How soon we forget –
does everyone remember this from February 2007 this was printed in the
Worcester Telegram – Thanks Darren
Templeton seniors
scold selectman; Council on Aging director is defended after officials'
yearlong clash
TEMPLETON - After a year of alleged threats and haranguing, Selectman Robert Columbus' campaign against the town's elderly services director didn't quite end the way he planned.
In a December letter to the Council on Aging, Mr. Columbus detailed a handful of allegations against its director, Doreen C. Noble,
When it was all over - that is, after Mr. Columbus gave some nonspecific
replies and then took his seat - a Council on Aging member told him he must
re-evaluate the way he deals with problems. Then, the council unanimously
agreed to put the issue behind it, and praised Ms. Noble for her work. And that, apparently, is that.
The conflict apparently began in January 2006, when a broken heating system leaked carbon monoxide into the Council on Aging building. Employees were feeling sick, and Ms. Noble had the building evacuated. She called the town health agent, and then the Board of Selectmen.
The health agent arrived shortly after, as did Mr. Columbus. But instead of focusing on the problem, Ms. Noble said, Mr. Columbus berated her for not coming to work a few days before. He is her boss, he allegedly told her, and she needs to listen to him.
As it turns out, Ms. Noble was legitimately off work that day. It was a snowy day and the local schools had closed; when that happens, the Senior Center closes as well.
Mr. Columbus denies that he was aggressive with Ms. Noble. He said he was simply passing along a message from the selectmen, and it wasn't intended to be mean-spirited.
From that point on, their encounters tended to be confrontational, and according to Ms. Noble, he once told her she "would be a very sorry little girl, and there would be payback."
At a selectmen's meeting in September, Mr. Columbus was vying to become chairman. Ms. Noble was in attendance and spoke up, claiming he is difficult to work with and would be a hindrance to town departments. He is, she said, a totalitarian.
A few days later, Mr. Columbus wrote Ms. Noble's annual job evaluation. She is "disrespectful to supervisors" and "unwilling to adjust to change," he wrote. Upon seeing that, the Council on Aging demanded a new evaluation.
"Doreen goes out of her way to work cooperatively with all departments," the group wrote in a letter to selectmen.
A new, more positive evaluation was written, and Mr. Columbus said it was time for everyone to move on. The Council on Aging agreed.
But in December, Mr. Columbus sent a letter to the council, detailing complaints he has against Ms. Noble. Among them, he wrote that she opposed his nomination as chairman during the selectmen's meeting, and that she was "rude, very disrespectful and insubordinate
The conflict apparently began in January 2006, when a broken heating system leaked carbon monoxide into the Council on Aging building. Employees were feeling sick, and Ms. Noble had the building evacuated. She called the town health agent, and then the Board of Selectmen.
The health agent arrived shortly after, as did Mr. Columbus. But instead of focusing on the problem, Ms. Noble said, Mr. Columbus berated her for not coming to work a few days before. He is her boss, he allegedly told her, and she needs to listen to him.
As it turns out, Ms. Noble was legitimately off work that day. It was a snowy day and the local schools had closed; when that happens, the Senior Center closes as well.
Mr. Columbus denies that he was aggressive with Ms. Noble. He said he was simply passing along a message from the selectmen, and it wasn't intended to be mean-spirited.
From that point on, their encounters tended to be confrontational, and according to Ms. Noble, he once told her she "would be a very sorry little girl, and there would be payback."
At a selectmen's meeting in September, Mr. Columbus was vying to become chairman. Ms. Noble was in attendance and spoke up, claiming he is difficult to work with and would be a hindrance to town departments. He is, she said, a totalitarian.
A few days later, Mr. Columbus wrote Ms. Noble's annual job evaluation. She is "disrespectful to supervisors" and "unwilling to adjust to change," he wrote. Upon seeing that, the Council on Aging demanded a new evaluation.
"Doreen goes out of her way to work cooperatively with all departments," the group wrote in a letter to selectmen.
A new, more positive evaluation was written, and Mr. Columbus said it was time for everyone to move on. The Council on Aging agreed.
But in December, Mr. Columbus sent a letter to the council, detailing complaints he has against Ms. Noble. Among them, he wrote that she opposed his nomination as chairman during the selectmen's meeting, and that she was "rude, very disrespectful and insubordinate
" toward him.
