IF YOU HAVE BEEN following the local news lately, you know there have been lots of things happening.
To date, we have reported on the assistant police chief leaving his post for unspecified reasons, a highway patrolman facing criminal charges and charges filed against a former city engineer and a local contractor.
These headlines can leave Emporians questioning what is happening in our community and questioning their faith in our public leaders.
In all investigations or criminal cases, it is important to remember that people are innocent until proven guilty.
On Tuesday, the paper reported on the county attorney filing felony charges against Jeff Herrick of Star Construction on a city street project.
After reading the published reports and the affidavit on the case, I was curious whether, with some communication, if this could not have been resolved before it became a criminal case?
According to the affidavit, KBI agent Ronald Hagen investigated the case. The case involves a street-reconstruction project on Union Street. The total cost of the job was $450,216. It was discovered that dowel baskets, which would have cost $11,917, were not used in the project.
After reading the affidavit, I had some questions:
• Why were dowel baskets not used when they were requested?
• Were change orders for the project issued by the ex-city engineer or was the ex-city engineer aware of the situation?
• If the approved bid called for dowel baskets, why didn’t the city inspector take action to stop the work on the project until the baskets were installed?
• If there were problems with the project, why did the city pay the final bill and never make mention of the problem until three years later?
We are surprised at how little the city did to resolve the situation even though city inspectors were aware of the problem.
With so many unanswered questions, does this case really warrant felony charges? Or does the situation warrant the city and contractor sitting down, both accepting responsibility, and then working the problem out in the best interest of the taxpayers?
I have a feeling that an arbitration process would have cleared up this issue instead of needing the help of KBI and the courts.
I don’t know the Herricks who own Star Construction nor have I ever done business with them, but it should be noted the company has been in business for 13 years. To be in business that many years they must do reputable work.
As the story unfolds, we will watch to see if there is more to it.
If there isn’t more to the case, I bet most taxpayers would say give the guy a break and resolve this outside of the court system.
Chris Walker
Editor & Publisher
JSauder (anonymous) says...
Well said Chris
July 23, 2009 at 4:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justthefacts (anonymous) says...
Can you say "good 'ole boy network?"
July 23, 2009 at 4:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
be_fair (anonymous) says...
This article asks all the questions I have been asking ever since this happened. There has to be a better way to resolve this than felony charges for what I feel was an honest mistake.
July 23, 2009 at 4:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hickory (anonymous) says...
How could it be an honest mistake, when one of the inspectors told the contractor to use them, when he discovered they weren't using them. And also the inspector told the city engineer, that they weren't being used. Is that what you call an honest mistake? I don't see how you can call this an honest mistake, when the inspector reported it to the city engineer and also told the contractor about it. The contractor knew full well that they were suppose to be used and still never used them after being told. He should have subtracted that amount from his bill to the city. If that isn't theft, I don't know what you would call it. The city engineer also knew that a change order had to be made, if they weren't going to use them, but never listened to his own inspector.
July 23, 2009 at 5:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
be_fair (anonymous) says...
If the inspectors were aware and the city engineer was aware, then why didn't they bring it to the city's attention before the bill was paid. It seems the city dropped the ball, too. I just don't see anything bad enough to warrant thousands of dollars in attorney's fees on both parts, when all the city needs to do is ask for a refund of money plus interest.
July 23, 2009 at 5:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hickory (anonymous) says...
be_fair........if you re-call, the city engineer is in trouble for the the same thing. If you have a crooked city engineer, that the city depends on to look after this type of thing, how can you blame the city for any wrong-doing.....other than hiring the engineer in the first place. The city itself, hasn't done anything wrong, in my opinion. Only time will tell, if these two individuals were in this together. If you or I stole 12,000 bucks, don't you think we'd be prosecuted?
July 23, 2009 at 6:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
be_fair (anonymous) says...
Guilty until proven innocent???
July 23, 2009 at 8:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
be_fair (anonymous) says...
hickory......"The city itself, hasn't done anything wrong, in my opinion." I guess that's your opinion. In my opinion, there is a better way to resolve this. In my opinion, I feel the only thing done by Mr Herrick was an unintentional mistake in billing, that should have been caught by the city. Surely more that one person goes over the bills that the city receives and pays.
July 23, 2009 at 9:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
CHRIS;
Mediation? Not a word in our city managers vocabulary.
A good idea?
Definately.
Timing: Probably too late!
July 23, 2009 at 9:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tell (anonymous) says...
It does seem like Mr Goodman is jumping the gun alot lately.Regardless of the outcome Mr Beatty and Mr Herrick will be forced to rebuild there lives and there businesses.
July 23, 2009 at 9:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tell (anonymous) says...
If the city has been aware of this for three years and haven't even asked to resolve it then shame on them.
July 23, 2009 at 10:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tell (anonymous) says...
be-fair I hope your right surely there was more than one person looking over the bills than just Mr Beatty. If there isn't maybe we should make some more changes higher up.
