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| Greene County District 2 Commissioner Bill Sipes |
Greene County District 2 Commissioner Bill Sipes admits to being very frustrated and is considering legal action against a Bloomfield weekly newspaper concerning alleged ethics violations by him that were published in Wednesday's edition.
The published report in the Bloomfield Free Press accuses Sipes of failing to file a conflict of interest declaration within 15 days of his appointment to the commissioner's seat on April 19 because he was still employed at the time with WTH, Inc. -- a vendor that has sold the county mapping and data software for several offices including the clerk, auditor, treasurer, sheriff's department and highway department, dating back several years.
Sipes officially retired from WTH, Inc. on May 31.
The front page story by Free Press Editor Michael Johnson went on to suggest that Sipes, by not filing the report to the Indiana State Board of Accounts and the Indiana Ethics Commission, had committed a Class D felony. The story also said that Sipes could be the subject of a criminal investigation by the county prosecutor's office, if the prosecutor chose to pursue the case.
The commissioner's attorney, Marilyn Hartman, issued a legal opinion on Thursday that stated that Sipes had committed no wrongdoing as alleged by the Free Press.
When asked if legal action was possible, Hartman said, "In my legal opinion this is clearly actionable. It constitutes libel per se if those statements are not true and there is malice ... and a reckless disregard for the truth."
Hartman said it would be up to Sipes to initiate any legal action.
When asked by the Greene County Daily World if he was thinking about taking legal action against the Bloomfield Free Press or its editor, Sipes replied, "I don't know yet. I am considering it."
Sipes, who was appointed in mid-April to fill the unexpired term of former commissioner Larry Hasler, who died March 22, said, "He (Johnson) has damaged me, there is no question about it."
The rural Bloomfield resident, who previously served 10 years as commissioner, added, "A person does care about his image in the public. I've been around long enough (in county government) that I've already got a little bit of a problem with some people. But you are not going to change some people's minds of what's said about you anyway. It's very frustrating. Yes, we are going to be looking at our legal options. We are not going to sit back idle when he (Johnson) is talking about talking to the prosecutor and all that about you. That's pretty far out.
"I haven't seen the legal opinion yet (prepared by Hartman). I don't know yet what my options really are. But I can tell you, he (Johnson) is off base on this."
The Democrat commissioner also stated, "He's (Johnson) fabricating stuff and those are hard issues to deal with. I wasn't in sales to start with. I wasn't a salesman. I never made presentations. My job when they (WTH) hired me was strictly to go into a county where we were doing business and if they had problems with what was going on or something, I would bring those to the attention of the company. I never made sales. I never got any commission on anything. My job was the same. I was a salaried employee."
Sipes went on to point out that there were no ethical questions raised by the Free Press or anyone else earlier in the term of District 1 Commissioner Kathy Crouch, who was formerly employed by MLE, Inc., a firm that was awarded a $180,000 contract by the county to demolish the old Williams Hotel complex in Worthington. He also wondered why there weren't similar questions when paving contracts were awarded in past years in Crouch's district to the company her husband worked for in Bloomington -- Rogers Group.
"What amazes me is when she (Crouch) worked for that company that she worked for (MLE) and got that contract for the old hotel job in Worthington we never heard a peep out of nobody on that one," Sipes said.
the commissioners need to start doing their jobs instead of lawyering up everytime they are criticized. for example: fix the newly renamed west ferry road. it's only been 30 years since the last time it was fixed and we are very tired of waiting.
Maybe he was never taught to say I am Sorry!
Mr Johnson can report what he wants in his "tabloid". As well as GCDW can report what ever they want in there newspaper.....I do know for a fact that several completey wrong stories have been published by Mr Johnson lately. I've seen 3 in this weeks tabloid. It's one thing to a mistake and say "Im sorry let me fix that" and it's a whole different game when You make a mistake and are completely ignored or you brace yourself for Wed to see what happens to you or the rest of the town when you read the "tabloid"
A blonde momeny,
"Keep Bill Sipes and get rid of Kathy Crouch, she is the true problem here and has been from day one"
Sipes is not running in the election. So he is gone in January. So we can't keep him, sorry. If you want to get rid of kathy you need to vote.
