As part of my continuing effort to allow other input on local happenings I present my first letter to the editor which I received. This person followed my rules of signing their name and giving me their phone number to talk to them personally so the letter gets posted. This is in no way my view or opinion but if someone is willing to put themselves out to contact me their letter will be posted. The letter is of course in regards to the fire department. I was hesitant to even get involved with this issue again but as stated above this person who is not a fire fighter in any capacity contacted me to share their feelings on the matter. Below is their letter.
"What serious issues are going on with the fire chief and the 3 departments?"
"When will the Mayor, council or fire department employee/volunteer file a lawsuit against the threats that the fire chief is putting on them everyday"
"How is it that the fire chief still keeps secrets on his residence after being here almost one year?"
It has been said that someone on the council brought him here just because they knew him not really because he was qualified . The mayor is starting to question his qualifications now. All of these things I am mentioning to you is coming from the HUGE number of volunteer and paid personnel. This is VERY VERY important to them because things are sooo bad there."
45 comments:
I grab your blog from newsfeed updates not the actual blog site and the yellow print just doesn't cut it, just an FYI.
Ya know, the Fire Dept has been complaining soooo long that no one even bothers to listen anymore. I could care less about the cryin, put on your big boy briefs, do your job and stop whining. Sue, sue who, really, in this town, never happen, besides is that the ONLY solution you can come up with? Another vague, meaningless boo hoo.
thanks fixed it
The firefighters complained about Higginson (I think that was his name), Bresler, Gordy, See and now this guy. There is always someone who is not getting their way looking to stir things up. Personally, I don't think there is any pleasing those people and I don't concern myself with it anymore. If you don't like it, quit. Plenty more people looking for work where you came from.
1:28 PM and 5;10 PM you do not work there or volunteer there and you do not have to tolerate the harassment from this man. This guy operates on fear tactics because he is not qualified to be a leader in the fire department.
Unless you know what you are talking about you should listen to the people who are complaining. This guy needs to go now!!
anon 5:10 PM why don't you go to work for him or better yet VOLUNTEER FOR THE UNGRATEFUL BASTARD.
You are clueless as to what's being discussed here so why don't you stop whining and leave it to the people involved?
So, that's all it takes to get a comment posted? Gee, what about the real issues and comments that really mean something?
send me an email with name and phone number an we can talk
Who really care about the fire dept. besides when there is a fire?
This Mayor and Council are allowing this thing to continue and at the same time they are LOSING VALUABLE CAREER AND VOLUNTEER PERSONNEL at a rate that is having a negative impact on the department that will be hard to recover from.
This poor excuse for a chief will not step down. Why should he, he has no investment or ownership in our department. He will just move on to destroy another one eventually somewhere else like he's spent his entire career doing.
WE NEED TO RECALL THE MAYOR SO WE CAN GET SOMEONE IN THERE THAT WILL CORRECT THE PROBLEM !!!
I know plenty of people who are very happy at SFD. I think there are a few very vocal whiners there that would not be happy no matter what was done for them.
If there is a problem there document the problems, check with the other firemen, get signatures and put it out there to the public. Get a larger audience, paper, TV and radio but have the facts and the support of the other firemen or it’s just a boo hoo.
It was the vollies at station 2 that whined and cried about the last chief. Its the vollies at station 1 whinning about this chief. Add in the rejects from 16 that went to 1 and you get more problems. A pattern is developing here, Salisbury Volunteers. I say Salisbury because the volunteeer system works outside of Salisbury
Anonymous said...
So, that's all it takes to get a comment posted? Gee, what about the real issues and comments that really mean something?
September 25, 2011 12:11 AM
This sounds like Jeff Simpson trying to create a diversion to the real issue. HIM!
Anonymous said...
I know plenty of people who are very happy at SFD. I think there are a few very vocal whiners there that would not be happy no matter what was done for them.
September 25, 2011 7:36 AM
I know for a fact you are wrong! Name names! I am sure you are one of the butt kissers who will do anything to get promoted.
It all boils down to the fact that somebody hired a man for a position he not only isn't qualified for, has no experience in, and basically is clueless and lost bouncing from one extreme to the other not knowing what direction to go next. He's trying to correct problems that don't exist and in turn creating more problems.
This guy needs to go and it isn't the fault of the Fire Department it is solely the fact that he can't do what he was hired to do. HE'S WAY OVER HIS HEAD!
HE IS DESTROYING WHAT IS / WAS A GREAT DEPARTMENT.
The problems in the Salisbury Fire Department with the new chief need to be corrected before he does more damage than he's already created.
I know for a fact that the Mayor already has more than enough information and proof to fire this man and still continues to do nothing. In the private sector this would have been corrected long ago.
Agreed! This guy is in way over his head and has no experience what so ever to justify his appointment. I hear Debbie Campbell was one of his big supporters. Shame on you Debbie!!
Apparently this guy is accountable to NO ONE!! We tax payers deserve much better than this.
