White Sulphur Springs Council discusses hiring of Timothy Loehmann and more

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS W.Va. (WVDN) – The City of White Sulphur Springs held its regular council meeting this week. The council has had some serious backlash from concerned citizens regarding the already declined proposal of a meat processing plant within the city limits and the recent national attention to the hiring of Timothy Loehmann as a police officer. Subsequently, the officer resigned and the Chief of Police Scotty Teubert resigned as chief and demoted himself to patrolman. Public outcry did not stop there, even after a formal statement made by Council Member Ryan Lockhart, as well as a formal apology and explanation from Mayor Kathy Glover during this council meeting.

Mayor Kathy Glover made a public statement that read, “ I understand your outrage and emotional investment in this whole entire situation. The chief of police oversaw hiring, firing and disciplinary actions of their department. That process includes background checks, drug testing, Psych, evaluation, polygraph, etc. Additionally, any certified officer from another state must appear before the West Virginia LEP to be deemed eligible to work as an officer in the state of West Virginia.  The name of the new hire did not engage any recollection for me personally and I trusted the results of the extensive requirements and the due diligence of the department head when swearing him in when the previous incident was brought to light.We acted as calmly swiftly and professionally as we could to validate the accusations that were being circulated on social media and other sources. This did take a little time since the postings began on a Thursday evening. Attempts were made to reach the chief of police who was not available to come to the office on Friday. I reached out to the city attorney for a discussion and to review what little I knew. At the recommendation of the city attorney. I did schedule an appointment to meet with the chief of police, the city attorney and myself on Monday July 1 at 8 a.m. At that time, after a review of the information in the police department’s personnel file for the officer, I called for a meeting with the officer at 1 p.m. that same day. During the meeting with the officer he resigned effective immediately after processing the information I had gathered thus far. On Tuesday evening I contacted chief Teubert and requested to meet with him on Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. It was a brief exchange of conversation and Chief of Police Teubert voluntarily resigned his position as chief of police and voluntarily demoted himself to patrolling. On July 3, 2024 1 p.m. Deputy Chief Julian Byer Jr. was sworn in as the new chief of police as quickly and efficiently as we possibly could work through the processing of information. We immediately knew that we had to put a system of checks and balances into place to make sure that we do not have a repeat situation. Councilperson Lockhart is working on drafting some policy for the council to review to put additional checks and balances into place for the hiring in the police. Department as well as all departments within the municipality. Although I was not aware of the situation regarding the hiring, I still accept accountability as a leader of the city and this should not have happened. I accept that there are mistakes in the current process that we have and those mistakes will be reviewed and changed moving forward. I sincerely apologize to the Rice Family for the unwanted and unnecessary attention. This matter has brought to each of you. Thank you.”

Citizens and others in attendance were protesting with signs outside City Hall reading, “We demand the resignation of Mayor Kathy Glover and Chief of Police!” and more. Several residents were given the opportunity to speak in one minute increments conveying their dismay with the handling or lack of, of recent events. One resident, Marcus Fiorvante, talked to the media live and spoke at the meeting, respectfully asking for the resignation of not only the chief of police but for the Mayor herself. Several other residents stood, asking for the same thing, that Mayor Kathy Glover resign. They were Jarell Newsome, Sonya Brown and Penny Fiorvante.

In light of recent events, Ryan Lockhart has made a proposal to amend a charter dated 1909, that not one sole individual should be in charge of any municipal hiring. Lockhart also proposed a remedy to that in suggesting and being approved for a three-panel municipalities review board/safety board, to be initiated immediately. The municipality board will be composed of one citizen at large, Pastor Greg Scott a long time resident of WSS and respectable resident as well as council member GP Parker and Mayor Kathy Glover. The municipality’s board members will be Linda Coleman; a long-time city employee and citizen with extensive knowledge of the city’s workings, Mayor Kathy Glover and Recorder Dave Dillon. As Ryan Lockhart explains the board’s responsibilities and ways of proceeding, “The Acting Chief of Police will pass [any] application documents [or any] written recommendation of the applicant on to each board member, at which time they will interview deliberate and consciously vote on the applicant before giving the chief of police the endorsement to offer that candidate a position with the city. The board will thoroughly investigate, review and meet the applicants in person by zoom call or an in person meeting so that they may determine if the applicant meets the criteria necessary to be a member of the White Sulphur Springs police department. This board is to proceed over disciplinary actions with officers, if necessary and will act regarding all circumstances relating to disciplinary matters. Additionally, I would like to note the White Sulphur Springs police department does in fact possess their own employee handbook and hiring process separate from that of our municipal employees. So this policy should be in addition to their process in place now. I would like to recommend we adopt this tonight for the protection of our citizens as well as our city and its financial physical well being and that of everyone who calls White Sulphur Springs home.” After reading social media comments, not everyone was happy with the choices made, some stating “that being a city employee, hardly makes one biased.”

Also discussed were issues with the city pool. Ryan Lockhart discussed issues with the pool in that the slide is inoperable at times, people being refused entry due to fluctuating “maximum occupancy” and lifeguard behavior. Many people are frustrated that the pool slide, instead of a diving board and is a favorite of children everywhere, is open sometimes, and then suddenly even on the same day, the slide is closed. The reports are that a certain number of lifeguards are needed to man different stations within the pool’s limits. It was also reported that some lifeguards have enacted a “height restriction” to use the slide, which is a rule that has been posted on the slides’ sign since the opening of the pool in 2021. The city employee who oversees the pool is the mayor. We spoke with Mayor Kathy Glover: “The rules for maximum occupancy have always been the same, 30 people to one lifeguard. The pool employs roughly eight lifeguards and one manager, Debbie Carey. Six lifeguards are required to be on deck at all times per pool guidelines. [The maximum occupancy would then be 180 persons.] Most of these lifeguards are kids. They have pre-planned vacations with family, other jobs, family requirements and are ‘kids’.”

It’s difficult enough to find reliable employees but even more difficult to find youngsters with the work ethic of a devoted, reliable adult. In a recent article published by The West Virginia Daily News, it was stated that the pool needed lifeguards to open this summer. Luckily, enough was hired to open the pool, yet scheduling and the consistency or lack thereof of enforcing rules is still an issue. Finding any business that does not struggle with these issues is 99% impossible. Mayor Glover will have a meeting with the lifeguards and managers to hopefully resolve these issues. This too, will take time.

It was also mentioned by Lockhart, that the pool has done away with pool breaks, whereby adults can swim without splashing children for about 15 minutes, and children can rest.

“We want and need the pool to be fully staffed and operational to pay for the cost of building [and want our residents to enjoy] so yes, it is a priority,” said the Mayor.

Other concerned citizens spoke to council members about being transparent and having accountability for actions. Old business was brought up by resident David Ledman concerning apparent missing funds that he and others believe belong to the city. One million dollars seems to have been moved from an unsecured account to a secured account, and “someone on previous council” reportedly gave $800,000 of that funding to Greenbrier Economic Development Center. It was reported that only $108,000 actually came back to the city. That amount has been reported to be in the city’s account for some time now. We will research this issue and report fully with more information so as not to convey wrong or disinformation.

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