Opinion : Letter to the Editor: "Unhonorable" Veteran Responds

Dear Editor,

On September 16, 2022, I interviewed for a position with the county as the Roadside Manager. There were three interviews held that day and three the following Monday, September 19. On Friday the 23rd, there was an apparent committee meeting and they decided to hire George "Wes" Haefner.

On the morning of September 27, Josh Svoboda received a call that he was not hired for the job. Kirsten Nelson, the Human Resources Director (HR) stated to him that they were going to hire George because he had more experience. Later that day I received an email that stated they narrowed it down to 3 and I was not one of the three. So, she lied to me.

On September 28 I spoke to the county attorney as to my concerns and he stated that they had decided on Friday to hire George but I would be a good candidate to replace George as his assistant.

On September 29 the County Board of Supervisors went into a special closed session. They never came back on video to close the meeting, so they must have hired him.

On October 4 they backdated his hire date to September 26 which must've been his acceptance of the offer.

Per Iowa code 35c.3 I waited the required 10 days for the public record to be available and sent to me. On October 11 I went to the board of supervisors to ask for the documentation for why I was not hired. I tried several times to get them to tell me why or produce the documentation. They said HR would have it so I excused myself and went to the HR office to ask for the documents.

I saw the sheriff in the hallway and asked him to escort me to HR and stand in the hallway to ensure there were no improprieties and that I would not be going into her office. (I did not know at the time that this was Sheriff Tippett.) I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I knocked again she yelled that she was in a meeting. I then tried her phone, and she wouldn't answer 15 seconds later Supervisor Seeman called her and she said she was in a meeting and it would be an hour.

I said that was fine as I had the whole day. I then tried the county attorney thinking he could send me the documentation, and his secretary stated that he was unavailable all day.

I spoke to George in the hallway and told him it was nothing personal, and that the problem I had was with the hiring process. We had a good conversation about the equipment he was requesting and its suitability for his job.

During this time, I walked the hallway and chatted with the sheriff. HR came out into the hallway to get George and so I asked her for the documents. She said, "no." I said, "It will only take a minute to print it out..." and she said I was rude and disrespectful.

She also posted a sign on her widow that said " I am in a meeting." 15 minutes later County Attorney, Dave Thompson showed up, so I questioned him about why he was unavailable but yet here he is. He stated that HR had called him and said she was in fear because there was a "crazy man" beating on her door.

Meanwhile, the sheriff was beside me the whole time

Thompson proceeded to call me "irrational." I produced my copy of Iowa Code 35C and stated I was simply here to get my copy of the documentation of why I was not hired.

He said, "not today." I informed him that is a matter of public record and to please let me have a copy. He said, "not until tomorrow after she meets with her attorney."

I also reminded the county attorney that HR had said in the interview that we would be notified once an offer had been accepted. At that time, during the interview, the county attorney proceeded to surmise 35C to me which I felt was not accurate.

I kept my mouth shut at the time, but did specifically ask that if I was not selected for the job, I would like to have an explanation as to why so I could improve my interview skills; which is part of the job interview 101 class at my college.

Back to the discussion in the hallway, David Thompson who knew that I was a veteran called me "unhonorable" and said that he should know because his father was a combat veteran. I was furious but I kept calm.

I stated that I was also a combat veteran with 22 years of service. If he had bothered to research my veteran status, he would have seen that not only do I not only a Combat Action Badge, but a Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart as well.

County Attorney Thompson then asked Sheriff Tippett to escort Ms. Nelson out and instructed Sheriff Tippet that if I tried to stop her then he should arrest me. I explained that I would never detain anyone. But I asked if I could speak with her on her way out. The sheriff said, "of course," he couldn't stop me from speaking but he would rather I didn't. So I didn't. However, Ms. Nelson, the HR director for the county, yelled something at me as she exited.

Keep in mind, until the job interview, I had never met County Attorney David Thompson or HR Director Nelson.

I showed my phone history to Supervisor Gary Biershenk and Sheriff Tippett so they could see I was not harassing anyone I just wanted the documentation.

I feel that this was all a tactic used because they were out of compliance with 35C and this was a way to delay until they could make up a document.

I notified my boss concerning the events that had unfolded, he told me that Ms. Nelson had already sent him an email inquiring whether I was at work today or if I had the day off. This was a clear attempt at retaliation as the HR Director does not manage time cards for any employee in the county.

At 4:05 p.m. on October 11 she sent me an email to see if we could meet at 2:00 pm the following day. I did not feel comfortable meeting with her without both an officer and my attorney at my side.

At this time, we are in litigation, over paperwork.

Sincerely,

Kevin Atkinson