I will say people have supporting facts and have gone to the mayor and he refuses to address the issues. The vollies have been threatened by the chief and nothing will be investigated. Here is food for thought. Name something the chief has done good and don't say we got station patches or we can wear union shirts.
anon 1:29 PM said, " A pattern is developing here, Salisbury Volunteers. I say Salisbury because the volunteeer system works outside of Salisbury."
"VOLUNTEER SYSTEM WORKS OUTSIDE OF SALISBURY" !!! WELL I GUESS IT DOES AND THE REASON IS BECAUSE THE OTHER STATIONS DON'T HAVE PAID MEN SIT'N ON THEIR ASS'S, BORED WITH NOTHING TO DO ALL DAY BUT TO COME UP WITH WAYS TO DISCREDIT THE VOLUNTEERS IN HOPES THEY WILL LEAVE AND THE CITY WILL HIRE MORE PAID MEN REQUIRING MORE OFFICERS AND EVERYBODY BENEFITS EXCEPT THE TAXPAYER.
I can't wait to hear the whining when this additional burden is added to the taxpayer's !!!
I challenge all the city council members and the mayor to audit the last 3 months of the city fire department budget. This will open their eyes about wasteful spending of this clown with at title. Dig deep into the overtime budget and see how much money was wasted. Not only that, they will see who benefited from the overtime funding. Corruption and fraud at its best. This is nothing less than stealing from the tax payers.
Anonymous said...
anon 1:29 PM said, " A pattern is developing here, Salisbury Volunteers. I say Salisbury because the volunteeer system works outside of Salisbury."
"VOLUNTEER SYSTEM WORKS OUTSIDE OF SALISBURY" !!! WELL I GUESS IT DOES AND THE REASON IS BECAUSE THE OTHER STATIONS DON'T HAVE PAID MEN SIT'N ON THEIR ASS'S, BORED WITH NOTHING TO DO ALL DAY BUT TO COME UP WITH WAYS TO DISCREDIT THE VOLUNTEERS IN HOPES THEY WILL LEAVE AND THE CITY WILL HIRE MORE PAID MEN REQUIRING MORE OFFICERS AND EVERYBODY BENEFITS EXCEPT THE TAXPAYER.
I can't wait to hear the whining when this additional burden is added to the taxpayer's !!!
September 25, 2011 5:01 PM
It has nothing to do with volunteers whining or your perception of paid men sitting on their buts all day.
The problem is with leadership and the lack of. You have a mayor and council that hired an outsider who clearly is not qualified to lead a department of that size. You have a department head that could not walk through those doors and get hired as a basic firefighter/EMT. This guy leads by intimidation and by butt kissers. The biggest butt kisser is John Tull who convinced Simpson to make him the second highest ranking member of the Salisbury Fire Department by going outside the charter and inventing a new position of "Senior Assistant Chief." There is no such thing and this can be considered insubordination by the new department head. "Senior" Assistant Chief Tull has done everything in his power step over his "brothers" and to suck up to Simpson and the previous chiefs to get to where he is now.
Jeff Simpson is trying to build and empire for himself because he is infected with Little Man Syndrome.
Those 2 individuals are the biggest problem in the department now. Get rid of them both.
Its very sad what is going on. City hall has heard and knows something is going on. They hire people and defend them no matter what. Good people get hurt and leave the department with no hope of a cure. Only after a lawsuit does City Hall listen and act. By then its too late. My prayers are for action that will bring peace and harmony to the good people of the department.
Jonathan,
Thank you for showing your concern for these fine men and women. They need your help now more than ever.
anon 5:53 PM, are you saying a Senior Assistant Chief (what ever that is) is a higher rank than a Deputy Chief? How many trumpets are on his badge or does his have condom's on it?! Is this something like the Crew Leaders he invented!!! WTH ARE THEY TOO!!!
It's no wonder he refuses to conform to the County Radio Committee's SOP's with Officer designations because there are none for these fantasy positions.
It sounds like this clown is staffing a Tug Boat, not a Fire Department!
This chief is the most mentally unstable the department has ever had. He threatens everyone that does anything that he does not like. Did the mayor and council even check his background? Nobody in the 3 departments had ever heard of him,and that sounds very shady on someone's part.
Anonymous said...
I will say people have supporting facts and have gone to the mayor and he refuses to address the issues. The vollies have been threatened by the chief and nothing will be investigated. Here is food for thought. Name something the chief has done good and don't say we got station patches or we can wear union shirts.
September 25, 2011 4:43 PM
I agree. People have enough information to send this guy packing, but Ireton, Campbell and Cohen refuse to act on it.
This clown made every shift design a shift patch and if wasn't completed within his deadline he threatened them with punishment. The shift patches are a joke and a waste of money. They tax payers paid for the art work and the patches. What a JOKE!!
Anonymous said...
anon 5:53 PM, are you saying a Senior Assistant Chief (what ever that is) is a higher rank than a Deputy Chief? How many trumpets are on his badge or does his have condom's on it?! Is this something like the Crew Leaders he invented!!! WTH ARE THEY TOO!!!
It's no wonder he refuses to conform to the County Radio Committee's SOP's with Officer designations because there are none for these fantasy positions.
It sounds like this clown is staffing a Tug Boat, not a Fire Department!
