Will Whistle Blower Randy Rogers be Jailed?

Will Whistle Blower Randy Rogers be Jailed?

Vice Chairman Gary A. House

Harnett County Board of Commissioners

I have carefully reviewed a letter dated August 25, 2014 from Attorney David Senter from the law firm of Nexen Pruet to Attorney Coy Brewer, Jr. who represents Randy Rogers in a civil lawsuit brought on by Harnett County against the advice of both Harnett County’s internal and external attorneys.

The letter states that Mr. Rogers turned over 1500 pages of documents on or about June 17, 2014 to Senter’s office.  Senter claims that no original documents were returned.  To my knowledge, Mr. Rogers had no original documents.  I seriously doubt all 1500 pages came from Harnett County Public Utilities files.  Mr. Rogers obtained documents from the internet.  He also visited other governmental agencies that freely gave him access to public files and let him make copies.  I know this for a fact because on occasion I accompanied him.

I have never known Mr. Rogers to possess any records that were not public records. 

The letter itemizes 51 items that Senter alleges that Mr. Rogers has in his possession that have not been returned.  Many of those items never existed, are on Harnett County’s server, or are on record at the Register of Deeds.

According to Mr. Rogers, this is the third time that Senter has threatened him with incarceration for contempt of court.  I do believe that there should be incarcerations but Mr. Rogers is not one of the one’s who should be jailed.   Harnett County has not heard both sides of the story nor does it want to.  It has let a few rogue employees dictate spending over ½ million dollars in order to make an example out Mr. Rogers, a whistle blower.   I talked with two commissioners yesterday that did not even know that Harnett County was still paying Senter for his legal services.  The County Board has not been updated in many months.  Who is directing the attorney and what are their motives—to protect themselves perhaps?

Several of the items in the list of unreturned items were addressed by me in my deposition last year.  Mr. Rogers saw some of those public records such as the Country Walk Investigation at my office.  He did not possess them.  Still the County wants him to return a public document that is in my possession that I obtained from our staff attorney.  She told me the investigation was a public document except for the attorney’s opinion in the front.  I showed Mr. Rogers the investigation minus the attorney’s opinion so he could help me clarify some questions.  Of course, now, the County is claiming the whole investigation was attorney client privileged and not public.

I did take the County Walk Investigation notebook to the County Manager Scott Sauer and asked what we were going to do for these people.  He told me “if they asked for it, we would have to give it to them because it was public record but if we did not tell them it existed, they would not know to ask for it.”

I had the County Attorney and County Manager both tell me it was public record.  When this lawsuit came about, it went from being a public record to a non-public record because it helped the County manipulate the process.  Evidently, Senter was not listening in my deposition in the Country Walk issue.  I clearly stated that Mr. Rogers reviewed my copy of the public document in my office with me.

In my capacity as a Commissioner, which I have always taken very seriously, I worked closely with Mr. Rogers.  Frankly, I never reviewed or saw many of the 51 items that the County wants returned.  Mr. Rogers worked diligently to prove that corruption existed in Harnett County.  He would have shown me any information that proved his allegations.  He showed me more than enough for me to give him immense credibility.  I also verified information with other employees and other governmental agencies. 

Mr. Rogers never showed up at my office with a tractor trailer full of documents that apparently the County pretends to believe he has in his possession.

Back in 2013, Senter tried to settle the case with making numerous, one-sided demands.  Rogers would basically have to withdraw all public records requests.  He could not speak on the issue ever again unless compelled by law.  He had to acknowledge that public utilities had been cleared of any wrongdoing.  He could not make public records requests in the future for past events.  He would have to accept responsibility and acknowledge wrongful conduct among a host of other demands.

As you can see, Senter was trying to place a gag order on Mr. Rogers.  The only reason that a gag order would be imposed would be because the defendant/whistle blower had information that would be detrimental to the County.  They have to keep Rogers quiet to protect those in the wrong.

