Benton McAlexander, a lifetime member of Laurel Fork Fire Department, has resigned from his post as Fire Chief.

McAlexander, who has been with the department for approximately 25 years, told The Carroll News he planned to turn in his resignation last week. McAlexander and his wife, Laurel Fork Fire Department Treasurer Tammy McAlexander, were suspended from the operation of county emergency services equipment and from being on the premises of county emergency services property in May. The suspension came despite a Virginia State Police investigation that found no wrongdoing against the couple.

Virginia State Police Sgt. Michael Conroy said the state police investigated an allegation of possible financial irregularities involving a procurement process at the Laurel Fork Fire Department, but never filed any charges.

“There was an allegation into the accounting practices at Laurel Fork Fire Department, not necessarily against an individual. We did a search warrant for the financial records of that organization looking to see if there were financial transactions that were not proper involving a procurement process. We completed that investigation, found no wrongdoing, and that case is closed,” Conroy said. “There was an allegation and we looked into it and it was unfounded and it was closed to any further details.”

Carroll County Administrator Gary Larrowe said the McAlexanders were on a pending suspension prior to the investigation, but added that the suspensions were never lifted after the Virginia State Police investigation.

“They were suspended due to the fact there was an investigation going on. It was pending and then the second suspension was after that investigation to clarify the suspension,” Larrowe said. “There was a Virginia State Police investigation but there were no charges. It came down to not following Carroll County policy. We continued to suspend them for that purpose.”

The McAlexanders had until the July 23 meeting of the Carroll County EMS Board to appeal the suspension. That meeting was canceled, however, because two members of the EMS Board were gone to Ozark, Alabama for the Dixie World Series. Benton McAlexander said the couple was given an extension for appeal until the Carroll EMS Board’s August 20 meeting, but the couple will be gone to the West Virginia State Fair, as they always do, when the meeting is scheduled.

Longtime Laurel Fork Dire Department member Phillip Norman said the department recently voted whether or not to support an appeal by the McAlexanders. He said the vote was approved, although some members wanted the vote worded that the department would take the McAlexanders back if the county allowed it. Regardless, McAlexander said he’s had enough.

“I am going to resign as chief. I am tired of the county’s crap,” said McAlexander, who has been chief at the department for eight years. “The State Police found us innocent, but the county has done everything they can do to make sure nobody hears our side of the story. They told the membership not to talk to us. We tried to meet with the board of supervisors, but the county said, ‘No, you have to go through the EMS Board.’”

Benton said his suspension stems from the fact that he works for Vest Sales and Services, an auto repair company.

“We talked about it and discussed it in the department meeting and the fire department felt it was not a conflict. We had always done business with Vest before I ever became chief, so the department didn’t feel like it was a conflict,” McAlexander said. “We met with Gary Larrowe. He had us write a letter to the county explaining why we didn’t think it was a conflict, and he said we was going to go to the county attorney to get an answer. Well, we never got one. Later on, an employee of the county told me they met with the county auditor, and (Carroll County Emergency Services Coordinator) Joe Roma was told that it was not a conflict of interest because I was not paid by the county because I was a volunteer.”

Then, McAlexander said Laurel Fork Fire Department decided to buy the body for a fire truck. According to state procurement laws, he said an organization has to have four bids on a truck or truck body. After that process, the department went with a bid from Vest Sales and Service, where McAlexander is employed. Members of the department even formally asked the Carroll County Board of Supervisors permission to use funds to buy the truck a few months ago, McAlexander said.

“I got two bids and two non-bids because they weren’t able to sell that size of a chassis truck. That was one of the things the state police investigated,” McAlexander said. “I talked to Gary Larrowe and told him our intentions of buying this truck and that I was going to buy the body, and that I am employed by Vest. He said, ‘It sounds like you are doing everything right. Go ahead and do it.’ Now they are saying we didn’t follow the right procurement in the body of the truck, because I built a truck at Vest.”

Larrowe disputes telling McAlexander to go ahead with the purchase, adding that he’s had a problem with the Vest conflict since he wrote a letter to Laurel Fork Fire Department in 2007.

