By Aran Jenkins
The Charleston Gazette
NITRO, W.Va. — A lengthy executive session ran longer than the regular City Council meeting Tuesday night in Nitro.
Council members called the session in response to a complaint brought to them from citizen Laurie Elkins. Elkins was standing up for A.J. Shinn, a firefighter who was fired Tuesday.
Shinn, who has 13 years of service, alleges he was wrongfully terminated. According to Shinn, he was accused of being late to work on April 14 and, as a result, he was given two shifts without pay as punishment. He appealed the decision at a grievance hearing, but the board returned with his termination.
Shinn, a single father of three, believes Mayor Rusty Casto decided to fire him after Fire Chief Ernie Hedrick refused. Neither Hedrick nor Casto were available for comment after the meeting. Shinn also is alleging that Casto would not even hear his complaints.
“I asked to speak to the mayor and was written up for going out of the chain of command,” Shinn said. “I also asked for the mayor to be present at my hearing, and he denied my request.”
Shinn is further alleging that there has been a pattern of harassment toward him for as long as four years and that city officials were looking for an excuse to let him go.
After more than an hour in executive session, council members determined that Shinn would be suspended with pay and that Hedrick would pick up his vacant shift work, pending an appeal to the Civil Service Board.
“We don’t have any dogs in the fight,” Councilman Dave Casebolt said after the meeting. “We feel it’s right that he should be paid until then.”
In other business, Councilman Bill Javins told other council members there are 11 streets in the city that will be repaved, saying the projects will be put out for bids immediately.
Additionally, council members agreed to pay Morgantown City Planner Michael Dougherty $4,000 for a strategic development plan for Nitro. Dougherty is a professor of community resources and economic development at West Virginia University. According to Casebolt, the price is a bargain for the services offered.
Copyright 2011 Charleston Newspapers