As far as acknowledging that public utilities had been cleared of any wrongdoing, that has not been done to this date even though some in the County my claim that it has.  As a matter of fact, I was defendant in this lawsuit as well.  I settled with the County of an intense six months of negotiations in November of 2013.  One item that I demanded in my settlement was for the County to hire an outside investigator to examine the contracts, policies and procedures of Harnett County Public Utilities.  Has that been done?  Absolutely not.  The County is in violation of its settlement with me.  Even Commissioner Jim Burgin has told me in the past that if anyone ever looked at public utilities that they would find improprieties.  Commissioner Beatrice Hill has told me the same thing.

Fact is no one has investigated Mr. Rogers’ allegations that did not have motives to conceal. 

Mr. Rogers is correct in his assertions.  I have no doubt.

It is a sad day when the attorney for a local government threatens to persuade a judge to jail an innocent man, a whistle blower who had the best intentions of Harnett County at heart.

Farewell to Harnett County

Farewell to Harnett County

Vice Chairman Gary A. House

Harnett County Board of Commissioners

I realize that this blog may seem like it is a couple of months premature but I believe the timing is right.

In my eight years as a Harnett County Commissioner, I have met many wonderful people and I have helped anyone who has called me to the best of my ability.  I have honored my promises to be accessible and to listen.

I have also honored my promise to fight to restore inpatient mental health beds in Harnett County.  After a 6 ½ year struggle, those beds are now operational and people in our community are receiving the care they need.  The facility’s census remains high and it is doing well.

My fourth promise while campaigning eight years ago was to stop the backroom deals.  That promise proved to be more challenging that the first three promises. 

I had the fortune of working with Randy Rogers, a whistle blower who was a Harnett County employee, in my time on the Board.  When I became a Commissioner, no one gave me a manual on how to deal with a whistleblower.  Some of the information Mr. Rogers shared with me appeared to implicate elected officials, employees, and contractors.  I always made Commissioner Jim Burgin aware of any information Mr. Rogers shared with me.  Neither the outside nor inside legal counsel for the County would talk to me confidentially.  I was basically left on my own to deal with a whistleblower that had massive amounts of knowledge about the inner workings of the County.  I have seen and verified enough that I have NO doubt that Mr. Rogers’ claims are legitimate.

Harnett County officials decided to seek legal action against Mr. Rogers and me.  That action in itself is a classic, well documented way to deal with a whistleblower, to keep him quiet.  Someone other than me must have thought Mr. Rogers had a lot of incriminating information for the County to spend nearly ½ million dollars trying to keep him from speaking.

Even though the public may not realize it, due to Mr. Rogers bringing attention to the corruption, there have been retirements in both the public and private sector.  The elected officials that may have been involved no longer hold office.  Much of the network that was in place has been eliminated.  There are still a few bad apples left in the cart but the major players are no longer in place.

In that sense, I, with the help of Mr. Rogers, was successful in stopping some of the backroom deals. 

I have come to the conclusion that no one will ever be able to clean up everything.  The players change but the corruption and attempts at political and financial gain will always be with us.

Over the last couple of years, I have been an outspoken voice for our school system.  I did not want to leave my elected seat with massive overcrowding in our schools.  I have fought to bring attention to this issue.  Our children deserve better than what we are giving them.  Our teachers deserve higher supplements than they receive.

In the eight years that I have been on the board, I have voted for one tax increase.  The reason I voted for the increase was simply that our schools need more money to deal with the influx of new students moving to our County because of Ft. Bragg.

I do feel good about leaving office with the Harnett County employees having better health insurance than they have had over the last few years.  We have many great employees in Harnett County.  I know that we lose some of those employees to neighboring counties that offer better pay and benefits.    I challenge the incoming board to fix this issue. 

Even though it has been at great personal sacrifice, I would not trade the experience that I have had over the last eight years for anything.  It has truly been an education that I wish everyone could have.

I leave the Harnett County government knowing that I did my best to serve the people of my district and County in a fair and equitable manner.

I leave the County in the capable hands of Manager Tommy Burns.  Other counties will no doubt try to hire Mr. Burns away from us.  I hope that he loves living in Harnett County enough that he will not be lured by other offers.

I will always cherish the friendships that I have foraged throughout the County and among the County employees.

It has truly been a wonderful ride.  But the time has come for me to rest, for a little while.