“And I’ve continued to have a problem. I have been to meetings at the firehouse where I voiced my views as using (Vest) as a contractor since Benton was fire chief and since Tammy was the treasurer because Benton was working with the company that did this. It’s true they asked for two bids on the chassis. But the fire truck itself was on a blank chassis. It was a truck, not a fire truck. All the body was built by Vest without Carroll County or EMS knowing about that. That is where the problem came in,” Larrowe said. “There was no contract with Vest, no procurement, no specifications with Vest, and Carroll County will not stand to circumvent the rules and regulations of the Commonwealth of Virginia associated with issues of this nature.”

Larrowe said the state police investigation was stopped due to a technicality in a motion passed by the Carroll County Board of Supervisors that allowed for the purchase of the truck without any county funds being involved. Larrowe said the department did pay for the truck with fire department money, but those funds come from the county, he said.

“If you go back and look through, where do those funds come from? The county. Also there was no contract, no procurement on the construction of the fire truck, and we have requested those multiple times. They have never been provided to us from anyone,” Larrowe said. “The technicality was with the motion, and the state police choose not to pursue it. The Board of Supervisors could have rescinded the motion and moved on, but they choose not to do that to try to protect all of those involved. Carroll County feels as if they have a wonderful working relationship with the Laurel Fork Fire Department at this point due to the fact that they are following the rules and regulations of the Commonwealth, where as they may have not been under the previous administration.”

Former Laurel Fork Rescue Squad Captain Kim Shropshire said he resigned from the fire department and as captain of Laurel Fork Rescue Squad because of his disagreement with the suspensions. He is now serving just as a volunteer for the Laurel Fork Rescue Squad.

“It wasn’t right the way they (Carroll County) did Tammy. I have e-mailed (the county) and they won’t e-mail me back and tell me what policy she broke,” Shropshire said.

Shropshire said Tammy McAlexander’s suspension stems from the procurement of the fire truck that was delivered several weeks ago. She wasn’t alone in making the decision, however, leaving Shropshire and other department members befuddled by the suspensions.

“As far as the fire department, she can’t procure vehicles on her own. It was a department decision that the entire department voted on, so she didn’t do anything wrong. As far as the state police investigation, they found nothing wrong. I don’t know why she has not been allowed back on rescue and fire,” he said. “If they are talking abut procurement, the whole department voted to buy the truck. Then they went to the board of supervisors and asked for permission, so I don’t know what the problem is there.”

Benton McAlexander said the county also was concerned that he was pocketing money. According to him, he works four 10-hour days a week, but he went to Vest Sales and Service every Friday and worked on the chassis at no charge.

“It was free labor for the Laurel Fork Fire Department,” McAlexander said. “Between that and stuff I put on the truck, I am actually out about $1,000. I’m not saying that I didn’t do something wrong, but everything I did was for the good of the department.”

“I’ve said the one mistake was not bidding it out,” Norman added. “I think mistakes were made, but I don’t think they did anything for personal gain. It’s not like they were dealing drugs out of the firehouse or housing Osama bin Laden.”

McAlexander said that while he has resigned as chief, he has not resigned from the fire department. Even though McAlexander has been suspended from being on county emergency services property, Norman said he still maintains voting rights as a lifetime member of the department. Doug Lyons, Laurel Fork Fire Department Assistant Chief, has been serving as Acting Chief since McAlexander’s suspension in May.

“Maybe Gary Larrowe thinks we did wrong, but I think his punishment is harsh,” McAlexander said. “We talked about it. I explained what was going on and the man didn’t have a problem with it until now. I have fought and have tried to care, but you can’t swallow but so much.”

McAlexander lives outside of Carroll County, but said he basically grew up in Laurel Fork because he has worked in the fire department for so long. He wants to the community to know he never intended to quit serving Laurel Fork.

“I have served there for a long time and I wasn’t through serving, but this was the hand that was dealt to me,” he said. “I still had plenty to do out there and a lot of goals out there, but my hand got drew so I just want to apologize to the community for that. But I also want them to understand it wasn’t my doing.”