Reading who done who wrong reminds me of a country song. Are these grown men or 3 year olds??? If no laws were broken, ignore & forget it and get on with the issues concerning the County. When you are a public figure, there is always going to be people who do not agree with you. That's the nature of the beast. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
Communitycentered,
Not sure where you came up with the "apathy" portion of your rant, but it doesn't apply to me!
My statement was simply that our ancestors seemed to always get the job done without the need to be politically correct and that type of system worked well for them. There are always at least two ways to get any job done, do we want to use the Rube Goldberg method of government that we seem to have embraced? I am sure that if we dig deep enough, EVERY politician has some sort of skeleton in the closet! If that precluded someone from running for or getting elected to office, we would be without leadeership. Let those who are serving serve....if they aren't doing the job to your satifaction, vote them out!
As for the Free Press vs. Daily World, let the readers decide if our county can support two papers. I will say that both papers could do a better job in reporting stories that bring our communities together, rather than breaking them down.
And, if everyone is so passionate about your opinions and ideas, why not sign your name?
Mike Toon
It's nice how Johnson can just make up stories to sell papers and that costs the county money to defend.
He needs to get a life!
This "battle" between the papers reminds me of the old days of competition between the Linton Daily Citizen and the Bloomfield Evening World, except that I didn't hear Mr. Johnson say anything about the Daily World, just about Mr. Sipes. I think he should leave Bill alone. I don't think he's done anything wrong.
Blonde Moment - you sure are having your fair share of "blonde moments".
You may disagree with what was written, but not everything printed against someone is libel. There is freedom of the press,and freedom of speech. Mr. Johnson is within his rights to question the proceedings. He is still within his rights to say that something was done incorrectly. It is then up to the legal system to look at the laws and interpret them.
Mr. Sipes should have asked cousel regarding the possible conflict of interest way back at the beginning. Then he could say that he was given legal counsel, and followed that counsel.
If every politician would threaten to sue every time something was written about them that was unfavorable, it would tie up the courts forever. As a politician, you should know that things will be said about you true or untrue. Get over it, and get back to work!
Was the county not large enough for the Bloomfield Evening World and the Linton Daily Citizen before they merged? I also believe that Jasonville used to have a paper and I was thinking Worthington used to have one as well. The latter two may have been weekly editions.
YAWN's blah blah blah .... boring! 2 papers getting their stories from the other paper now that is some real investigative reporting.
don't you have a parade coming up? That's the news people like to read about?
this should be on an episode of your favorite soap's
nothing like getting your feathers ruffled up by another paper. niether of you are better than the other or you would ignore each other and find your own story.
if there are crimes committed well that's what lawyer" and police and prosecutors are for. then you can get your scoop from the courthouse.
both papers should be ashamed for this disaster on reporting from what the other writes.
petty petty petty now i know why people use papers to line their bird cages with.
Yes, please sue Johnson and get rid of him once and for all. He is nothing but a black cloud over Bloomfield. He has done nothing but damage Bloomfield. He has so many issues of his own it isn't even funny, it seems as though he either carries a grudge or is just off his rocker but you know crap sells and if he didn't make up crap to sell his paper, there wouldn't be a paper.
Keep Bill Sipes and get rid of Kathy Crouch, she is the true problem here and has been from day one.
To Mike Toon (Mike47424)....
While I agree with the majority of comments, I do not appreciate apathy, especially when it comes to my home county...however, I understand that it is an easy trap to fall into.
The newspapers aside...they are profit seeking companies, so that will stay the same.
However, our local politics, however connected to State or National leadership (Politicos) or parties, we as residents of Greene County still must strive to improve our local governing bodies.
We have opportunities to vote, we have opportunities to educate people about ideas (or truth), we have opportunities to hold people accountable, we have opportunities to enforce law, and luck has it that EVEN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS CAN CREATE LAWS TO DEFEND OUR TAXPAYER DOLLARS AGAINST THE "GOOD-OLE-BOY CLUB".
Not sure what those might look like...but, has anyone thought about it, demanded it, stood up for it!