Harnett Gun Owners Have Fire in Bellies

Harnett Gun Owners Have Fire in Bellies

Vice Chairman Gary A. House

Harnett County Board of Commissioners

On Monday night approximately 250 to 300 Harnett gun owners rallied at the Harnett County Board of Commissioners meeting to speak against a new PROPOSED ordinance at a public hearing that could limit their ability to fire their guns on their property.

Many of the residents who spoke read and understood the PROPOSED ordinance.  It was obvious that others had not read or understood the PROPOSED ordinance.  One gentleman approached me before the public hearing with a copy of the ordinance in his hand and started asking questions.  It quickly became obvious to me that he had not read the ordinance.  Finally I asked him if he had read it.  He admitted that he had not even though it was in his hand.  He was going by what others had led him to believe. 

Many who spoke at the meeting accused the Commissioners of having our minds made up before the public hearing was started.  I cannot speak for the other Commissioners but I know my mind was not made up prior to our meeting.  I had issues with the ordinance myself.  I even posted the ordinance on my FaceBook page once I had it in a PDF format and asked for people’s opinions.  Yes, I received several opinions because I reached out to the community.

I came into the public hearing with an open mind.  I have always listened to my constituents.  I made a promise to my constituents that I would always listen to them and take their views into consideration over eight years ago.  I have always lived up to that promise.  Yes, I did take it a little personal at the hearing when person after person, some who were friends of mine, kept saying that all of the Commissioners had already had their minds made up and we were going to vote on it later that night.

A public hearing is just that--a public hearing.  Sometimes there are votes to approve or deny a PROPOSED ordinance on the night it is presented.  Sometimes the ordinance is tabled and sent back to the Planning Department for modification.  There are some good things is this ordinance, which I have read numerous times.  There are also some over reaching items in the ordinance.

I did learn a lot by listening to the many residents who spoke at the meeting.  I would be negligent in my duties and promises if my mind were made up before I listened to the people of Harnett County.  There are many things in this ordinance that need to be eliminated or altered.  It may be that the entire ordinance needs to be dropped.  However, there is one item in the ordinance that needs to be addressed in some fashion.  Projectiles should not leave a person’s property endangering the lives of others. 

I am certain that almost 100% of the people who attended the public hearing have exemplary safety practices where bullets end up in a natural berm or a manmade berm.  However, that is not the case for all gun owners shooting on their property.  An example of that was giving to me by our zoning inspector.  One gunman was shooting at a target attached to a pine tree with no berm behind it.  As a matter of fact, a pond was behind the tree on someone else’s land.  If the gunman missed the target, the stray bullet could have hit a child fishing in the pond.  The Sheriff does need to have an ordinance that has some teeth in it that would address this issue.  We cannot allow unsafe gun practices especially when our lands are being replaced with a rapid influx of people and new subdivisions.

Many people claimed at the hearing that their Second Amendment rights were being assaulted.  That certainly was not the intent.  Personally, I have had no phone calls about noise or exploding targets even though other Commissioners claim they have and the Sheriff claims he has also. 

My chief concern is the ones who do not exhibit good gun safety practices and the health and safety of the ones potentially affected.

Changing directions a little bit, it was wonderful seeing concerned citizens pack the county board room last night with fire in their bellies.  Sometimes, I wonder if apathy has paralyzed the citizens of the county.  Apathy was certainly not evident last night. We have a lot of important issues in the County that need addressing.  Explosive growth in our traditional rural lands has caused concerns over gun safety practices. 

That same explosive growth has created tremendous demands on our school system.  That growth has generated complaints from parents with children in the system.  But honestly, I have not seen the fire in the bellies of the parents at our board meetings that I saw in the Harnett County gun owners last night. 

We have a school bond referendum on the ballot in November to assist us in financing the schools we desperately need.  I would like to see the community use the fire in the bellies of Harnett County gun owners and stand up and demand that we pass these bonds and look after the education of our children.

Parents, you need to start that fire in your bellies for our kids just like the Harnett gun owners exhibited last night for their right to use their guns.  Property owners have the right to fire their weapons on their property in a safe manner just as our kids have the right to a good, quality education in a comfortable setting. 

I challenge all of you to rid yourselves of political apathy, take a stand on important issues with a burning fire in your bellies.  If not, we all suffer.

