Shots Fired! BOCC WAR!
Flower Accused of Deplorable Behavior
and Improper Influencing
Shamelessly Refuses to Resign
Are the Winds of Recall Blowing?
by George Gramlich,
New and Notations
Man oh man. This was one for the record books. The December 7, 2021 Custer County Board of County Commissioners meeting (BOCC) was held in the courthouse basement as the war drums could be heard and there was going to be a bunch of peasants there wanting some blood. All three musketeers were present: Chair Bill Canda and members Tom Flower and Kevin Day. The meeting started at 9 a.m.
Under Staff Reports, the biggest news was that the Veteran’s Service announced that the Veterans Fund that helps vets with bills for propane, car repairs, fire wood, etc. was out of money as they are not getting reimbursed from the state right now. It was also announced that Kirkpatrick Bank is donating $10,000 to the VSO to help our local vets. (Thank you very much Kirkpatrick Bank.)
New Business was up next. And that was the bid deal.
Canda started talking about the Planning & Zoning Department (P&Z), the Planning Commission (PC) and the P&Z Director Jackie Hobby. Canda said he and Day were at some meeting somewhere the other day and Day got a call from Jackie and she said she was quitting her job. Canda goes on about how important P&Z is to the economic welfare of the county and said that Jackie gave them a pending/verbal notice that she was going bye bye.
He said that normally personnel issues are dealt in private executive sessions but that Jackie wanted a public forum so people could hear her grievances. So that is where we are here.
Jackie was in the seat next to the muskies with Day being next to her, Canda in the middle, muskie Tommy Flower was at the far end.
Jackie said it is true about her giving a pending resignation to the muskies. She said she wanted to tell a story about how this came about. She then rips into muskie Flowers with a vengeance that was passionate. She said he is constantly in her office harassing her over decisions she made, or worse, trying to override a decision made by the P&Z, PC or the muskies. She said that at one meeting a while back, The Flowers stopped a meeting and asked the muskies and her to come outside. They went into the stairwell of the courthouse. Jackie said that Flowers attacked her verbally and called her “You little F***er”. (We apologize for that but it is important verbiage.) (Later in the discussion, Canda, who was in the stairwell, confirmed that wording.) Flowers then continued to ridicule her in the stairwell.
She said that was just the tip of the iceberg; re Flower’s harassment of county employees and especially female county employees. Jackie goes on to tell story after story of how Flowers improperly would try to make Jackie change what she had already ruled on, or even change what the muskies have officially decided. She said that he said it doesn’t matter what the other commissioners decided and it was his opinion that counted. She said he continuously comes into her office harassing her and ridiculing her and that he ridicules her in public and she is tired of defending herself.
Jackie said she came in a few days ago, in spite of all this, and did five septic inspections for several contractors so they could keep on working and she told some of them that she was leaving and they had a fit. (Thus, the big crowd of contractors and ranchers in the audience.)
Day then speaks up and says he hoped it wouldn’t come to this and he believes Jackie’s accusations and he hopes we can come to a conclusion on this.
Canda asks The Flowers to comment and he defers. Canda then says he wants Jackie to stay and he has received a ton of emails and phone calls in support of her. Jackie then asks Canda to confirm what Flowers said in the stairwell and he does. (There is a murmur from the crowd in the room on this statement.) She then goes into more inappropriate behavior about Flowers centering on his coming into her office and trying to influence her decisions or the muskies decisions. By criticizing me in public he is trying to pit the public against me. She says he is trying to cut the knees off the contractors in the valley. Does he do this because I am a women? Or because “a friend wants a job”? (Uh, oh.)
Jackie then drops a bombshell. She says, ‘I am not the first woman to quit. There have been four that have quit’ because of his deplorable behavior (Double, uh-oh.) She says there is a problem going on and I am going to stand up and speak against it as the other ladies have not.
(Big applause from the peasants.)
Canda then reads a statement from a septic contractor who says Jackie is simply the best and does an incredible job. She uses her common sense and is a huge asset to the valley.
School Board member, Peggi Collins, says it is deplorable to me that a commissioner would speak to a lady like that and as far as I am concerned he should resign! (Bravo, Peggi. Res ipsa loquitur.)
Ex-commissioner Kit Shy then speaks from the peanut gallery. He said when Jackie started she reduced the size of the P&Z Office saving the county a ton of money and she has, over the years, taken on a lot of more work and Jackie is the best. Kit ends with saying that “you” (meaning Flowers) had embarrassed her in public in front of people and that is “unacceptable”.
Dale Mullen who is a volunteer member of the PC calls in saying he doesn’t think that this stairwell thing was the only reason Jackie wants to quit but that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He also said that she is very overloaded with work and needs help.
Deb Adams then calls in. She said some guy is sending a survey to important people in the county and that although it is not done, the survey indicates (no sample size given) that the people don’t like the “governance” in the county although our “social cohesion” is good. (Note: a lot of rumors going along that ol’ Deb is going to run against Canda for muskie next year so all this survey nonsense might just be a lib smoke screen election propaganda job.) Deb also said that if Flowers apologizes all should be forgiven. (Hmmm, a woman defending what this guy is doing? Something not right here.)
Another contractor in the audience speaks up: I talked to Tom about this and Tom said it was employee “insubordination”. The contractor said Flowers shouldn’t talk about team members like that and I think he “should resign”.
Several other citizens then talked about how great Jackie was. (It was touching.)
Rancher and realtor Twila Giroux then took the floor. She said when her and Flowers were both teaching at our school years ago he often said you have to “hold people’s feet to the fire” when problems come up. She said I am going to hold your feet to the fire now. Twila said what you said to Jackie “is not acceptable” and if the other girls in the building left because of this then you are completely out of line. Then she said, “I’d love to hear from you.” (Twila was mad!)
A woman in the audience then says to Jackie I applaud your service.
Local rancher John Rusher was up next. He asks Jackie how many years has she worked for the county. Jackie said she started in 2007 and told the tale of her work at P&Z. After that, John said you need some help with all the work you have.
Several messages from the “Chat” board were then read. One from Michael Foster said that if Flowers said those bad words then he should resign and that Flowers is “unfit to serve the community”. T. Ballard wrote that if Tom said that, he should resign. Deb Adams wrote basically if he apologizes all would be good.
Michael Foster then Zoomed in. He said I praise Jackie’s courage and look at the way we treat others in the community. I believe in forgiveness and we can forgive people for their “transgressions” but they have to be held responsible for their actions. We have to hold people accountable and if you are a public official and treat a public employee like that it is unacceptable, and you are unfit to lead and serve our community.
Canda then turns to The Flowers and again asks him if he has anything to say. After a couple of grunty type, feel sorry for me sounds, Flowers starts his slow, poorly dramatic, obviously fake chameleon crocodile tear apology. (It was revolting.) Jackie, I apologize. I guarantee you I am willing to hold my feet to the fire. (Regrettably, there is currently a fire ban.) I express my sorrow to what I said to you. Blah, blah, blah. (Finger-down-throat level drivel.) Sometimes I am not professional. I can’t take that back. I have to own that. I can assure you that that language will never happen again. (What about all the other improprieties?) If you believe I am speaking from my heart I ask for your forgiveness. (Get the airline bag.) I don’t do that very often. His next statement, I think sums up his whole pathetic cry session: “This sounds like cat covering manure.” (So true. He should have stopped there.) Sometimes sorry is not enough. (You got that right. Resign.) Then more crocodile-tear blabbing. He asks Jackie not to resign.
Flowers then goes on and on about how great Jackie is. (When she is obeying his improper orders and requests.) He is sooooooo sorry. He then starts talking even slower and takes time between each sentence. (Drama 101.) He then attempts to lay a guilt trip on Jackie for causing all of this! (Manipulator.) And just more whining. On and on. I didn’t
realize I would be on trial. (Waiting for his usual mention of him hanging on this or that cross…) On and on. I didn’t sleep at all the other night. (Poor boy.) He then tries to segway saying we need a county manager.
(To prevent him from harassing everybody. Sick.) Then a couple of more ‘please forgive me’ lines. (Everybody who knows The Flowers knows that this whole speech is a total con job.)
Canda asks Jackie if she has something to say now and she says no.
Some citizen speaks up and says Flowers comments were in
“la la land.”
Peggi Collins again speaks and says see all these people here? This is just the tip of the iceberg and a recall is being discussed.
One John Cristen speaks up and forcefully asks, how does Tom just step in and change everybody’s decisions? You misrepresented yourself when you ran for office. The “R” behind your name stands for “ridiculous”. I feel proud to have Bill and Kevin as commissioners.(Canda and Day did real good. Real Good. They let the people speak.) He then says if you spoke to my wife like that there would be a real problem. You should be recalled.
Jackie then speaks up and nails the coffin shut on The Flowers. I have been apologized to before many, many times and after the apology you have to prove it. She then gives a couple of examples. Jackie then says she has been apologized to before by Flowers and it didn’t mean jack. He steps “in my business”, then apologizes, then does it again. This doesn’t “hold water anymore.”
Canda then says we are going to have workshops on P&Z and the PC to fix some problems.
Jackie then gives us tentative rules for her coming back. She says she doesn’t want Tom Flower in her office! (Good girl.) I will meet him at commissioner meetings as long as the other commissioners are there. I am not comfortable around him after this situation. I was Tom Flower’s friend once but when you treat women like this, it is over. I am not the only one in the courthouse that quit over him. There are other women here now that can’t quit ‘cause they need the job and the insurance. If somehow he wants to be in my office, I want someone from Human Resources there. (Any honorable man would resign right now and save the county the grief of going forward with this abuser. Shameless.)
(Jackie Hobby is a hero. Period.)
Canda then says we need to further explore this stuff in a future meeting. And that’s it for the Jackie Hobby story. Stay tuned, folks. This ain’t over.
There was other county business after this. We will report on
that later.
