> Former mayor weighs in on Grimsby’s “now-toxic” environment/Pg 2 > Grimsby Beach represents with bird feeders Pg 4 > Dr. Glenn Pierece dead at 61 Pg 10 > Vineland envisioned for future Pg 12 Thursday, April 8, 2021 Vol. 9 Issue 48
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Town hall purge devastates Grimsby staff By Mike Williscraft NewsNow “If you work for the Town of Grimsby, no matter who you are, your job is not safe. You could be the Pope and in charge of a daily prayer and you could be gone tomorrow.” That comment came last week from a Town of Grimsby employee who asked that their name not be used for fear of reprisal and came after the entire, three-person finance department at Grimsby’s town hall was fired last Tuesday. The next day, Grimsby operations manager was also dismissed. All were regarded as valuable, hard-working employees by coworkers past and present as well as some members of Grimsby’s current council and past members of council.
Last week, NewsNow featured an article noting a possible whistleblower policy which had been in a holding pattern for well over a year. It was to go to staff for their input, so has not been implemented as yet. This is relevant because many of those terminated by CAO Harry Schlange were among those who made complaints against Schlange which precipitated a third party investigation in the summer of 2020. After news of the terminations came to light, a special meeting of Grimsby council was convened so an explanation from the CAO would be heard in closed session. When council rose, Coun. Kevin Ritchie had a prewritten motion which was approved in a 5-4 vote with Ritchie, Councilllors Dave Kadwell,
Randy Vaine, Dave Sharpe and John Dunstall voting in favour. Mayor Jeff Jordan, along with Councillors Lianne Vardy, Reg Freake and Dorothy Bothwell opposed. The motion presented by Ritchie read: Whereas in 2019 Council established their priorities before interviewing candidates for the CAO’s position, “And Whereas in 2019 Council committed to a CAO and supported the CAO to review the Organization and make organizational changes, And Whereas in 2020 and 2021 Council continued to support our CAO in these organizational changes, And Whereas these organizational changes are to fulfill council’s
expectations of building a high performance team for our residence and for the community of the Town of Grimsby, And Whereas these organizational changes are Human Resources matter, so Council and the Town of Grimsby will not be providing any further comment, Therefore be it resolved that the update from the Town of Grimsby CAO be received.” Prior to the meeting getting underway, Jordan read a brief statement, “On Tuesday, March 30, a decision by the CAO resulted in the termination of three senior level employees. This was a decision solely by Mr. Schlange. There was no resolution or council support.” Vaine challenged the mayor’s See CONDUCT, Page 2
What a beautiful site! Many thought this day would never come, but Niagara West residents are going to be saying that at several points over the next few years as West Lincoln Memorial Hospital clicks by some long-awaited milestones. To the left is a rendering of the new build’s look, projected to start construction in the Spring 2022. No story in this edition, though! To get all the details, you can listen to NewsNow’s first podcast live at: newsnowniagara.com Thursday at 6 p.m. with HHS director of redevelopment Bart DeVries.