Harnett Man Announces Candidacy for US President

Harnett Man Announces Candidacy for US President

Gary A. House

I turned on my computer the other day and an announcement from local historian, author, house mover, entrepreneur, and US patriot Bryan Keith Avery popped up on my computer screen claiming that he intends to run for President of the United States of America.

Mr. Avery is one of the most patriotic men that I have ever met.  He, no doubt, grew up with parents that instilled national pride and Christian values in him.  He grew up believing he could be President of the United States of America.

Mr. Avery’s campaign will be run without money.  It will be run on social media.  Money has destroyed our political system.  If you do not have money or the ability to raise millions of dollars, you no longer have much chance to represent your neighbors in the USA.  Political Action Groups, ruthless political consultants and special interests have destroyed the fairness in our electoral process.  Please help Mr. Avery prove that statement wrong and spread his word.

Why would Mr. Avery want to be President of the United States?  I have not discussed it with him but I know Mr. Avery well enough to know that when he sees something wrong, he wants to fix it.  Obviously, Mr. Avery sees something wrong in the United States of America and the world.  He believes he can overhaul the sputtering engine of the greatest nation ever.

Where would Mr. Avery start his work as President?  What would the USA look like under Mr. Avery’s leadership?  It would be a massive undertaking but Mr. Avery is always up for a challenge.

I believe the first thing Mr. Avery would do is to declare the USA a Christian state.  Other religions would be tolerated but Jesus Christ would be the Lord of the Land.  Prayer would be returned to schools.  The Ten Commandments would be in US Government buildings.  Christians would no longer be discriminated against in our own country.

Mr. Avery would restore the pride in raising an American family.  Fathers would once again be in the homes of their children helping the mothers guide their children to the righteous way to live their lives.  Families would once again be a cohesive unit.  Kids would be returned to the right path.  With a strong family and church fiber, they would resist the temptation of evil, violence, drugs, alcohol and gangs.

Being a strong patriot, Mr. Avery would restore pride in what the USA was built on and used to stand for.  We are the greatest democracy ever in the world.  Mr. Avery would never let us forget it.  Mr. Avery would preach the words of our founding fathers.  He would restore who we are as a Nation and as a People.

Our Constitution would once again be followed. 

Mr. Avery, a devout Christian, would recognize our role in the world and would act as a peacemaker for all of the unrest in the world.  Mr. Avery would not allow Christians to be persecuted and murdered throughout the world.  Even though it may seem impossible, I believe Mr. Avery would find a peaceful way to settle the disputes of the world.

Even with peace embedded in his heart, Mr. Avery would ensure that the American military was strong enough to protect our homeland and our People.  Our borders would be protected from terrorists, illegal immigrants, and drug smugglers who put our Nation at risk. 

Americans would have the right to bear arms. 

Being a protector of life, an unborn fetus would be recognized as a living human being.

Marriage would be the union of one man and one woman.

All welfare recipients would be required to have mandatory drug tests.  Positive tests would allow the users to get the professional help they need in order to get their life back to once again join the workforce.

Mr. Avery would make the US Government as small as possible and the least intrusive as possible.  If feasible, I am certain the Internal Revenue Service would be disbanded.  The money you earn would be yours after the essential needs of the USA are met.  I have no doubt that Americans would not mind paying our fair share of the essential needs after Mr. Avery eliminated the waste from our spending.

If Mr. Avery could accomplish all of these things, the USA and the world would be a much better place, peace would returned, our families would be strong, and the Holy Spirit would circle the globe.

On the seventh day, President Avery would rest.

Protecting Our Majestic Cape Fear River from Fracking

Protecting Our Majestic Cape Fear River

Vice Chairman Gary A. House

Harnett County Board of Commissioners

I have often paddled length of the Cape Fear River in Harnett County.  We have the most scenic section of the river right here in Harnett County.  I have often described it as majestic or pristine.

The Cape Fear River is formed by the confluence of the Haw River and Deep River at Jordan Lake.  Soon, after you enter the river on the Chatham County line, you paddle through a rock garden, a maze to 1000’s of rocks that quickly lets you know that you are in the Central Piedmont.  I have seen Bald Eagles towering above in the sky, perched in trees, and even taking a break on the rocks.

