Walton Sun on Cooper...

The only advance notice I see here is the WALTON SUN "knew in advance"

that if they had run this petty, non-issue article last week, they would not

have been able to collect the advertising income that this candidate is

likely to be spending this weekend. Since the truckstop and the chicken plant

are closed, I think all the whores and chickens moved to the SUN.

Oh, you are a little overboard to say the least. The Sun is a very well done local newspaper, IMO. It is also free. (What else is these days). Gwen Break is a good editor and she definitely says what she thinks in her editorials. I like that, whether I agree with them or not. But then, I haven't the insight into the journalistic world some do. I can only rate what I read.

Since the truckstop and the chicken plant

are closed, I think all the whores and chickens moved to the SUN.

The only question I have about this report is why was she reprimanded for pulling a public document? If inside connections were used to get this document then I could understand. But it was public record and anyone could do it. I don't see an abuse of office in that.So, I have to ask, why she was punished for it?

I don't care for the timing of this either and suspect RJ had a hand in it. However, if the document in question is public then I would love to see it to determine how open ended the questions really were. It is reasonable to assume that if one applicant has the benefit of the interview questions in advance there is not a level playing field. Has the county always made the interview questions available in advance before selecting for positions and promotions? That may explain a lot about the competency of the county departments. This looks and walks like a duck to me. It is clear to me that the intent was to gain an unfair advantage. Would he do the same when interviewing potential leaders in the Sheriff's Administration? The most glaring statement is it did not matter anyway as he was not qualified to serve as a deputy director for the jail, but now wants to be Sheriff?

At this late date, I do not think this story will have any bearing on the outcome of the election, but it is what it is.

After reading all these posts, there are some things I like to bring up and see what you guys feel about this. I had a nephew apply for one of the Sgt. positions at the jail last year and when he tried to get a copy of the interview questions, he was denied them because the LT. and administration stated they do not give out the questions prior to the interview, huh. And the article stated Bell Cooper recieved a Level 1 reprimand? I thought they get a verbal reprimand first before going to the Level 1 reprimand....seems she's no stranger at abusing her county position or getting in trouble that requires reprimands. Either way, Walton County HR Department stated that Tom Cooper was not chosen for the position because he was not qualified to be an Assist. at the jail.....so how the **ll can he be even considered to run the sheriff's office??? go figure

After reading all these posts, there are some things I like to bring up and see what you guys feel about this. I had a nephew apply for one of the Sgt. positions at the jail last year and when he tried to get a copy of the interview questions, he was denied them because the LT. and administration stated they do not give out the questions prior to the interview, huh. And the article stated Bell Cooper recieved a Level 1 reprimand? I thought they get a verbal reprimand first before going to the Level 1 reprimand....seems she's no stranger at abusing her county position or getting in trouble that requires reprimands. Either way, Walton County HR Department stated that Tom Cooper was not chosen for the position because he was not qualified to be an Assist. at the jail.....so how the **ll can he be even considered to run the sheriff's office??? go figure

Sheriff candidate Cooper used fianc?e?s position to get interview questions in advance


By Nate Kelly
August 21, 2008 - 10:24AM
Walton County Sheriff's candidate, Tom Cooper, wanted to be prepared for an interview for the job of deputy director of the Walton County jail. He had his then fianc?e, Christine Bell Cooper, emergency operations planner, get a copy of the interview questions beforehand, according to Gary Mattison, human resource director for Walton County.
The questions were public information. However, on May 2, 2007, Bell Cooper was given a Level 1 reprimand for misuse of a public position, a violation of Florida Statute 112.313.
"If anyone did anything wrong it was me, for not marching to the HR office and getting the questions myself," Tom said.
According to Bell Cooper, she does not believe she did anything wrong by providing a public record. "I'm a servant of the county and I did what I'm employed to do," she said.
Seeing the questions in advance did not give him an upper hand, according to Cooper. "Most of them were common sense questions, especially for anybody with law enforcement experience," said Cooper.
Mattison learned of the situation, shortly after the request and discussed it with Cooper before holding the interview on Feb. 28, 2007.
However, Cooper's prior knowledge of the questions did not affect his prospects of getting the job, since the county was looking for someone with jail experience and a more qualified candidate applied, according to Mattison.
"Our questions are open ended," Mattison said. "They are intended to find out the person's experience and background."
Discipline levels for the county start with a formal counseling, then proceeds to a Level 1 and Level 2 reprimand, followed by a suspension and finally dismissal, according to Chris Mitchell, public information officer for Walton County.

