LISA HOBBS – News Editor
A request by Warren County Constable Junior Pennington for county government financial assist in the purchase of used radios spiraled into discontent and hostility.
“We'd never come to y'all and ask y'all for anything,” Pennington.
Commissioner Gary Prater replied, “I know that. I wouldn’t be in favor for it if you did.”
That exchange came during a county Safety Committee and Beer Board meeting on Monday.
“The constables, we thought we were going to maybe get attached to the grant for first responders for radios,” stated Pennington. “He quietly told me that, you know, the money wasn't there. So, I've been trying to figure out a way to get some radios.”
He stated that he located some used ones at a cost of $1,800 each and that EMA could control the distribution of those, if the county purchased them. He requested eight.
“It is a kind of a necessity, when we're out on the scene and we're helping. Like the other night, we had [Smithville] highway closed down for two hours. The only way we could talk to the deputies was to relay the information to dispatch. Dispatch, then, had to relay the information to the deputies. It’s chaotic, when you’re trying to help in an emergency, but you can’t talk to the deputies.”
Commissioner Micheal Bell questioned why the request is for eight when there are 10 constables.
“Two constables will not come talk to me, will not have anything to do with me,” stated Pennington. “It would be great to get everybody one. I believe that Ed Farmello has his own radios. I can't afford $1,800.”
County Executive Bell commented that a grant, like the one currently being used to purchase volunteer firefighters’ radios, might be available and that the county could look into one.
“We'd never come to y'all and ask y'all for anything,” stated Pennington.
Prater replied, “I know that. I wouldn’t be in favor for it if you did.”
Prater stated his belief that constables were a liability for the county. Pennington stated that no constable has ever been named in a lawsuit.
Prater replied, “I made a complaint on you. Tommy Myers was sheriff at that time. It was a Saturday morning and you came through flying, taking your dog to the vet. You told me you had a $1,200 dog and you had to get it down there before it dies. I said, ‘So, you’re putting your dog’s life over a human’s life’ and you said, ‘no.’ I said, ‘It looked that way to me.’ You were passing people in the center lane, and you were running 75 miles an hour. I didn’t have a gun to gauge your speed, but you were flying.”
Pennington denied the allegation that he was putting human lives at risk over a dog. He did state after the meeting that his dog had ingested antifreeze and the vet had urged him to get the dog there as quickly as possible.
Commissioner Randy England stated that he received a call from a constitute about a different incident involving a constable who was “splitting lanes” and “flying like a bat out of hades” heading to an accident.
Constables are unpaid elected officials. They are required to supply their own vehicles and/or radio equipment. Commissioner Ron Lee suggested they consider fundraisers, if they needed radios now and could not wait for the possibility of a grant.
EMA Director Jason Hillis stated that a Facebook post criticizing the Warren County Commission during an emergency event on Smithville Highway was not helpful to their cause.
Pennington denied that he criticized the commission.
On the evening of Oct. 30, Pennington posted a picture he had taken while on scene and added the following statement:
“There is nothing like working a wreck with injury, and the only way to communicate with the deputies is through dispatch because apparently we’re not important enough to get the new TACN radios and we can’t afford to pay $2,000 each out of our own pockets. But we’ll do whatever we have to to serve our community’s because that we swore to do. And to make it clear this doesn’t involve our Sheriff Jackie Matheny Jr. He has always been more than gracious with anything he can help us with or anything he can let us use, so a big thanks to the sheriff and our deputies they always treat us like we matter.”
The meeting ended without any motion being made regarding assisting constables with the purchase of radios.