According to the article, Gardner “hit him in the face three times, broke his glasses and caused his nose to bleed, requiring medical attention.”
In addition, the press release states, “earlier this year, fire fighters Robbie Barber, Richard O’Neil and Mike Williams heard Chief Gardner say, “if the city fires me, I will come back to the fire department, shoot everyone and then go to the city hall and pick them off one by one, like ducks.”
I looked up the city’s definition of disorderly conduct and found allegations against Chief Gardner to be in direct violation of disorderly conduct. Is the fire chief exempt from the law?
Rodney Gandy “recounted working conditions including profanity-laced tirades, objects thrown in anger, trash cans kicked and overturned”, according to an article in The Daily Journal. If I were accused of the same things, my actions would certainly be investigated, and I would be arrested. All citizens, regardless of job title, should be held accountable for their actions. How did Chief Gardner remain employed by the city after assaulting a contractor? As a citizen of Rockingham, I would like to see this issue investigated and resolved before we see something tragic happen. Any time a person makes threats to “shoot everyone” we should take it seriously and investigate it thoroughly, especially if the person has a history of violence.
Dana Sauls
Rockingham
Do you seriously think the union or any other group would make allegations as serious as those made against Chuck Gardner without knowing the truth behind them? NO! What the union officials do is not a smear campaign. It's called a PRESS RELEASE and in that PRESS RELEASE it revealed some things that WERE ALREADY PUBLIC RECORD and ALREADY written.
Just for the record, had the chief been doing his job properly, the union wouldn't be involved because he would have handled it as boss should instead of making threats to anyone that dare say a word to anyone else about the situation.
And for the record, I believe God can and will change the heart of Chuck Gardner if he will allow Him to. I pray for that each and every day. So, if you think that is smearing, I'm sorry, but our firefighters deserve better!
And if it were all a big smear campaign, I assure you, the union has plenty of $$$$$$$$$$$$$ to publicize this thing to the moon and back again, but I don't see the media swarming around Rockingham making a huge spectacle of this thing.
That is your personal opinion if you believe union tactics are a smear campaign designed to win the citizens "pity" or pressure the city to settle this case. It will be settled in or out of court, my personal preference would be in court, so we the public can know everything that is truly going on at the fire dept. It was my impression that individuals choosing to join unions was because they feel that promotions, pay and grievances haven't been handled fairly and after exhausting all options in this chain of command at the RFD, obviously these men felt this step was necessary. Do I feel that there were little complaints prior to the lawsuit? As I said earlier, when Charles Trotter was the chief, do you not think he held these boys accountable & fought for the fireman? This is public knowledge & you can research it. If you think for one minute that we as citizens of this county believe these guys took the city to court just to fire the chief, I believe you are wrong. This fire chief clearly has a track record that speaks volume in itself, and no all of these things may have been posted in the paper for everyone to see, but I believe whole heartedly that the city manager has backed the chief in everything he has done, as likewise, the chief has backed the manager in the things he has done. The true battle will be between all parties involved, the chief, the fireman and the city for what has happened or been allowed to happen, whichever side the judge decides to rule on is the way it will ultimately play out. If you think Chuck Gardner is for one minute doing what he is told to do, then obviously you haven't had the pleasure of having to work with him at any time, during his time as city inspector or city fire chief...He does what he wants to to...
With that being said, I'm not against the fireman, just the way this is being handled. Though the chiefs management tactics are a little "old school", there seems to be little complaints (or turnover) prior to the lawsuit. As unfair as my earlier comments were, I feel the chief has been unfairly treated also...
The true battle is suppose to be between the fireman and the city, not the chief for doing what he is told to do...
You're right, back when I was a kid, these types of behavior merely existed, now we have kids killing adults & adults doing likewise. Again, if it were me or you, we would have already thrown under the jailhouse, I just can't put my finger on exactly what the fire chief has on the city manager, but I smell a fat rat brewing & that rat is gonna cost us, the taxpayers, in the end! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
My thoughts exactly. The allegations are serious and merit a thorough investigation. We can't have one set of rules for the kids and another set of rules for those in the upper ranks. First, it sets a very bad example. Second, the number of adults going around "picking people off one by one" outweigh the kids. Sadly, we live in a day and time where these things can't be taken lightly.
Noneofmybusiness ...... Having "a dog in this fight" doesn't have anything to do with it. As a citizen (no matter if you are in R'ham or not) there is cause for alarm when anyone threatens the lives of others. As for it being about money, or not being about money... I think it's clear there is a money issue which led to a chain of command issue... which led to threats, and so on and so forth!
