How it’s Supposed to Work!

Gentlemen, I have waited for the right time to comment and now is it. I will start with you guys, and work my way to the county board here in Iroquois County. I would like to also say that I am all for making sure our government officials are on the up and up, and using tax dollars wisely, but the way this is being done is ludicrous!! Here are some things I would like to discuss with both of you, since you are so up on all the laws and statutes in our great state!! First of all Mr. Kraft, you were at the meeting that was deemed “illegal” in Gilman last Monday I believe it was. You interrupted them to tell them that it was an Illegal meeting, stating, and I quote, “you do not have the agenda posted on the outside of this building, and you do not have a quorum with only 4 members”. First of all, if you knew your statutes like you two say you do, you would know that the meeting, or agenda does not have to be posted on the outside of the building you are using! It only has to be on the main building, or on the website!! Mistake number 1! Mistake number 2 is when you said they didn’t have a quorum! The statutes specifically say that with 7 members, 4 is a quorum. There are currently only 7 voting members on the health board. So for you to interrupt a meeting, you should know your laws! And they can sit and talk about public business even without a quorum but just can’t vote. You said they could not do that, and that is incorrect! And is there a reason why none of the local papers around you will print anything you two have to say? We all know the reason why. They are not in the business of smear campaigns, but rather doing their homework before they print stuff, or put it on a website!! It is a shame that doctors, and good people that have served on the health board are having their names drug through the mud with this. They have practices and patients that may draw conclusions based on the garbage currently being presented.
If you would have done your homework before you started this little witch hunt, spearheaded by our County Board Chairman Mr. Copus, you would have thought twice before getting into this! Without going into detail, I can’t wait until the items you have brought up in the last month are proven to be not of consequence, and you have to retract your stories, and accusations!!!
Now, let’s get on to the County board!! First of all, our great county board chairman made the statement that he drove by the health board meeting site and didn’t see the agenda posted on the building, so he left. That’s good; he doesn’t know the law either. If he was so interested in being on the health board like he said, then right or wrong, he should have stopped to say something. But instead he leaves. That shows his ignorance towards the law, as well as his arrogance. And is there a reason why, after 2 audits a year of the health department, one by an outside agency, and one by our own county board, that NOTHING has ever been a “red flag” as you so eloquently call it. If that is the case, should we not fire our accounting firm that does the county audits! We are not only talking 1 year, but ever!!!!! Our county board chairman, as well as yourselves, can’t even convince the Ford County board that there are issues. Why? Because there are none! Let’s talk about how if you are going to investigate the health department, also take a look elsewhere. Why don’t you ask for your FOIA papers from the county board and their actions? I would love for you to find out how, if there is a freeze on hiring in the county, that our county board chairman can hire a secretary. Also find out about the bids done improperly with our county mowers that were sold, and the fact that they were purchased by Kyle Anderson’s father in law. If you aren’t sure, Kyle is a county board member, and the right hand man of Copus on the board. And then there is the fact that Copus has lied through his teeth to the board and public. He was quoted in more than one paper that he “had the votes on the board to shut the health department down”. And then, when the public showed up at the county meeting to voice our displeasure, and ask for answers he said he never said that! He’s a coward when confronted. And this is not the first time he has lied or deceived the public. And when he was asked by one of his own board members why a committee didn’t interview his appointees to the health board, he said this was a “special situation”. If it were me, given the importance of these nominations, I would have surely had other board members meet with them as well. But he’s Copus, and he can do what he wants!
If there were problems with the health department, the health board, as well as the auditors would have caught those. And the county board should have as well since they are responsible to oversee all expenditures by the health department. That cracks me up. The county board is confused about purchases that they should know about anyway. Isn’t that ironic.
Do you gentlemen know why gift cards are used by the health department? You have no idea. But if you would have asked, they could have told you. They are used because people would spend money on other things if it wasn’t regulated by gift cards. The state has certain guidelines that must be followed for purchases, especially when it involves grants or funding by the state. Anyone should know that!
Like I said, you should have done your homework before you started your little campaign. And I would have started with the man that asked you to investigate the whole thing.
If there is anything that the health department did wrong, it may be that they didn’t dot the I, or cross the t like Copus is saying. But I can assure you of this. They have done nothing to rip off the county, or its people. They only receive 10% of their funds from the county. If you look at the counties in the state like I have, you will find that there are only a handful of counties that receive less. Instead, they have tried to find ways to save the taxpayers’ money for the last 30 years. They are good people that give their all to their job, and are now being looked at like criminals, and that is WRONG!!!!!! You started this, so you better set the record straight when all the accusations are proven incorrect. If you are upstanding citizens that only want what’s best for the taxpayers, like you say you are, then I would expect nothing less from you!

Darlene Justice liked this on Facebook.

No intentions of moving as we have a long way to go in getting this county back on its feet with honest ethical leadership.

Does this mean you will be moving there? Please say yes.

Gregory Rose liked this on Facebook.