoring the fourth annual Juneteenth Celebration and requested that the town support the event as it has in the past.
“Not only for our town and citizens,” Patterson-Heath said, “but also for anyone who comes to visit Red Springs during this particular time.”
The celebration will get underway the first of June with the gathering of prayer. Everyone is invited to come and pray for the community, schools, police department, county, nation or whatever, she said.
Other activities – cultural, recreational and educational – will be held throughout the month, she said.
“It is about the celebration that recognizes the ending of slavery in America,” Patterson-Heath said, “and that’s so, so very important.”
The biggest event – which is the actual celebration on June 22 – will be held on the campus of Peterson Elementary School. That school, she said, is a historic African-American school in the community.
“It has a rich, rich history,” she said.
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