And I must mention that I too agree that our forefathers, signers of the constitution, and Greene County ancestors are probably looking down on us from some heavenly place and feel very disappointed....as for those who were proponents of the "Good-Ole-Boy Club" system...well let's just say that they are probably not looking down from anywhere...
Paybacks are a Bit~h! -- What comes around goes around! Good Karma vs. Bad Karma....You Reap What You Sow....and all those similar ideas from culture and religion....there is an important lesson to be learned there!
Let's stand up for change...apathy gets us nowhere!
Maybe, just maybe Tom Franklin, Eric Harrah and Bile Sipes were wrong. Do you think that the voters and the public have a right to know what is going on in there area. I certainly want to know and I read both papers daily. We have replaced two out of three, so maybe the other folks in the area agree with the BFP and have a need and a right to know these things.
sometimes it appears to me that hartman is running the county..i say we get rid of sipes before he causes any more trouble and cost the county any money for his antics.
Newspapers are not non-profits. Their primary concern is to sell papers and try not to get in trouble doing it. BFP and this paper also fall into that category. I have read articles in this paper as well as the BFP that I have not liked. Authors always put their own spin on an article. Ever read the Hearld Times, Indianapolis Star, Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post? They all do it. They are trying to sell papers. To say one has lost credibility toward any paper is absurd because you cannot believe everything you read. People in political offices have hard jobs. Mudslinging is the norm. Mr. Sipes pointed fingers at Ms. Crouch. Mr. Johnson pointed fingers at Mr. Sipes. Democrat vs. Republican and Republican vs. Democrat. Sound familiar? This is the way American politics works. Right or wrong, it has happened for years and we are not going to change it. If you want a political office, you need to be ready for it. Mr. Sipes should understand this because he has been around a long time. My opinion is that this paper, BFP and Bill Sipes should all move on. The papers have been sold.
As I read daily, the GCDW slings mud only when backed into a corner. The other mud gets slung just because.
I'd imagine that if you had merit of your own, there would be no need to bash the competitor.
My two cents worth.....
We have much more important things to worry about in Greene County! Let's focus on jobs, education, roads and making our little corner of the world a better place to live!
These gentlemen can defend themselves but first it was Eric Harrah, then Tom Franklin and now Bill Sipes. The Free Press is certainly an equal opportunity blasphemer! At least these guys have had the guts to run for political office and serve the citizens of Bloomfield and Greene County! Everyone complains about "good ol' boy" politics, but have we done anything to improve on this system? Just look at the mess our current national politico's have us in (Democrat & Republican) Seems to me that our fathers and grandfathers got things done using this system and we come along and screw things up. I often wonder what the framers of our constitution would think if they looked at the U.S. today. Something tells me they would be disappointed!
Mr. Johnson, let it go! Focus on bringing REAL news to the readers. Scandal sells papers, but it ain't going to punch your ticket to heaven!
Mike Toon
Bloomfield
As a former resident of Greene County, I depend on the Greene County Daily World AND the Bloomfield Free Press to inform me of the happenings in Greene County...HOWEVER, I can totally do without all the mudslinging between the two papers. Can't y'all just get along and play nice? Just sayin'!
I really like the Bloomfield Free Press. I like the GCDW also.
I didn't comprehend the Bloomfield Free Press's report about Mr. Sipes to read as the above stated report does however.
I see the word "suggests" mentioned in this article which is very subjecive to the person who is doing the interpretation of the original BFP story and reporting on it. That does not constitute the suggestive to indeed be fact, it is only the reporters interpretation of the original story, that's all.
Please sue the Free Press and shut him up.
I hate dirty politics. He was appointed to the position to fill out the term - he didn't ask for the job. He's not running for reelection. Why not just let him finish out the term and work for the county without wasting all of our time?
It's pretty childish for Bill Sipes to point his finger at a fellow commissioner "look what she did" to try to shift attention away from himself.
Excellent points Dairyman.
Is Marilyn Hartman acting on behalf of the county or on behalf of Sipes. It appears to me that Greene County taxpayers don't have a dog in the squabble between Sipes and Johnson and the taxpayers have no business paying for his attorney. If Johnson, in fact, is being accused of committing a felony then why isn't the county prosecutor taking care of this?