Text The Times.

Text The Times.

Well Mayor McClendon is pulling some more under handed shenanigans within the Fire Dept again by fulfilling political promises to some more of his cronies. Now he’s put the 2nd ex Fire Dept employee in a leadership position as the new EMS Coordinator which is a bold move considering this fired rehire is not qualified to do this job. I guess McClendon thinks just because he’s Mayor, he can do as he pleases. He’s leaving the City open for law suits in the future as well. There was an experienced Paramedic within the Dept that put in for it but he wasn’t even considered because this fired Fire Dept employee happens to be the Mayors half brother, Hello, wake up people of West Memphis, you need to show up and demand the truth. This once proud Fire Dept is being hammered down by this incompetent Mayor and can’t get much worse. There’s more political favors to be handed out at the end of March I’m now predicting when one of the Division Chiefs retire at that point, there’s going to be another friend put in that position while you have more qualified firemen that will get passed over. Yes, both men the Chief, and The EMS Coordinator were told to resign or be fired, and this is fact. City aldermen better go and talk with the firemen and really see what’s going on, it’s a full blown mess. All these 30+ years Leaders resigned because they weren’t going to work under this fired person that was put back in as Chief of the very Dept that fired him. Everyone of them would still be there. [Editor’s Notes: Of all the moves that Mayor McClendon has made in the roughly two months since the election that won him the mayor’s seat, the one sticking point that keeps coming up is the situation with the West Memphis Fire Department. Now, I won’t claim to have my finger directly on the pulse of the WMFD, but in my nearly 10 years now as a reporter that covered West Memphis city and government news and as editor of the Times, I have been to dozens and dozens of Fire Commission meetings, WMFD promotional and retirement ceremonies and other events involving the department. I know several members of the fire department from the former chief on down to the firefighters, paramedics, the chaplains and I’ve even petted the little dalmatian and given Sparky the Mascot a high-five. So, I’m no expert, but I’ve been around it, is what I’m saying. And I’ve always had a high regard for those folks. Now, I’ve also seen the seemingly never-ending animosity or unrest or disquiet or whatever you want to call it when it comes to race relations within the WMFD. Don’t forget, this is a department that had a court-ordered mandate to create a special biracial fire department committee to mitigate concerns related to race within the West Memphis Fire Department. Having brought that up, I wonder if they still meet? I know they were a couple of years ago after not meeting for a while. I’m fairly certain the court order is still in effect… Well, anyway, once McClendon won the election, several high-ranking WMFD officials began leaving. I don’t know if it was them seeing the writing on the wall or it was just a coincidence that they were all planning of retiring or stepping down or if it was a “quit so I don’t have to fire you” directive or what. I won’t speculate here either. What I do know is that any new administration is going to make changes within municipal departments. There are campaign promises to fulfill. There is an agenda that needs people in key positions to implement. There are moves both political and personal that every new administration is going to make. Maybe the people of West Memphis have forgotten this since until 2019, it had been 20 years since the city had a new administration. Now, I won’t say I agree with all of the moves McClendon has made. I’m especially dubious of his choice for Fire Chief. But he has the right to make those moves. Let’s not forget that appointing friends, relatives or associates to city jobs is anything new or anything illegal. I’ve been assured that every appointee that has been appointed has at least met the minimum HR requirements for the position to which they have been appointed. If you feel you have evidence contradicting that, I suggest you present it. The West Memphis City Council meets the first and third Thursday each month at 1:30 p.m. at City Hall]

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