July 23, 2009 at 10:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
this might be the tip of the iceberg
July 23, 2009 at 10:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
grand jury nuff said
July 23, 2009 at 11:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
we the people need to take back our town or we will end up in a long bined
July 23, 2009 at 11:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
a government which robs peter to pay paul can always count on razzel dazzel accounting.
July 23, 2009 at 11:56 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reddog (K. B. Thomas Jr.) says...
a real journalist is a public watch dog exposing greed corruption and abuse.
July 24, 2009 at 12:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
Well said Chris, pretty well sums up what I have been saying on here all along. I feel the COE and Lyon County Attorney's Office are looking for a scapegoat to dump their dirty laundry on!
July 24, 2009 at 2:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
Just thinking out loud. If the city engineer had told the construction company the dowel baskets were not necessary....and the construction company took him at his word and left them out without a change order.....that in itself might be no more than a poor business decision.....not necessarily a crime.
But when the $12,000 in dowel baskets went ahead and appeared on the billing to the city.....and was paid by the city.....and nothing else happened for three years.....thats starting to be a lot of poor business decisions in a row.
Several poor business decisions in a row on the same matter do not necessarily make a crime.....but they do raise the possibillity of one.
I agree with rbow that at this point the possibility of mediation has probably passed.
July 24, 2009 at 7:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
under_score (anonymous) says...
Mediation is out of the question. These men shall be tried in a court of law and if they are innocent the courts will decide. This is just as it should be.
Whevever you STEAL money or objects there are consequences greater than simply giving the stolen items back.
The People want justice and that is what they shall have.
July 24, 2009 at 7:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
okay (anonymous) says...
Nice article Chris. Patrick Kelley would have never written something so sensible!
July 24, 2009 at 8:08 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
madpoet (anonymous) says...
I see at least three possible scenerios.
1) both Herrick and Beatty dropped the ball in correcting the bill and thought it was fixed
2)Herrick believed Beatty submitted the change order and didn't see the dowel baskets on the bill still
3) they both knew it wasn't changed and hoped to get away with theft
Hopefully a trial will clear this up. I agree the city probably should have just approached Herrick and showed that he overcharged them and asked for a refund or future services totalling that amount. We don't know if that was done or not, though. Maybe they did and were refused. And since this is linked to a criminal investigation, maybe they can't do that now. I'm not a lawyer so don't know how that works.
July 24, 2009 at 8:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
irishemporia (anonymous) says...
Underscore, If your family was hungry, and you your only way to feed them was to steal the food, would you let them starve?
Just curious.
July 24, 2009 at 8:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tell (anonymous) says...
Mr Beatty no doubt is a licensed engineer he had the authority to add or delete anything to the project. Oh yes a decuct change order should have been issued. Maybe he ordered his staff to do it and they didn't. Could be the same guy who is out to hang him. Maybe he made a change order and it never got filed.Maybe he just plain forgot I don't know but I am willing to bet Mr Beatty is the only one that knows. Mr Goodman will probably have to get out the water board to find out.
July 24, 2009 at 10:22 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jasonesu (anonymous) says...
Sounds to me like the upper crust in Emporia want to support their own and not have anyone live up to their wrong doing. My question is if the dowel baskets were not used in this project did Herrick use them in another project, charge for them again and make a great profit. Maybe this is how he is paying for that fine home he is building 10 miles south of town. I think that the editor should quit trying to influence the public and sway a possible juror.
July 24, 2009 at 10:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tell (anonymous) says...
Does anyone even know if these baskets were required I wonder who is really behind this. It smells like one of Mr Beattys staff was out to get him. Why didn't the wistle blower report this to the city manager at the time if he was truely concered for tax payers money. Or was he just out to get Beatty fired (jp) ?
July 24, 2009 at 10:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jasonesu (anonymous) says...
will Beaty have to face charges from the state after having KDOT employees working on his personal pond on taxpayer time and money and when will the facts on the deputy chief ever be revealed, was he involved with the trooper or the city engineer or both?
July 24, 2009 at 10:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tell (anonymous) says...
Boy who knows Jason maybe you can start some more rumors on those topics it seems clear you are in the know.
July 24, 2009 at 10:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
under_score (anonymous) says...
irishemporia:
No, assuming no other options I would steal the food. Probably from a grocery store where the food would be thrown out if not purchased. But I wouldn't be surprised if I got caught and since stealing is against the law I would expect to be prosecuted, found guilty, fined and possibly thrown in jail for awhile.
Not that I would ever have to worry about that.
Now that I've answered your completely idiotic and unrelated question will you please answer mine?
If you had me over to do repair work to you house and I did the work and you paid me for it and then looked in your place where you hide your valuables and they were all missing would you call me or the police?
July 24, 2009 at 12:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
under_score (anonymous) says...
one things for sure, Beatty and Herrick have some friends on this forum!
July 24, 2009 at 12:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
under_score (anonymous) says...
