TRIMBLE COUNTY, Ky. — Judge Executive Todd Pollock was in for quite a shock when he got back from reviewing a project with road director Michael Stewart last week.
“You could have knocked me over with a feather,” Pollock said.
Kentucky State Police were waiting for Stewart, to arrest him for possession of meth and drug paraphernalia.
“I’m still kind of collecting my thoughts on how this all went down,” Pollock said.
After Stewart’s arrest, Pollock ordered drug tests for the rest of the employees in the department.
Four other employees refused to take the test, tampered with results, or failed.
Those four employees were fired, and the department went from nine to four.
The arrest and subsequent firings could not come at a worse time for road maintenance.
“Typically this time of year they’re plowing snow,” said Pollock. “They’re putting stuff on the roads for ice.”
Pollock is hoping the snow holds off until the department can hire new workers, but if the snow and ice do hit Trimble County, he is ready.
“We’re prepared to take care of this by moving people around from different departments, like our parks department,” Pollock said.
Pollock sees this as a wake-up call and a chance to make changes.
He says people came forward to say the meth problem has been around for years, without the county’s knowledge. Now the county will pre-screen employees with drug tests, in addition to random drug testing.
“Going forward we’re going to be more vigilant, more aware,” Pollock said.
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