Post resigns; Leisure Services director quits

Posted by
Mike Buffington
in Top Stories & Breaking News, Winder Archives
Thursday, March 26. 2009
Comments (30)
Two additional Barrow County department managers have resigned. Robert Post, the chief of Barrow County Fire and Emergency Services, resigned Wednesday, one day after returning to work from a one-week suspension.

In addition, Nicole Smith, the director of Leisure Services, also resigned this week. Now filling her role is athletic coordinator Kurt Cooper. Smith's resignation was effective Wednesday and she has departed the position, sources said Thursday morning.


Post told the Barrow Journal on Tuesday that he was glad to be back at work. But when contacted Thursday morning, he said he had decided to resign.

He did not disclose what led to his unexpected decision, saying he signed a confidentiality agreement with the county that could affect his ability to receive the payout of accrued benefits. His last day is Friday, March 27.

Board of commissioners Chairman Danny Yearwood could not be reached for comment early Thursday morning. The BOC did hold a closed-door session at its meeting Tuesday night to discuss "personnel," but it's not known if that is related to either of these resignations.

The departures bring to seven the number of county department managers who have vacated their positions since Yearwood took office Jan. 1.

The others were chief administrator Keith Lee, assistant administrator Michael Fischer, planning director Guy Herring, animal control manager Stephen Eades and stormwater manager Jennifer Toler.
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#1 Anonymous on 03/26/09 at 01:15 PM [Reply]
Wow - Yearwood has once again managed to rid Barrow County of a highly experienced, competent department leader. Are all you Yearwood supporters still happy? Do you really think Danny knows better than the people he has driven away? Do you think they are all wrong and he is all right? It is going to be a long, painful four years for Barrow County.
#2 Barrow voter on 03/26/09 at 02:40 PM [Reply]
Yearwood is the fire chief's boss. If the chief doesn't like it or can't handle it then he needs to move on.
#2.1 Anonymous on 03/26/09 at 08:52 PM [Reply]
Exactly..People voted for Yearwood because they wanted the good ole boy mentality and dictorship gone and now they fault him? Remember he inherited this mess both financially and politically. Give him time to get this county in shape.
Hard decisions have to be made to prevent this county from falling. Fall in people.
#2.1.1 Anonymous on 03/27/09 at 06:28 PM [Reply]
People voted for Yearwood because they wanted the good ole boy mentality and dictorship gone
----------------------------------------------
And what we have is a dictator gone wild.

Yes, the budget needed to be balanced, but that could be almost accomplished by collecting all the past due taxes.

Yes, there were (and still are) a few people who needed to go. I take issue with promoting an Administrative Assistant (secretary) to department head, unless of course she has the education and experience (outside her prior county position) to hold the post.

I take issue with the suspending the fire chief. As far as I'm concerned that was overstepping his bounds.

He should look at all other areas and LEAVE the public safety departments ALONE.
#2.1.2 Anonymous on 03/27/09 at 06:28 PM [Reply]
People voted for Yearwood because they wanted the good ole boy mentality and dictorship gone
----------------------------------------------
And what we have is a dictator gone wild.

Yes, the budget needed to be balanced, but that could be almost accomplished by collecting all the past due taxes.

Yes, there were (and still are) a few people who needed to go. I take issue with promoting an Administrative Assistant (secretary) to department head, unless of course she has the education and experience (outside her prior county position) to hold the post.

I take issue with the suspending the fire chief. As far as I'm concerned that was overstepping his bounds.

He should look at all other areas and LEAVE the public safety departments ALONE.
#2.1.3 Anonymous on 03/27/09 at 06:28 PM [Reply]
People voted for Yearwood because they wanted the good ole boy mentality and dictorship gone
----------------------------------------------
And what we have is a dictator gone wild.

Yes, the budget needed to be balanced, but that could be almost accomplished by collecting all the past due taxes.

Yes, there were (and still are) a few people who needed to go. I take issue with promoting an Administrative Assistant (secretary) to department head, unless of course she has the education and experience (outside her prior county position) to hold the post.

I take issue with the suspending the fire chief. As far as I'm concerned that was overstepping his bounds.

He should look at all other areas and LEAVE the public safety departments ALONE.
#3 Anon on 03/26/09 at 03:00 PM [Reply]
Holly Cow Batman. & ppl since Jan. 1, 2009. Danny Yearwood.. The commissioner who rid the county of all competent directors and decided to manage it himself. Wait he couldn't even pay his tayxes on time. Boy are we in for a rocky ride Barrow. I say make him resign as well!!! RECALL the CHairman!!!!!
#3.1 tax payer on 03/27/09 at 01:17 PM [Reply]
ok. give Danny a break. you should be talking to Mr. Garrison, he's the reason why this county is in such a shape. yeah its bad, but Danny's trying . No one else ran against him, so I say shut up or get up. all you people out there whining and fussing, you should have stepped up to the plate and ran yourself. shut up or get the heck out of BArrow if you don';t like it, most of all the people fussing didn't grow up here anyway, they are from foriegn countries they act like. this county is small, and we will continue the good ole boy system. thats more than garrison even tried to do, he was led around by his nose not knowing anything. and NOT DOING NOTHING, but critical things for this county...
#4 DuWayne R. Anderson on 03/26/09 at 03:58 PM [Reply]
I hope Mr. Yearwood is not arrogant enough to think that the effects of his micro-managing of our Barrow County Government supervisors and staff is going unnoticed by the citizens of this county.
With the departure of Chief Post, Barrow take another hit on the effective services that the county is mandated to provide. Who will be next supervisor to pack up and leave? Stay tuned sports fans....................I'm sure there is more drama to come..................
DuWayne R. Anderson
Winder, GA
#5 anonymous on 03/26/09 at 07:57 PM [Reply]
A balance needs to found between micro managing (Yearwood) and Not Knowing what is going on (Garrison). When the time comes to find help with some critical positions it will be hard to find someone that is qualified and put up with being micro managed.
#5.1 Anonymous on 03/26/09 at 08:57 PM [Reply]
You are so right..However I think given the mess Mr. Yearwood came into, we probably do need some micro managing right now. Lets hope that it doesn't take long.
#6 Larry on 03/26/09 at 09:12 PM [Reply]
I hear through the grape vines thay Mr Yearwood had a meeting today with a former fire chief.
#7 Homer Stokes on 03/26/09 at 09:14 PM [Reply]
A new broom sweeps clean. Every lazy county worker should be expunged immediately. Then, socialists like Lorin Sinn-Clark cam take over and bring us to marxist paradise, like they have in Colorado.
#8 Danny on 03/27/09 at 05:27 AM [Reply]
Sounds like all the overpaid,lazy,Good ole boys are running scared about now.As it should be they have sucked to much money out of this county long enough.Hiring ethical hard workers may be harder to find but they are out there.
#9 DuWayne R. Anderson on 03/27/09 at 06:40 AM [Reply]
Mr. Yearwood has clearly shown that his management style is reactionary in nature, vs. proactive. This creates a negative working environment for all who work at the County facility. The notion that all county workers may be lazy, is at best premature in nature.
What we need is a BOC that looks at the long term big picture for the future of the county.
The current posturing of management style by Mr. Yearwood and his supporters, continues to have a negative effect on those employees who remain in place just trying to do their jobs.
Quite frankly, there is enough required stress in each of our daily lives, without having to deal with repressive "keep you under my thumb" mentality, of those who are supposed to be positive examples of leadership.
The "My way or the highway" style of management that Mr.Yearwood clearly embraces, went out in the 80's. It is neither productive or desired by anyone who is just trying to do a good job each and every day.

Instead of taking charge of the budget issues, the budget issues have taken charge of Mr. Yearwood. This is a clear sign of his inexperience in matters of precise management planning and implementation.

I am not sure how Mr.Yearwood runs his car business, but based on what I have seen of his car lot in Winder, the plan seems to be based on having a big lot, with 1 car on it. Look for more firings of staff at the BOC in the near future. It appears Mr. Yearwood feels he can run the entire county government by himself, and doesn't need any help. This arrogant attitude will do nothing to enhance Barrow County's fiscal responsibility image in the region or the state. He was voted in to run the BOC, not each and every dept. Until he wakes up and figures that out, it will continue to be a very, very, very long 4 yrs. for the citizens of Barrow County.

DuWayne R. Anderson
Winder, GA
#10 Just a Jake on 03/27/09 at 09:00 AM [Reply]
All throughout our history, man has been inspired to seek out leadership, and has at times even shown great wisdom in following those leaders. Some great leaders have left their mark on history, and still inspire us in words past from one generation to the next. Other leaders while although having left their mark, society view them as painful reminders and smears in our history.

So for the present, we are, like it or not stuck with the present-day Chairman...

So I propose we educate him...

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.
(Proverbs 29:18).

Blindly obliterating the County’s infrastructure, slashing the budget and eliminating jobs will only promote more hardship.


“You do not lead by hitting people over the head: that’s assault, not leadership”
(Dwight D. Eisenhower).

Your methods of controlling the employees by holding their jobs over their heads every day is an affective way of hemorrhaging the work force. Competent, well seasoned and essential professionals are beyond heavy-handed tactic and are looking elsewhere while continuing to professionally do their jobs.

"You have to enable and empower people to make decisions independent of you. As I've learned, each person on a team is an extension of your leadership; if they feel empowered by you they will magnify your power to lead. Trust is a great force multiplier."
(Tom Ridge)

STOP Micro-managing! Enough said.

"No executive has ever suffered because his subordinates were strong and effective."
(Peter Drucker)

“The departures (Post & Smith) bring to seven the number of county department managers who have vacated their positions since Yearwood took office Jan. 1.” (Barrow Journal, online). Is this leadership or the inability to work with others? If the Chairman has better knowledge of the day-to-day needs and operations the respective departments heads he has vacated, I will be amazed.


"Outstanding leaders go out of the way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish."
(Sam Walton)

Give the County Citizens and its employees the opportunity to build Barrow County back up. Empower us; disempowering the strongest asset this County has will only exacerbate the current conditions.

"No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it."
(Andrew Carnegie)

Mr. Chairman, greatness and ego are not synonymous.

And Finale:

"Absurdum est ut alios regat, qui seipsum regere nescit."

(translation: It is absurd that a man should rule others, who cannot rule himself.)

“”RECALL””
#10.1 CitizenK on 03/27/09 at 09:55 AM [Reply]
Very well spoken.
#10.2 Anonymous on 03/27/09 at 09:11 PM [Reply]
Wikipedia defines Jake as
"Jake, baseball slang meaning a lazy player or a half-hearted effort, i.e. "He jaked that play."
Not sure I would be wanting someone defining myself in such a way
#10.2.1 If you'd read Wikipedia further... on 03/27/09 at 10:21 PM [Reply]
I happened to find this meaning of Jake after reading further down the page...

"Jake, a slang term of high praise for a fireman or a police officer"

Ignorance will get you no where, but thanks for playing!
#10.2.2 Anonymous on 03/28/09 at 02:54 PM [Reply]
Interesting that you picked the one about a lazy ball player when the one for high praise of a fireman / policeman came up first. Tells me you read the entire list to find one that you felt was derogatory

Jake may also refer to:

* "The Jake," the former nickname of the Major League Baseball stadium once known as Jacobs Field, now Progressive Field
* Jake brake, a particular brand of engine brake
* Jake, a slang term in the United States for Jamaican ginger extract.
* Jake leg, Jake walk; partial paralysis of the limbs, caused by an adulterant, tricresyl phosphate added to Jamaican ginger during Prohibition
* Jake, a slang term in Scotland for someone uncouth
* Jake, a slang term of high praise for a fireman or a police officer
* Jake, a slang term used in Discordianism to describe a prank, often celebrated on Jake Day
* Jake / Bot2, one of the ROVs used during the filming of the documentary Ghosts of the Abyss
* Jake, jazz era slang meaning "great", as in "everything's jake" or "it's all jake."
* Jake, baseball slang meaning a lazy player or a half-hearted effort, i.e. "He jaked that play."
* Jake the Alligator Man, an oddity on view in Long Beach, Washington
* Less Than Jake, a ska punk band
* Jake, a slang term in England for rough cider
#11 Total Recall on 03/27/09 at 01:51 PM [Reply]
It's not going to happen. Give it up, gadflies. You're in the same category as the whiners to continue to bleat about Obama's birth certificate.

"To the victor belong the spoils."
Chesty Arthur, 1881
#11.1 Just a Jake on 03/27/09 at 10:45 PM [Reply]
If you are going to quote a historical figure, I find it ironic, but yet suited that you have selected “Chesty” Arthur’s "To the victor belong the spoils." …

The quote is directed toward not the spoils of combat, but to the spoils of the political system (or the “Spoils System”) and the practice of playing favorites…

Sounds eerily similar to the “Good Ole Boy Network” to me said the “gadfly”…

And thank you for further reinforcing our cause by allowing me to point out this; that after the assassination of Garfield, the newly elevated President Arthur was forced to react to a nationwide public outcry over the “spoils system”, resulting in a sweeping reform to civil service… Fitting too, do you not agree!

Perhaps a more appropriate quote would have been: “Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid, one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.”
(Gen. Douglas MacArthur)

So, “It's not going to happen.” We will see said the “Gadfly”, 06.29.09 is coming…
#12 Never know.. on 03/27/09 at 03:02 PM [Reply]
Let me tell ya.. I have been a residence alot longer than alot of people on this blog. I have seen changes where Winder went from Stephans street to May street. Everything around here has changed. When a person, given a direct order from his boss, does right the opposite.. That is his choice. Chief Post may have had some good ideas, but when the County is broke, it is broke. Over time in the fire service is a must. But, when you approve over time, that your boss said could not be done, then you must face the punishment. If a Fire Fighter broke on of his rules, it would be the same thing. Any person, no matter how high up the chain, has someone to answer to. We do not have to large budgets of other Counties, which means, we can not have the same as others. I do want to see the Powers that Be, put more than one Fire Fighter on a truck. I hope you read this, because it is headed for a disaster. Danny, make the changes you need to make, then makes things right..
#12.1 C.M. THornton, III on 04/01/09 at 01:45 PM [Reply]
How funny. The previous poster has been a "residence" alot longer than alot of people on this blog. Intresting. He/she thinks that he/she is a house or residential structure of some sort...

Anyway, when is Barrow County going to get rid of Chief Financial Officer Beth Horacek?? The county's financial status wont change until she is gone...
#12.1.1 Anonymous on 04/03/09 at 10:12 AM [Reply]
No doubt a product of that "award winning" Barrow County Public School system!
#13 Anonymous on 04/01/09 at 03:51 PM [Reply]
"Leisure Services director quits":Don't take this one so hard,folks. This Barrow county employee cared more about her tennis game than about the interest of Barrow County citizens. Consider this one a blessing.
#14 Anonymous on 04/01/09 at 11:12 PM [Reply]
Well, it is good that they will post your comments regarding the Chief Financial person, because they will not post anything about the HR Director. Why is she not being fired? The county will never have "peace" as long as she is there.
#15 Anonymous on 04/04/09 at 12:06 PM [Reply]
Until you live the life or live with a firefighter you will never understand their system. My husband wakes up every 3rd day and heads off to his home away from home and to spend 24 hours with his 2nd family and might I add he does it proudly. But all the while my daughter is asking where is daddy daddy come home and in the back of my mind the possability of him not coming home at all lingers. The leave their homes and their families not knowing if they will return so that they can proudly and selflessly help the citizens of barrow county anyway they can and Danny thinks he can run their department then let him try I think next big fire or car accident we have let our boys sit it out until Danny gets their and goes in first or tries to cut a sreaming scared child out of a car if you want to put your lives and homes and children in Danny's hands go ahead sit around and watch it burn
#16 anonymous on 04/07/09 at 02:18 AM [Reply]
And now Yearwood is punishing Horacek? For being "untruthful"? What is this? Yearwood's way of not paying people for a week or does he really believe 40 hr unpaid leaves are the way to address any and all personnel issues? I suppose Yearwood thinks he is a qualified financial professional who can handle Horacek's job when she eventually quits after tiring of dealing with this tyrant.
#17 Smitty on 04/07/09 at 02:22 PM [Reply]
Yearwood is a power hungry, uneducated fool. He doesn't know the first thing about management or leadership. He wants to run the county the way he sees fit and a majority of the commissioners are letting him do it. Wake up Barrow County. Standby the law suits are coming and all the money Danny boy thought he saved will be paid out to those he has forced out.
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