Later downstream, Lanier Falls and Fish Traps offer a paddler a fun ride through Raven Rock State Park.  Further downstream on the way to Erwin, there is many more rock formations including Narrow Gap and Smylie’s Falls. Much wildlife is seen along the Cape Fear River including Bald Eagles, blue heron, osprey, turtles, vultures, deer, carp, catfish, long nosed gar, and bass among many other species.

I love to spend time on the river observing nature and navigating the rapids that we have in Harnett County.

Recent environmental mishaps or disasters have raised my awareness of our need to protect our majestic Cape Fear River in Harnett County.

Recently in Rockingham County, an open, earthen water pit had a pipe that broke and leaked coal ash into the Dan River.  Coal ash comes from burning coal. It is waste water stored in pits and contains arsenic, mercury, lead, and other metals.  Much of this byproduct is toxic.

Also, recently, nearly 500 barrels of hydrochloric acid was released in Kingfisher County in Oklahoma when there was an issue with a holding tank.  The incident was a fracking related accident.

Recently in British Columbia, a breach of a wastewater pit from a copper and gold mine polluted Hazeltine Creek, Quesnel Lake and Polley Lake with over five million cubic meters of toxic waste.  The effects of this spill will likely spread beyond these bodies of water. 

I am sure the politicians in these three areas thought these methods of holding wastewater from mining type operations were safe and told the public they were safe.

A few weeks ago the chairman of the NC Mining and Energy Commission and Lee County Commissioner Jim Womack told over 100 residents from Harnett County that the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) industry are trade secrets and could not be revealed to the public. 

Fracking is expected to begin in Lee County in 2015.  Any breaches would likely end up in the Deep River which becomes part of our Cape Fear River.  Such breaches as described above have the potential to be devastating to Harnett County.  Twenty-four percent of North Carolina’s water is supplied by the Cape Fear River.  Over 90% of Harnett residents get our water from the Cape Fear River.

I do not want to wake up one morning and see hydrochloric acid, arsenic, or other unnamed chemicals floating through Harnett County destroying our wildlife, fish, and environment.  Our residents do not need to live in fear of the activities upstream.  The health, safety, and welfare of our residents need to be protected.

Mr. Womack claimed that we could not entice the fracking industry to come to North Carolina if the regulations were too stringent.  We should put the people first not the lure of fracking companies.

When fracking does occur in North Carolina and it will, the rules and regulations should be stringent enough to protect our majestic Cape Fear River and our people.

We should hold our politicians accountable to ensure we have no environmental disasters in our future.

“Pulling a Fast One on the Harnett County School Board”

“Pulling a Fast One on the Harnett County School Board”

Vice Chairman Gary A. House

Harnett County Board of Commissioners

I had one of the worst insults hurled at me today that I have experienced while serving you as your County Commissioner over the last eight years.

I was told that the Harnett County Board of Commissioners is “pulling a fast one on the Harnett County School Board.”  When I pressed for clarification, the gentleman proclaimed that the County Commissioners only voted to put the $100 million of school bonds on the ballot to November so it would be voted down.  Then the County Board could go back to the School Board and say “Well, we tried.  The voters do not want it.  There is nothing we can do.”

I was the one who suggested putting the school bonds on the ballot in November.  I am the one who made the motion and had the resolution prepared.  It was a unanimous vote to have a bond referendum on the ballot.   I cannot speak for the other commissioners but I did NOT try to “pull a fast one on the School Board.”  I do not operate that way.  Based on conversations that I have had with Chairman Joe Miller and Commissioner Beatrice Hill, I do not believe they intended to “pull a fast one on the School Board” either.

Personally, I would never play games with the education of our children.  I realize that we have a massive problem with the overcrowding of our schools.  For that reason, I have been a vocal proponent of our school system for the last few years.

Some commissioners misled the public stating that if they voted to pass the ¼ cent sales tax, property taxes would not increase.  I stood up in a joint meeting with the School Board and held the ¼ cent sales tax resolution up for all to see and told them it would not be a drop in the bucket for what our mounting needs are.  I further stated that we could not go around telling people that it was an either/or proposition.  The very next week I started getting reports that some commissioners were telling constituents that if they voted for the sales tax, property taxes would not increase.

