St.Joseph County Magistrate

I know first hand that they already went through a complete interviewing process about a year ago. Rather than do it all over again the Judges decided to offer the position to Mark and he accepted.

The lawsuit gossip seems a bit ridiculous because such a request to drop a lawsuit as a quid pro quo would be unethical. Middleton and Welty are above that both personally and professionally.

Glad to hear Mark found a position! No matter what some people may think, Mark is a good person and is a hard worker.

This site wouldn't even exist with out petty gossip to try to help destroy decent peoples lives.
History lite observed this first hand.

Congrats Mark on your job. Happy to hear you and your family will have income. To wish such hard luck on anyone MUST really need to search out help for him or herself.

This site wouldn't even exist with out petty gossip to try to help destroy decent peoples lives.

This site exists because I have put an enormous amount of time, money and effort into it.

This site is a platform to discuss politics, share your opinions and to spread a wealth of information about our lives the universe and everything. Its purpose is not to spread petty gossip either. Of course it does happen but it happens everywhere people gather. At least here it is somewhat out in the open for everyone to read and correct when a correction is warranted. Try correcting someone gossiping at your local coffee shop. And then let me know how it turns out for you.

History lite observed this first hand.

And she was able to get her side of the story out. Would the Sturgis Journal have offered her the same kind of an opportunity to do so?

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"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds." - Samuel Adams

I believe that is what the editorial is for in the Sturgis Journal

It doesn't compare.

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"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds." - Samuel Adams

No disrespect to Mark Books, but this smacks of the same good ole boy network that swooped in and moved Barnes over to Central Dispatch. Why wouldn't the county post this position and where is the current magistrate going?

People sleep peacably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
- George Orwell

trhunter-
If you think this stinks wait till you see how J.W.W. is going to swing a promotion for Vickie Allen since we have successfully kept Dennis out of SJC employment where he would be nothing but a liability. J.W.W. is moving job responsibilities away from a long-time, quality full-time employee to Vickie, who has always been a part-time employee with only mediocre abilities.

Buck- thank you for this site. My focus is going to be renewed on the tragic and chronic misdealings and poor judgement of Judy West-Wing! Hold on to your hats boys and girls, the ride is gonna get rough!

The magistrate (Don) took a job up in Juvenile Court. I respect Middleton's position. He didn't want to waste anyone's time in applying for a position when they already had their candidate selected. There is nothing worse in making people go through the motions/or have them get their hopes up when the process isn't really going to change anything.

Originally posted by historylight


The magistrate (Don) took a job up in Juvenile Court. I respect Middleton's position. He didn't want to waste anyone's time in applying for a position when they already had their candidate selected. There is nothing worse in making people go through the motions/or have them get their hopes up when the process isn't really going to change anything.

Exactly! Thank you Holly for making my point for me and for once we agree on something. Who is to say that there are not significantly better qualified candidates available rather than this 'old boy that worked down to the jail and everyone's picking on because he was on the wrong side'. (sound familiar) Wouldn't you be a better qualified magistrate yourself and are you not seeking employment? I would think you would be upset about such an injustice being the crusader that you are.

Originally posted by InTheThickOfIt

trhunter-
If you think this stinks wait till you see how J.W.W. is going to swing a promotion for Vickie Allen since we have successfully kept Dennis out of SJC employment where he would be nothing but a liability. J.W.W. is moving job responsibilities away from a long-time, quality full-time employee to Vickie, who has always been a part-time employee with only mediocre abilities.

Vicki is not "part time" with "mediocre abilities". She has performed her job well for about 17 years. I am sure, that like other employers, the county is always looking to consolidate responsibilities when possible and maybe get by without creating new positions when it can be accomplished. In fact, while MANY other counties are in hiring freezes, cutting services or laying off employees, St. Joe County is not. It may come to that in the future, but not now. That has got to be due to the actions of the administrator and commissioners.

I have little information about Jim Barnes' job description, but agree with hiring Mark Books as magistrate, as the interview process had already been completed for him and others, and obviously, if the current magistrate had not been a candidate, Mark would have been hired at that time. That's the name of the game "right place at the right time".

No matter who gets hired or not, I am sure someone will have a problem with it. As everyone who reads this knows, I am not convinced that there is as much conspiracy going on as others think there is.

Lockport,


She may be titled full-time but she is not a 40-hour employee yet enjoys the same benefits as the 40-hour people and as far as her abilities... I say tomatoe, you say...

As far as the conspiracy goes- How many times has Ms. West-Wing "found" money to swing her little pet projects when the voters or commissioners or other boards (Community Mental Health) has taken issue with her or roundly said "No". Parking lots, historic court house renovation, CMH misappropriations and on and on. Then the recent sheltering of Jim Barnes and as Sonny and Cher put it "The beat goes on." The county administer plays dirty and is a puppeteer of the County commission. She is so arrogant as to challenge the authority of elected officials?!!?>>.

In the Thick of It,

I think you are right on track. Nothing personally against V. Allen, but let's be honest. If you are a pal of JWW, you are in. If you dare to cross her, consequences are severe.

Although, I loved the quote in the paper that said she had nothing to do with Balk or McDonough's salaries...that the comissioners tell her what to do. Seriously? Does anyone tell her what to do?

As long as we are picking on county employees. How many get the luxury of working their choice of hours, their choice of locations (home?). The answer is only one...any guesses WHO that might be? :)

The RUMOR RUNNER attempts to verify and chase down a variety of rumors in and around St. Joseph County.

Originally posted by InTheThickOfIt


Wouldn't you be a better qualified magistrate yourself and are you not seeking employment? I would think you would be upset about such an injustice being the crusader that you are.

They decided to go with it being a non-attorney position. I would have been a very viable candidate if they decided to make it an attorney position. I am not upset and it was no slight or injustice to me; they have had difficulty in the past at keeping an attorney magistrate. Such hires tend to move on.

You would think that since MY tax dollars fund these positions- that they would at LEAST be posted in the local paper for the St. Joseph County taxpayers to see and apply. I find this entire process of behind closed doors amazing. My personal opinion of Mark Books is that he is a stand up guy, and I suspect he will do great as the Magistrate; but listen folks he is not the only resident of SJC who is unemployed. If he was the best candidate, let him prove it by going through the interview process and competing against other applicants like Holly Curtis. If he was still the best and most qualified; he's hired. If not...then he can hit the unemployment lines like the other 12% of Michiganders.

I commend Holly (HistoryLight) for not being bitter, but I suspect Mark was not the only person who could have stepped in and started right away. Again...look around at the sheer number of folks looking for jobs.


The RUMOR RUNNER attempts to verify and chase down a variety of rumors in and around St. Joseph County.