Hilarious - I now have to clean the water off my computer screen. :rofl:

Sheriff candidate Cooper used fianc?e?s position to get interview questions in advance


By Nate Kelly
August 21, 2008 - 10:24AM
Walton County Sheriff's candidate, Tom Cooper, wanted to be prepared for an interview for the job of deputy director of the Walton County jail. He had his then fianc?e, Christine Bell Cooper, emergency operations planner, get a copy of the interview questions beforehand, according to Gary Mattison, human resource director for Walton County.
The questions were public information. However, on May 2, 2007, Bell Cooper was given a Level 1 reprimand for misuse of a public position, a violation of Florida Statute 112.313.
"If anyone did anything wrong it was me, for not marching to the HR office and getting the questions myself," Tom said.
According to Bell Cooper, she does not believe she did anything wrong by providing a public record. "I'm a servant of the county and I did what I'm employed to do," she said.
Seeing the questions in advance did not give him an upper hand, according to Cooper. "Most of them were common sense questions, especially for anybody with law enforcement experience," said Cooper.
Mattison learned of the situation, shortly after the request and discussed it with Cooper before holding the interview on Feb. 28, 2007.
However, Cooper's prior knowledge of the questions did not affect his prospects of getting the job, since the county was looking for someone with jail experience and a more qualified candidate applied, according to Mattison.
"Our questions are open ended," Mattison said. "They are intended to find out the person's experience and background."
Discipline levels for the county start with a formal counseling, then proceeds to a Level 1 and Level 2 reprimand, followed by a suspension and finally dismissal, according to Chris Mitchell, public information officer for Walton County.

This is very confusing to me. If it?s public record, and the public can view this, then what did she or he do wrong?? I don?t understand what the problem is. And it is very strange for it to come out right at the midnight hour. Sounds like this should have been one of those questions brought up at one of the forums, where the person could come up to the microphone and state who they were, and address it in public, not a submarine attack.

We shouldn?t run politics this way, but it happens in all different levels of government. I believe if it?s important enough to pick up the phone and call the newspaper, then you should have the guts to stand up and say it in public. Your information becomes more credible when you stand behind it, not hiding behind it.

And remember everyone, get out and take advantage of early voting. And if you can?t vote early, make sure you get out and vote on Tuesday, rain, wind or hail, get out and VOTE.

I too wonder why a reprimand was given if this was a public record. The story does say it was a public record, but I am curious as to who provided that information. Is this a situation where the questions are public record (like most all government documents are), but was not subject to release until after interview?

Not trying to pile on Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, but the story has left me confused and like others more clarification would be nice.

As to the suggestions this relates to another candidate for sheriff slinging mud, I think we all need to calm down. While I am sure any of the candidates would like a little extra boost over the field, this was a rumor posted on this website (now removed for the most part). If the Sun picked up on it and ran with it, I don't think we can blame a candidate for mudslinging, especially if its true.

Either way, remember to vote early or on Tuesday August 26.

The only question I have about this report is why was she reprimanded for pulling a public document? If inside connections were used to get this document then I could understand. But it was public record and anyone could do it. I don't see an abuse of office in that.So, I have to ask, why she was punished for it?

I agree but in consideration of our current state of affairs within our beautiful County I understand what happened. I must dig into my memory bank but it seems to me there was a fireman that took a truck to a fire with no water in it and he recieved counseling. According to the Sun article there is a counsel, a level 1, 2, suspension, and terminiation. So from what I can tell about our County is this. If you fail to do your job that could cause the loss of life, they say "dont do that anymore". If you give someone a piece of paper that is a public record you get a level 1. By deductive reasoning does that mean if you are late for work, will you be terminated? By the way can anyone explain what the difference is between a level 1 and 2 reprimand?