Rules being bent for Kitchens?

Documents obtained by the Barrow Journal raise questions about whether the fire department’s management is bending the rules to get their former chief back in the fold.

The records show that Kitchens applied last fall for a part-time 911 dispatcher position but was not hired.

He then applied for a firefighter/EMT position.

However, county officials noted on that application that his state EMT certification had lapsed.

To help him regain it, Barrow County fire officials allowed him in late November to take an online refresher course offered in-house.

In December, deputy chief Bryan Bullock signed a certificate stating Kitchens had successfully completed the 36-hour EMT course.

Then on May 22 of this year, Lt. Kevin Locke in a letter to the state’s EMS training officer stated that Kitchens had completed “the required 48 hour refresher course taught at Barrow County Fire and Emergency Services.”

However, records of Kitchens’ online coursework raise serious questions about the truthfulness of Bullock’s and Locke’s claims.

Asked more than a week ago for any documentation of the time Kitchens spent participating in the course, fire officials on Tuesday released two sets of records.

Together, they indicate that Kitchens spent a combined total of about 43 minutes enrolled online in the course:

•seven minutes from 4:30-4:37 p.m. Nov. 22.

•22 minutes from 11:30-11:52 p.m. Nov. 24.

•three minutes from 10:23-10:26 a.m. Nov. 25.

•two minutes from 11:43-11:45 a.m. Nov. 29.

•and nine minutes from 12:02-12:11 a.m. Nov. 30.

Asked early Wednesday for an explanation of the apparent discrepancy, interim chief John Skinner did not immediately respond.

In addition, the records show that Kitchens in November 2009 failed the department’s pre-employment test for the firefighter/EMT position, but county fire officials added points and gave him a passing grade.

The test had 25 multiple-choice questions, and Kitchens missed eight, receiving a score of 64. However, 12 points were added to his score, making it a 76.

Asked to explain the score change, interim chief John Skinner told the Barrow Journal

Tuesday night in an e-mail: “Yes, numerous applicants received a curve or I should say advanced questions were thrown out. Our new hire testing was changed under the last admin-istration and consisted of some more advanced questions that should not be on an pre-employment test. This increased our failure rate and prompted a reaction from us, because we typically do not get many applicants for full-time and the ones we did were failing our written test. Therefore, Chief Bullock and Penny (Clack) pulled applicants from the two test periods that had previously failed and Chief Bullock and a staff of three or four personnel reviewed the test and removed the more advanced questions, which initiated the curve. Currently we are in the process of changing our written test, the new tests have been drafted and are with HR for validation. Chief Bullock has been working on this for several months because of the failure rate that we were experiencing.”

Asked if Kitchens would be given another pre-employment test if he is allowed to apply this second time, Skinner responded: “As far as Mr. Kitchens, he will be given the same opportunity as everyone else that has or may apply with Barrow County. There are numerous steps that you must go through and everyone MUST successfully complete each step in order to move on and be considered for employment. The answer is yes, Mr. Kitchens will have to take the new hire written test along with successfully completing other tasks as well in order to be considered for employment.”

Commissioner Steve Worley, who acknowledges a personal friendship with Kitchens, said Wednesday morning that if there is no documentation showing the former chief had agreed not to apply for another job with the county, he would be allowed to apply. But Worley said the application would likely not go forward until all of the questions are answered.

“Until all the other issues or accusations are brought before me and proven, I will not vote,” Worley said.

He noted that in the 15 years he’s been taking tests to maintain his public works certifications, there has been only one question eliminated from a test due to everyone in the class missing it.

“You don’t change the test just because the questions might be hard,” Worley said.

He said he and another commissioner are “very concerned, very concerned” about the testing issue.

Said Worley: “It’s serious enough that we’re not just staying with Mitch Kitchens on this one. We’re checking a lot of them.”