September 25, 2011 8:24 PM
BINGO!!
That's correct. Simpson changed the job description making his "senior" assistant chief in charge of all departmental operations and the deputy is only responsible for a few admin staff.
Ass far as complying with the County SOP's and the radio designations he can't comply because he as created so many positions such as acting lieutenants and crew leaders for both career and volunteer officers. These people are barely qualified to be firefighters. He created all these feel good positions win the support of some of the personnel. These are the only people that are "happy." They are the butt kissers.
He is a problem and he is ruining a once fine department.
I recently saw Terry Cohen in the store and asked her when the Council was going to take care of the problems in the fire department. She told me she didn't know what I was talking about and hadn't heard anything?
Is that true? Are you people telling the Mayor and Council about the problems within the fire department? If not I suggest you do.
anon 11:01 PM said, "Is that true? Are you people telling the Mayor and Council about the problems within the fire department? If not I suggest you do."
YOU SUGGEST I TELL THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL?! Obviously you don't know this guy or have any background on what he's done to others that have stepped up and tried to have the problems (HIM) corrected.
This misfit is dangerous and has already ruined many career's and lives of good people and I can't afford to lose my job. He or the Mayor and Council can't be trusted - HE AND THEM LIE TO COVER THINGS UP!!!
This Chief is way over his head. he has no idea how to run this dept. other than in the ground, He has some great degree that makes him some sort of fire god, when the truth is he just made safety battalion chief in VA. What are his qualifications other than a degree in public administration. What a crock. He is an idiot and doesn't know how to tell the truth.
They want you to think it’s just a few disgruntled volunteers from station 1 but its bigger than that. Many can’t speak out because of threats and fear of retaliation. Officers spoke out in a meeting with the Mayor and the next day they were told they had to reapply for an officers position they already had. What timing huh. Gordy was confronted after the same meeting and he's gone now. How ironic. Two career men were demoted for unjustified charges and several quit before he got them. Good people are leaving needlessly and something has to give. This pot is boiling over.
1141 pm I agree with you on how this guy operates. He leads by fear and intimidation and people are afraid of him. Why are they afraid of him? Because they fear for their jobs. He is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
It is a great fire department, but the leadership is failing its membership. The Mayor and Council had the perfect opportunity to appoint the right person for the job, but they decided to play politics. Now it is costing tax dollars, jobs and careers.
Jim Ireton the ball is in your court now! It's up to you to do the right thing.
Get your comments out of your system at 6am this post will be closed to further comments. I gave you the chance to voice your displeasure since someone took the time to email me and give me their number to call, but it is not an open ended comment free for all. Please say what you feel must be said before I close it. Thanks
This needs to be moved to the stop so everyone can see what is going on in the Salisbury Fire Department.
Why isn't Albero posting on this like he used to? It's obvious Albero is in bed with Debbie Campbell and she calls all the shots for him.
I am glad this blogger is giving this attention.
Wow JT, you are not serious are you? This is the only chance the city has for taking it's fire department back.
I will allow comments however I will not keep moving back to top of page there are other things to be discussed as well.
This is important information that needs to get out and only your blog is doing it at this time. Thank you.
Mr. Grinch here is another thing alot of people don't know this new chief. He just recently hired several new "part-time" employees... no one really knows how these people got hired because no ad was run in the paper nor was there any posting of this position anywhere. No-one really knows to what standards these part time people were held to. They didn't go thru the same selection process any other paid member had to go thru. More people added to his yes man posse....Isn't there something in the city charter about the process of hiring??? How many laws did this man break here???
Wouldn't a "senior" assistant chief would indicate that the individual has more tenure than another? Not sure that's the case here; sounds more like a "position" that was created for someone.......... Keep diggin' Grinch! The public has a right to know how their FD is being managed....or mis-managed....whichever the case may be.
Senior Assistant Chief is a title Jethro Simpson invented for his patsy John Boy because he couldn't give him the title of Deputy Chief because there were already 2 Deputy Chiefs and he would have to demote one of them. Give Simpson credit he is smart enough to pull one over on Dumbo the Mayor!
Both volunteer and paid firemen HAVE THE RIGHT to know WHO was responsible for bringing in this mental fire chief.
There were others 100% more qualified that tried for that position so, how did this poor excuse of a fire chief get picked?
How were his qualifications better than the others?
11:42AM Jim Ireton, Debbie Campbell and Terry Cohen brought this unqualified clown to Salisbury so they are the responsible parties. He doesn't have the qualifications and they know it. This process went on for almost 2 years the they were very acquainted and well versed with the qualifications. They caved into politics and favoritism. This entire fiasco will be their downfall come the very next election.
IT APPEARS THE FAKE FIRE CHIEF HAS SURVIVED ANOTHER ROUND OF CONTROVERSY.
This is unbeliveable that a City Department Head can be so inept and keep his job. We as tax payers have much bigger problems than the incompetent fire chief apparently.
It's no wonder people quit caring and just give up. This is sad - very sad.
Thanks for trying to help Jonathan. You gave us a forum to expose or discuss this important issue but it seems the complaints have fallen on deaf ears again.
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