By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com
COLUMBUS, Kan. — Five members of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department administration on May 1 caught a 6:45 a.m. flight from Kansas City International Airport that was scheduled to arrive at 10:25 a.m. in Orlando, Fla.
After the plane trip, the five took a road trip back to Columbus in the large, green passenger bus they had acquired in Florida. They stopped several times along the way to fill the bus with diesel and once for steak buffets at the Iron Skillet restaurant in Little Rock, Ark.
The grand total for the trip was $1,882.26.
Along for the trip were Sheriff Steve Norman, Undersheriff Kent Soucy, jail administrator Billy Charles, grant coordinator Jerry Coach and patrol supervisor Tommy Dietz.
Since their return, the bus has been on a lot on Florida Avenue in Columbus. Cherokee County commissioners Rodney Edmondson and Pat Collins said they have heard reports that someone donated the bus, but they had received no explanation from the Sheriff’s Department.
The Joplin Globe filed open-records requests with the Cherokee County Clerk’s office to obtain financial details of the trip. Neither Norman nor Soucy returned phone calls or responded to e-mails from the Globe seeking information about the bus and for what it would be used.
Sheriff’s Department employee Michelle Dvorak on April 8 used her county-issued credit card to buy the five one-way tickets for $89.50 each with Southwest Airlines. The total for the five tickets was $447.50.
The bus trip
In Ocoee, Fla., just outside of Orlando, the bus stopped at Mobil Mart, where Soucy, Dietz, Charles and Norman each used their county credit cards, each pumping $75 worth of diesel into the bus. They each pumped 17.861 gallons at a cost of $4.20 per gallon.
The bus stopped again at the Exxon Food Mart in Ocala, Fla., northwest of Orlando. There, Soucy, Dietz and Norman pumped another 17.777 gallons of diesel into the bus using their county credit cards. The cost there was $4.22 per gallon and each of the three cards was charged $75.
At the Flying J Travel Plaza in Midway, Fla., near Tallahassee, Norman used his county credit card to pump 40.388 gallons of diesel into the bus at a cost of $4.16 per gallon for a total fuel purchase of $167.97. He also used the credit card to buy oil and other items totaling $35.28.
Another stop was at Pantry in Wiggins, Miss., where Dietz used the county credit card to pump 66 gallons of diesel at a price of $4 per gallon. The fuel cost was $264. He also bought some oil for a total charge of $287.82.
The bus pulled into the Iron Skillet restaurant at the Petro Stopping Center in Little Rock on the evening of May 2. The receipt shows they ordered five steak buffets at a cost of $10.99 each and four iced teas at $1.89 apiece. The tip was $7, for a total of $74.51. Their server was Misty, according to the receipt. Soucy charged the meal to his county-issued credit card. The time of the transaction was 7:09 p.m.
Another $344.18 worth of diesel was pumped into the bus there.
Commission not consulted
Cherokee County commissioners said no one with the Sheriff’s Department consulted with them about acquiring a bus.
“It would’ve been nice since all county vehicles are county property,” said Commissioner Rodney Edmondson. “It would’ve been nice when we’re acquiring vehicles as a county to let us know.”
Edmondson said commissioners had received no explanation about the purpose for the bus.
“It’s not that we would oppose it, necessarily,” Edmondson said. “Just out of courtesy, we’d like to know.”
Edmondson and Commissioner Pat Collins said they had heard reports that the bus was donated.
“I just hope someone doesn’t give us a 747,” Collins said. He also said he would have liked to have been informed about the county owning a bus.
“Unfortunately, he runs his office,” Collins said of the sheriff.
Probe results under review
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation in February launched a probe of the Sheriff’s Department related to its jail inmate fund, which includes revenues from an inmate phone system and jail commissary. The Sheriff’s Department had spent the revenues from the fund on items at the jail instead of turning over the revenues to the county treasurer, apparently contrary to state law. The department began turning over the money to the treasurer in December. Cherokee County Attorney John Bullard said the KBI examination had concluded and he was reviewing the investigative report to determine if criminal charges are warranted.
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