Grand Jury Ends, No Indictments, City Council Scolded

After 14 days of hearing sworn testimony from 12 witnesses, reviewing 40 exhibits and more than 1,000 pages of submissions, the Delaware County Grand Jury has ended with no indictments. It did, however issue a strong scolding for Grove City Government officials including the City Council and City Manager.

A final report was issued by the Grand Jury on Thursday afternoon, following two earlier partial reports, which also resulted in no indictments. Gene Haynes, Chief Prosecutor and District Attorney for Rogers, Mayes and Craig counties, said the jury "worked very hard, was very conscientious, and used a lot of common sense to get past the personalities."

"They were troubled by the fact that some of the crimes have no penalties, and they made recommendations to try to fix that," Haynes said. "The ultimate solution is the ballot box," he added. He said the most important issue was Grove City Government, the Council, and City Manager, with all officials being cleared.

Highlights of the Final Report include:

--Two tours of the Delaware County Jail, which found several serious problems, including failure to lock up narcotic medications; not having a nurse on staff to monitor and administer inmate medications; failure to keep a chain of custody log to track quantities of patient medication from origin to the point that it is administered; mold levels in the inmate pods; and use of an electrical extension cord taped to the wall for TV power.
Every Grand Jury is required by state statute to inquire as to the health and safety of inmates, Gene Haynes, Chief Prosecutor, said Thursday. The Jury made recommendations to correct the deficiencies through new legislation, to be authored by Delaware County legislators.

--The Grand Jury did issue a scolding: "In view of the continuous and ongoing conflict and strife within the city (of Grove) which has resulted in significant litigation, large amounts of public funds being wasted in paying judgments, the payout of attorney fees to numerous attorney's and litigation costs, resulting in numerous complaints and criminal investigations being lodged in local and federal court, there is obviously something very wrong within the structure and management of the City of Grove as a governmental unit. The citizens of Grove are the ones that suffer from this."

The report continued, "we implore each City Council member to start taking their position seriously, to pay attention to what is happening with the management of the city, and to take action to correct the misdeeds and flagrant and gross abuse of power that continues to be exercised. The City of Grove operates under the City Council--City Manager form of government. This form of government only works if the council fulfills its oath of office and closely monitors the actions of its direct employees (City Manager and City Treasurer). We strongly urge each and every Grove citizen to look carefully at what is going on in their city and determine whether the City Council is doing its job of holding the City Manager accountable for his/her actions that adversely impact the city," said the final report.
"We further urge the citizens of Grove to be conscientious when they exercise their right and their responsibility to vote. Most of all, the City leadership needs to work together to move forward for the good of the community."

The following allegations were received, with no bill of indictment being returned:
--Open Records Act violations by Dorothy Parker, former city attorney.
--Embezzlement by GMSA employees.
--Embezzlement by Grove Municipal Airport Trust Authority Board Members.
--Open Records Act violations by members of GIDA board.
--Illegal gaming and serving alcohol to a minor at the Moose Lodge. (The D.A. is taking action in this matter, the Jury said.)
--Failure of the District Attorney to perform the prescribed duties of a D.A. in relation to issues with the Monkey Island Development Authority, and failure to enforce the findings of a State Audit and Local Audit; and miscellaneous allegations of a civil nature. Other allegations can be addressed via civil litigation, the Jury said.
--Miscellaneous allegations pertaining to Delaware County court proceedings and court officers.
--Violation of the Open Records act against the Grove Public School District and Grove Police Department, with the case in question being referred to Juvenile Services.
--Theft of public property and obstruction of justice by a Jay School employee.
--Investigation of the Delaware County District Attorney for ineffective handling of an alleged crime that occurred in the parking lot of the Jay post office; the Jury extended its deepest sympathies to the Hansen family, the report said.

The above summary is in addition to the 10 previous "no indictments" on the Grove City Manager and Councilors Dave Helms and Carolyn Nuckolls, issued in two previous partial reports. (see earlier editions of The Grove Observer)

One of the allegations was a violation of the Oklahoma Competitive Bidding Act by GMSA; the jury noted that "a Trust is required to bid out on public contracts when the contract exceeds $25,000 but there is no criminal penalty in the Act associated at the municipal level when that is not done, therefore the Grand Jury is not able to issue a true bill of indictment."

The Grand Jury expressed its appreciation to Judge Robert Haney; Judge Barry Denny; District Attorney Gene Haynes; Caroline Weaver, Court Clerk; Denver Davenport, Al Allen, Louis Stapleton and the Delaware County Court staff for their assistance during the course of these proceedings.

Haynes said he had enjoyed being in Delaware County the past two weeks and "the nice, friendly people and wonderful scenery." He said he faces a pile of paperwork on his return to Claremore "but I have a great staff that has been busy while I've been away."