The Martha Dooley Grievance Hearing concluded after a day and a half of proof and cross examination by Mrs. Dooley’s legal counsel and Sheriff Tom Spangler’s outside legal counsel.
On Day One, Sheriff Spangler was asked if Kim Glenn had not been his campaign manager and she had applied off the street, would he have hired her as Communications Director, watch that here.
Sheriff Spangler was asked yesterday, if Kim Glenn was a political hire, he said she was an administrative hire. I am told this morning when Kim Glenn was being examined she was asked if she was a political hire and she concurred that she was. During examination, Kim Glenn is a high school graduate, while 25 year Knox Sheriff employee Martha Dooley has two advanced degrees in Communications, both a bachelors and masters, if I were following correctly.
Knox Sheriff Communications Director Kim Glenn, Knox Sheriff’s Aaron Yarnell and Knox Sheriff Finance Director Allison Rogers along with Knox Sheriff Chief Deputy Bernie Lyons were presented and cross examined this morning. Both legal counsels closing remarks were presented before lunch time.
At some point, I am told Prince said he is representing the Knox Sheriff Employees. In fact he is representing only Sheriff Spangler. The morale is extremely low among the uniformed body of the Sheriffs Department in that perception by many, if not most is that it takes 14 plus months to seek remedy for a perceived political punitive decision to take action on inter-agency transfer and the loss of a take home car.
I am told that Knox Sheriff Finance Director Allison Rogers under oath said Prince has only been paid $50,000. I will be seeking clarification on that, in that on January 24, 2022 here I reported the latest Open Records request from Knox County Finance Director Chris Caldwell, the amount exceeded $132,000, whether the other $82,000 was paid out of another fund like the Law Department, is the only rational possibility.
The Knox County Sheriffs Merit Council for Sheriffs Employees can not obtain the complete transcript from the court reporter for four weeks, the council would then need 2-5 days to review the transcript, before rendering a decision on the last two days of hearings. So a meeting of April 28, 2022 at 10 am in Room 575 in the City County Building will be when the council will make the decision.
Attorney John Valliant representing Martha Dooley closing remarks is here from my YouTube page.
Attorney Gary Prince representing Knox Sheriff Tom “Spanky” Spangler closing remarks is here from my YouTube page.
the three Attorneys at the podium, John Valliant (representing Dooley) Gary Prince (representing Tom Spangler) and Myers Morton standing behind both Valliant and Prince is a Knox County Law Department Attorney
Merit Council Member Jim Jennings, Hearing Officer Chancellor Sharon Bell, Merit Council Chair Gina Oster, Merit Council Member Jim Wright, Jr. and Merit Council Alternate John Marshall