Don't assume that no complaints have been filed on the fire chief. Have you went to city hall & investigated or talked to any of the fireman who are or have been employeed there? The lawsuit may not specifically complain about the fire chief because this is not about hiring or firing the fire chief, it is about a Fair Labor Law on how the fireman are to be paid. Them joining a union was due to the fact that the fireman had went to the fire chief regarding this matter & he told them they were being paid correctly...end of discussion...and if they went above the chain of command on this matter, that they WOULD BE FIRED!!! If you are not at the fire dept & don't know all THATS REALLY GOING on, I don't believe your statements are quite fair. There has been A WHOLE LOT OF THINGS GO ON IN BETWEEN these time frames you discussed. I am all about being fair. If my husband is wrong, then he will get the punishment he deserves, but if he is right, then give him what he deserves also. We will let the court decide on this one, who is right & who is wrong! What is so sad is, at times it is much harder to prove yourself when you're right, than when you are wrong. Again, I am not saying I am for a union or not, but after much discussion & prayer, this is what my husband felt he needed to do at this point and time to attempt to save his career & I back everyone of the fireman 100%!!! In response to your comment on being held accountable, do you know that they haven't?? My husband many yrs ago was late for work one morning & he was sent home for 3 days without pay, BUT IT WAS HIS FAULT HE WAS LATE & NO-ONE ELSES! Chief Trotter sent him home and nothing was questioned b/c he was wrong!
I do ONLY agree with you on one thing, the ones in higher authority ARE ALLOWING THIS STUFF TO GO ON! You cannot make me believe that the city manager, mayor & city council all do not have any idea of what is really going on at this fire department. We will all wait & see!
*Firefighters join a union and sue the city over overtime pay... no complaint on fire chief
* Fire chief holds them accountable for all policies... some suspended... one terminated ...for those who complain that the city should do something, who do you think is making him hold them accountable??
* Fire fighters start complaining about chief.. They discuss one day 12 years ago.... and one comment he made recently... nothing in between.
* Firefighter tells paper it's not about the money... which contradicts the reason for sueing in the first place...
* Firefighters complain about the "good ole boy" system in richmond county... but did not complain about it when he wasn't holding then accountable... thus making them the "good ole boys"...
Now I dont have a dog in this fight, but the newspaper can do a better job with both sides of the story...
Thanks for correcting me, I thought it was a Rockingham police officer but I am a little surprized that it was a sheriffs deputy.
my statement stands, why wasn`t this reported in the RCDJ? There are accident reports listed quite often and this was news worthy.
I have no desire to "sling-mud" as you put it but do expect things that happen when a public or government entity is involved to be disclosed and not suppressed.
Your opinion is of little meaning to me because I can tell by your writing style and spelling that you were not valadictorian when ypou finished school(notice I said finished, not graduated)
Peace to you and all the members of your cult.
Guess what your wrong again. That was not a Rockingham Police Car. It was a Sheriffs Department Car, I know the deputy involved and he is not bad guy and I also know that he was shown at fault in the accident and the report is public knowledge. So whats the big deal. If you are gonna make statments you could at least get them right, there is something called slander but in this case I think you are just wanting to sling mud to prove your point. But now that you have been proven wrong you just look petty. I feel sorry for the folks involved in this situations but you shouldnt be bringing in other folks that have nothing to do with this.
I fully support the idea that you should be able to give your opinion but when you say you know something as fact you ought to make sure you really know what the heck your talking about or just keep it to yourself.
Jukeboxhound, I hope it doesn't come down to a brawl between anyone. I would hope our leaders would take away his privilege of leading this fine group of men before it ever comes to blows. The fact that someone hasn't beat him already says a lot about the decency of the firefighters. Not everyone can show the restraint these fellows have shown in the face of a raging lunatic.
I witnessed an accident at the intersection of U.S. 74 and 220 where a rockingham police officer in an unmarked car ran a red light and broadsised a vehecile traveling south on 220, he had no visible lights on and was not involved in a persuit, but he entered the intersection in excess of 50 mph and the light had red long enough for veheciles to be in the center of the intersection but he could not see the car he hit because it was on the other side of a tractor-trailor truck also in the intersection and a lot of damage resulted.
There was not a mention of this accident on the RCDJ, this was about a year ago and several people also witnessed it.
Dana, it is good to see you back on line, now that we might agree on something and not talk politics because we will certainly disagree there.
Louis B. Long