I cannot help that some commissioners have their heads in the sand and tell the residents of Harnett County things that are not true.  Those commissioners are the same ones who voted to start funding a capital reserve fund for the schools in order to pass the budget in 2013-2014.  When it came time for them to transfer the money, they refused.  They also refused to transfer the money for a sale of property that was intended to go into the capital reserve fund for schools.

Some commissioners may be playing games with the School Board on the bond referendum.  But Gary House is not nor will he ever “pull a fast one on the School Board” or anyone else for that matter.

As I have stated in a previous blog, if the school bonds are not passed in November, a future board will be forced to use other forms of financing such as Certificates of Participation (COPS) that will likely carry a higher interest rate than the bonds. 

Depending on how the election transpires in November, additional schools may not be built until other commissioners are replaced or they attempt to head to the big City of Raleigh in two years.

Our school system cannot continue to endure the underfunding of its capital needs. 

The ones hurt by “pulling a fast one on the School Board” will be our kids and ultimately our communities.

Shout Out to Little Greg Varner

Shout Out to Little Greg Varner

Gary A. House

Almost 14 years ago, I met an infant at Judy’s Learning Center.  This kid, Little Greg Varner from Coats, would quickly become one of my son’s best friends and one of my little buddies.

As my son Tyler and Little Greg got a little older, I had the privilege of coaching them in T-ball, coach pitch baseball, soccer, and basketball.  Little Greg quickly developed the personality that attracted many friends to him.  He has always been a joy to be around except for maybe when he and Tyler flew an endless supply of nerf darts all throughout our house.  He and Tyler always have a good time when they are together.

About the time I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes, Little Greg was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.  Juvenile diabetes can be a scary thing for eight or nine year old kid not to mention his parents and other adults.

I have to admit that I was somewhat nervous about being the one to supervise Little Greg when he came over to the house or when he went somewhere with me and Tyler.

One day at our house, I saw Little Greg pull out a needle and inject himself with insulin.  That was a vision that I could not get out of my head.  Little Greg quickly learned what he needed to do to control his diabetes.  I made up my mind right then that I would not shy away from spending time with Little Greg which would have been easy to do.

Little Greg and Tyler have spent a lot of time together since his diagnosis about 6 years ago.  They have played recreation football and middle school football together.  I again coached them in little league baseball last year.  Little Greg has even kayaked from Lillington to Erwin with us.  He has been camping with us.

He often spends time at Uwharrie camping and riding horses with his dad, Big Greg Varner.

This disease has not slowed Little Greg down in the slightest.  I know, at times, he had a hard time understanding why he developed juvenile diabetes.  He has always bounced back.  He enjoys life to the fullest.

Little Greg wants to help other kids deal with this disease.  A couple of years ago, it was his idea to participate in a walk for juvenile diabetes research in Raleigh.  My family and some other of his friends proudly went to Raleigh and walked with Little Greg.  Upon arriving I was given a pink shirt with Cowboy Up For Little Greg on it that was designed by his mother Susan Varner and Little Greg.  I often don this shirt around even on workdays to play tribute to Little Greg.

If you did not already know that Little Greg has juvenile diabetes, you probably would never know.  He does carry a black case around with his diabetic supplies.  Most people probably think it is a video game case.  He does wear a square pump on his arm that helps him monitor his condition.  He even wears it when he plays football.

Little Greg loves his football.  He called Tyler a few weeks ago and asked him to join him next week in a two week weightlifting and conditioning class to be put on by the Dunn Parks and Recreation Department.  Little Greg wants to get in shape for the upcoming middle school football season. 

One has to admire this young man in how he has tackled juvenile diabetes head on.  It does not surprise me that Little Greg has reacted this way.  He hits this disease much like he hits a tailback coming through the hole. 

I am looking forward to seeing Little Greg, Tyler and the rest of their friends on the football field this fall. 

There are no obstacles that Little Greg cannot overcome.  He has proven that to me.

Cowboy Up for Little Greg.

Note:  I call Little Greg simply Greg.  It is his mom that puts Little in front of it to distinguish him from his dad who has the same name.