By the way, I'm an impartial juror since I'd never even heard of them before this article. I don't know if they are guilty or innocent. That is for the court to decide, not for a bunch of their friends or enemies on this message board or elsewhere.
July 24, 2009 at 12:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
irishemporia (anonymous) says...
I'd call you, first, to see what you knew (perhaps you saw the crime) and then call the police.
July 24, 2009 at 1:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jasonesu (anonymous) says...
as always the upper crust in emporia sticks together and feel that they can do what they want. All I know is what I have read, but if you get paid to do a job a certain way and you take the short cut because the city engineer "Is my best friend" you should still be punished. You don't put in nearly 12,000.00 in dowel baskets and then have the guts to issue an additional 7,000.00 + change order to up the price of the job, that is pure guts. Guess when you don't live in the city that you are putting it to, you don't have to worry about how your dishonesty affects the real taxpayers.
July 24, 2009 at 1:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tell (anonymous) says...
Jason get some new material the ol big bad upper crust card gets old. And if all you know is what you have read you don't know much.
July 24, 2009 at 4:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
under_score;
I am not passing judgment on any of this mess, but your statement from above tells it all.
"Mediation is out of the question. These men shall be tried in a court of law and if they are innocent the courts will decide. This is just as it should be."
They are innocent now! It's up to the prosecutor to PROVE THEM GUILTY.
Until that happens we should all watch the gossip and inuendo.
At least on here.
July 24, 2009 at 7:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
homewrecker (anonymous) says...
Theft is a crime the last time I checked. I bet if I stole that much money I would sure be held accountable for my actions. Time for the BIG FEELERS to pay the price for being a crook and thief. HANG HIM HIGH!
July 24, 2009 at 10:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justthefacts (anonymous) says...
Once upon a time there were 3 pigs rolling in the mud complaining about the state of affairs in the barnyard. The old hens were always cackling about something and the jackass did nothing but bray all day and night and made no sense at all. The rooster was cock sure he knew best and strutted around while the rats just sat on their buts and complained about how good the other animals had it in the northwest part of the barnyard. All the time the pigs complained about the stink in the rest of the barnyard, they failed to realize that the biggest stink was coming from their own mess in their back yard.
July 25, 2009 at 12:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
Justthefacts,
Were the pigs named Old Major, Napoleon, and Snowball?
How does this story end?
Steve
July 25, 2009 at 9:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
homewrecker,
Theft is a crime, your are correct.
The last time I checked we are living in the Good Ole United States of America.
You know that country where you are PRESUMED INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY.
Small town gossip, rumours and innuendo are not proof of a crime. I am not defending ANYONE, just the principle of the laws of our country.
July 25, 2009 at 9:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justthefacts (anonymous) says...
rbow, you have the jist of the story. Seems like the names change with time and location but the story stays the same.
July 25, 2009 at 10:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
USNretired (anonymous) says...
Two words: DUE DILIGENCE.
July 25, 2009 at 11:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
Been awhile since I've worked in construction but lets see if I remember how the process goes.
Bids are requested for specific work to be done. Included in the bid letting are; Specs/requirements to be met in the job, list of required licensing needed to be qualified and considered for the job, material grades that must be met, and time line for job completion. Contractors submit bids for what it would cost for them to do the job. Typically, but not always, the lowest bidder gets the job. During the process of construction, inspections are required by City inspection staff to ensure the specs, building codes, and safety regulations are being followed. Providing the inspectors approve of all the contractor's preparation/work, the work proceeds smoothly without delays, the job is completed in a timely fashion, then the government officials and the contractor submit final reports, bills, any change overs, etc. All reports and paperwork are reviewed by the Government agency. Then and only once all parties have done what they agreed to do, after everyone is satisfied with the job, the payment for the work is submitted to the contractor for the completed job.
In this case, people are claiming that; A contractor supposedly said he didn't have to follow specs during pouring of concrete on a City Street, that inspectors have no authority to shut down construction sites when specs are not followed, that City staff were well aware the specs had not been followed per the contract. Even though fully aware of such violations within the process, during the closing process there was no mention of such. The City deemed the job was successfully completed and therefore made payment to the contractor.
Civil matter at most, and gross negligence on the part of the City staff IMO.
July 25, 2009 at 12:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
justthefacts,
So you are saying, "All Emporian's are equal, some are just more equal than others".
Steve
July 25, 2009 at 12:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
And that my friends is life in the real world.
Good story!
July 26, 2009 at 4:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
be_fair (anonymous) says...
YY4U..... That's the way I see it, too. Good way to put it!!
July 26, 2009 at 5:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
under_score (anonymous) says...
rbow,
I'm saying let the courts decide whether they are innocent or guilty. The comments you made prior to that make it sound like you have already determined them innocent and let's not try them at all. That is why our friends don't decide how we are punished the law does.
Like I said, I don't know anything about this case but it sounded like a lot of people prior to my comments were ready to storm the jail and free these men. Out of the question at this point. Allegations have been made and the people will now have justice served.
July 28, 2009 at 7:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )