By Kandace McCoy
Mt. Vernon Register-News
BELLE RIVE, Ill. — Almost all Belle Rive Fire Protection District volunteers have allegedly resigned as a result of the feud between Mayor Donnie Wilkey and fire chief Lance Thackrey, leaving the village fire and emergency medical service protection in jeopardy.
Thackrey has officially tendered his resignation effective Monday.
“I am unsure that my resignation is even necessary, since Mayor Wilkey told the board he removed me from office last Monday, July 13,” Thackrey stated in an official media release. “I want to thank the residents of Belle Rive for their phone calls and support during this difficult time. I also want to thank the volunteers for their service and support as well. I has truly been an honor to serve with them.
“To the best of my knowledge, almost all volunteer members of the department have resigned as well, citing various reasons.”
Those reasons, according to Thackrey, are “No confidence in the mayor or the fire committee since the removal of Guy Choate; lack of experience on the fire committee; bad publicity; humiliation; unprofessional actions of particular board member.”
Thackrey also quotes “one member” as stating, “The mayor has failed to appoint a fire committee or name a new chief that has any knowledge of the department of EMS system.”
Last week, Wilkey informed the village board he would be presenting a new candidate for fire chief and expected to fill the position within a month. Wilkey also claimed his decision to remove Thackrey stemmed from his mismanagement of the fire department, which Wilkey said was “in shambles and a mess.”
Thackrey says he fully supports Wilkey’s right as a newly re-elected mayor to appoint “someone new as fire chief. However, for any mayor to remove a fire chief without a suitable, ready replacement is both irresponsible and foolish.”
He said his decision to resign was “extremely difficult,” and is “not real happy” about potentially leaving the village in jeopardy of losing fire or EMS protection.
“But after Wilkey said what he did in the paper, that pretty much finished it,” he said. “He was going to remove me last Monday night -- this [resignation] is exactly what he wanted.”
Thackrey accuses Wilkey of eviscerating the fire department in the July 18 edition of the Register-News when Wilkey said, “I’d just as soon not have a department than have one that can’t respond to a call.”
Thackrey said of the fire department’s last EMS call, on July 15, that “the 911 dispatcher toned us out at 8:01 and we had responders on the scene at 8:05. Our department was perfectly capable of responding to calls, and our record speaks for itself. Our volunteers are first rate and I am very proud of them.”
He said when he was appointed fire chief three years ago, he believed Wilkey “already disliked me because my wife and I purchased the former People’s Bank building and he wanted to buy it. He appointed me in spite of this because there was no one else who would assume the responsibilities as chief. Had I know that my family would be subjected to slander, libel and threats to our property and personal safety, I would never have accepted the position. The gratitude shown to us by the people of Belle Rive has made it worth the sacrifice. However, the mayor has made his decision and it is time for us to move on.”
Last week, board members responded to Wilkey’s decision to not reappoint Thackrey, saying there was a “character conflict” between the two, and the current issue stems from a “vicious feud” between the two men.
Attempts to contact Wilkey prior to the newspaper deadline were unsuccessful on Monday.
Copyright 2009