The wrongful termination lawsuit brought by former City Manager Jan Blase, filed earlier in Newton County Circuit Court has been removed to federal court.
The action, ironically, takes place on the same day that publicity is circulating about the Neosho City Council's decision Thursday night to let two dozen firemen and two dozen policemen go to cover an expected $1.2 million shortfall, a shortfall that city officials have pretty much blamed on Blase's alleged mismanagement of city funds.
The Newton County prosecuting attorney also believes Blase misused funds since the former city manager faces a misdemeanor charge of official misconduct.
In the lawsuit, Blase claims the City Council did not follow proper procedures when it voted to fire him in February. Because of the council's action, Blase says, he has "lost wages and has suffered great emotional distress and physical pain and suffering. His reputation in the community has been severely damaged."
I would guess that his reputation was not damaged as much by the firing as it was by his own quote that his actions may have been the result of mold spores at City Hall.
Blase was overrated when he made numerous mistakes at Nixa and many of us knew it would be just a matter of time before his leadership would cause problems in Neosho.
ReplyDeleteHey city councils, nationwide, avoid Jane Blase at all costs.
Whoops!
ReplyDeleteAlso avoid Jan Blase
Amazing, Randy finds this out within a day, but still no mention of Councilwoman Bowers' bankruptcy that was filed in Federal Court in March. Good (selective) reporting there Randy.
ReplyDeleteYour obsession with this is getting old.I have allowed you to make reference to the bankruptcy over and over again, so I am obviously not trying to keep it off the blog. So please drop the childish remarks. They grew stale a long time ago. If you had simply sent me an e-mail letting me know about this when it happened, I probably would have posted something, but you immediately began acting as if there were some sort of conspiracy going on and I do not take kindly to the rantings of anonymous people. You're not going to get what you want here. I will leave your past references to the bankruptcy online. Any new ones will be deleted. This is my blog; if you don't like it, please feel free to start your own.
ReplyDeleteSo just to clear the air, all that was asked by anon was why you covered the bankruptcy of another Neosho councilmember - Matt Persinger - on this blog, but have ignored the same event for Councilwoman Bowers.
ReplyDeleteI too grow tired of the comments, but he (or she) is right, it was news for Matt, why not for Heather?
It's because Randy views Neosho Forums as a friend. Heather was the Forums' golden child. Bowers has always complained about Blase being the one who got her fired, but after 3-4 years, that too gets old. If he did, sue his butt. But Blase is an excuse from the past. His lawsuit is nothing but a joke and revenge at those that finally got rid of him. But Bowers is becoming a joke too.
ReplyDeleteIf you have watched the comments on the NDN site over the past couple of days, Bowers was taking a beating. The good news was alot of people showed up at the meeting Thursday to see what would happen with police and fire. What people got to see was (many for their first time) the true Heather Bowers. Blase was terrible. But Bowers is just as bad.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I missed the original posting on Heather Bowers' bankruptcy. I don't know if you are aware of this, but the federal courts charge for viewing documents, something which is wrong as far as I am concerned, but it is nothing I can do anything about. So I am more diligent about checking civil suits and criminal filings than I am bankruptcy procedures. I was hit very quickly with five or six rude comments about the bankruptcy filing. Once I allow one person to bully me into writing something, it is never going to stop.
ReplyDeleteWhat I did do was to leave the comments about the bankruptcy, which have continued non-stop, on the blog. Anyone who reads The Turner Report is well aware that Heather Bowers filed for bankruptcy. If you want to look up the particulars, please feel free to sign up for a PACER account and use your own money to do so.
The bankruptcy has been publicized so there is no need for any more comments on any other posts. Anyone who wishes to comment about it on this post may feel free to do so.
Any comments about it on any other posts will be deleted as soon as I see them.
If you're really interested in reporting the news, here's one for you:
ReplyDeleteIn her Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing (while was granted and final last month), Councilwoman Bowers lists Jan Melvin Blase as a creditor. What does that mean? It means she is now no longer on the hook in this lawsuit if a judgment is made in Blase' favor.