That set up yesterday's hearing, held by the Council on Aging in the Senior Center. About 20 seniors sat in folding chairs on one side of the room; on the other was the council, Ms. Noble, Ms. Noble's lawyer and a court reporter the lawyer had brought.
The lawyer, Nancy Binder, mostly ran the show. She called witnesses - Ms. Noble, some co-workers and acquaintances - and had them all take an oath, administered by the court reporter. They spoke of the times Mr. Columbus allegedly harassed Ms. Noble, and of how much work she does for local seniors.
Toward the end, when Mr. Columbus raised his hand to speak, Mrs. Binder demanded that he take the oath and step up to "the stand," which was just an area of the floor.
He began defending himself, saying he never threatened Ms. Noble, but Mrs. Binder quickly jumped in. She asked: Wasn't he acting in retaliation for Ms. Noble's actions at the selectmen's meeting? She wanted details: When was Ms. Noble, as he wrote, rude and insubordinate?
He mumbled. He looked down, or rifled through a stack of papers he was holding. He said he couldn't remember specifics.
"You expect this board to believe, after everything that they've heard today, that this is not a retaliation?" she asked him in a stern, lawyerly tone.
"They can believe whatever they want," Mr. Columbus said.
And they did.
One member, Bayard Peabody, got up and gave a long speech, which he said he had practiced the night before. Mr. Columbus will be forgiven, he said, but this must be a learning experience.
"You've got to be careful about how you approach things, and that what you were doing was wrong," Mr. Peabody told Mr. Columbus.
That set up yesterday's hearing, held by the Council on Aging in the Senior Center. About 20 seniors sat in folding chairs on one side of the room; on the other was the council, Ms. Noble, Ms. Noble's lawyer and a court reporter the lawyer had brought.
The lawyer, Nancy Binder, mostly ran the show. She called witnesses - Ms. Noble, some co-workers and acquaintances - and had them all take an oath, administered by the court reporter. They spoke of the times Mr. Columbus allegedly harassed Ms. Noble, and of how much work she does for local seniors.
Toward the end, when Mr. Columbus raised his hand to speak, Mrs. Binder demanded that he take the oath and step up to "the stand," which was just an area of the floor.
He began defending himself, saying he never threatened Ms. Noble, but Mrs. Binder quickly jumped in. She asked: Wasn't he acting in retaliation for Ms. Noble's actions at the selectmen's meeting? She wanted details: When was Ms. Noble, as he wrote, rude and insubordinate?
He mumbled. He looked down, or rifled through a stack of papers he was holding. He said he couldn't remember specifics.
"You expect this board to believe, after everything that they've heard today, that this is not a retaliation?" she asked him in a stern, lawyerly tone.
"They can believe whatever they want," Mr. Columbus said.
And they did.
One member, Bayard Peabody, got up and gave a long speech, which he said he had practiced the night before. Mr. Columbus will be forgiven, he said, but this must be a learning experience.
"You've got to be careful about how you approach things, and that what you were doing was wrong," Mr. Peabody told Mr. Columbus.
Bayard Peabody may have forgiven boob columbus, but I don't. Because columbus went right out and disrepected another town employee, Tammy Coller. columbus and jerry skelton each wrote letters to the gardner news, you know that independent unbiased newspaper, socalled in gardner, calling for her to resign because jerry lost an election. See TGN July 28,2010, page 6. "I agree with mr. skelton that her resignation is appropriate, otherwise it will be open season on public officials." Well columbus needs to understand something, if you listen to the people, do the right thing and treat people with a little respect, even if it is not heart felt, but you do not belittle them in public, there will be no open season on you. When you spear head a recall campaign because you don't like the outcome of something political, you impose your rules without any vote and you totally ignore the taxpayers, then you may expect them to come after you. You (columbus) apparently did not learn a damn thing from that incident and you will now pay for it in an election loss, we all hope and pray anyways. A good start would be to stop picking your nose on camera. And probably stop cussing at the taxpayers too, as when you walk out of a meeting and call them f--king a--holes, not a good way to have a cooperative relationship with the voters
ReplyDeleteGo to Truth on the citizens4templeton.com homepage. There you will find a link to :
ReplyDeleteEmployee Complaints. This entry describes the very similar harassment of the former town treasurer. Anyone else think it strange that both the treasurer and the assistant would depart within weeks of each other? How many more losses will the town sustain under "Team Columbus"?