IS MARLBORO TRUSTEE DAVE WOLF BEING OVER OPTIMISTIC?

In Marlboro Trustees Meet in Regular Session (July 17), Karen Humphries of the Hartville News reports:

... Dave Wolf stated that he "personally" feels that the issue regarding reimbursement of Ron and Kyle Devies for legal fees ... is "behind us."

Well, the SCPR is not so sure about Wolf's "personal" feeling.

Yours truly spoke with Ron Devies a few days ago and he says that still expects to be reimbursed for legal and medical expenses. However, the thinking now is that these matters are better left to a new board of trustees. Devies seems to be confident that a new board will treat him and Kyle fairly which, if fairness prevails, could obviate the need for litigation.

Devies believes that Wolf will not be running again and that Wise will be soundly defeated if he actually files to run.

Devies says that things have settled down in the township except for a needling irritation or two from at the hand of Trustee Wise.

Devies cited the example of his taking a police vehicle that is some ten years old to a local auto body person for an estimate for repairs so as to extend the useful life of the vehicle. According to Devies, Wise got wind of it and insisted that he get competitive bids which Devies says he is okay with.

Apparently, the getting multiple bids scenario grew out of challenges made to the trustees for going out and getting Compu-Tek to replace Kyle Devies as the maintainer of the township computer system without first getting competitive bids.

It appears relationships are still tender in Marlboro.

In the opinion of the SCPR, it will take the Wolf not running (or being defeated, if he does decide to run) and Wise being defeated, if he chooses to file and run, before normalcy returns to Marlboro Township.

MARLBORO TOWNSHIP RESIDENTS TO STAY AWAY IN LARGE NUMBERS FROM TRUSTEES "DEVIES" WORK SESSION ON MONDAY?

UPDATE: 12:30 P.M.

COMMENT FROM LARRY DORDEA. Officer Dordea was Sheriff Swanson's opponent in November, 2008 and plans to run for sheriff again in November, 2012.

COMMENT FOLLOWS:

Mr Olson,

I spent two days outside the courtroom so I was not privy to the opening statements. The Devies' are fine men and their attorneys some [sic] up the situation with a level of clarity that needs to be seen all throughout Marlboro Township. This was a political witch hunt that was aided and abetted by the Stark County Sheriff's Office and the Stark County Prosecutor’s Office. There is no excuse for the way this went down, both county offices were represented by their "heavy hitters", their notorious "big guns". You have done a much needed service by making this video available to the public. Thank you for taking the time and putting forth the effort to follow this unwarranted criminal case to its conclusion.

I agree with you that apologies are in order but these offices and their representatives have a history of the hard line. No apologies and no explanations. I sincerely doubt that they are sorry for anything but losing the case and I doubt they are ashamed of the shoddy work that they did. What has happened to our once outstanding sheriff’s office?

To Ron and Kyle, I am ashamed, both as a lifetime law enforcement officer and as a life time Stark County resident. Neither of you deserved the mistreatment that you suffered and you have proven the quality of your character both during this prolonged persecution and every day since your vindication. I have no idea where all of this will eventually lead but know that many good people believe in you and will stand with you. May god bless you and keep you safe.

Larry Dordea

ORIGINAL POST

Marlboro Township trustees (except for Wayne Schilig) are still on the hot seat for the way they handled a misunderstanding between them and former employee Kyle Devies.

On January 5, 2009, the trustees decided to dismiss township computer specialist Devies, but gave him a very short timeline (one day) to transition the computer system from software he personally owned to that owned by the township.

Consequently, there was a glitch that caused some of the township's computers to be inoperative for a period of time.

Relationships between Kyle's father Ron (Marlboro police chief) and Trustees Wise and Wolf have been strained from the time the two first took office in January, 2010.

The SCPR's understanding of the Devies' position is that Wise and Wolf have been on Ron's case ever since, looking for a reason to get at him - one way or another.

SCPR blog readers can search the blog for videos featuring Chief Devies describing the run-ins with the Wise/Wolf duo searching per the graphic to the immediate left of this text.


A number of township residents believe that Wlse and Wolf pounced on the computer glitch and Ron's effort (an advisory role) to help Kyle to make the switch properly and lawfully as an opportunity to make a law enforcement matter out of the incident.

The result was that Ron and Kyle were charged with one count each with 4th degree felonies (obstructing public business) and Ron with additional misdemeanor count (dereliction of duty).

The SCPR has already opinionated in this blog about the monumental failure of the Stark County sheriff and prosecutor to screen out what the SCPR believed from the get-go as being a obvious non law enforcement matter.

Stark County Common Pleas Judge Lee Sinclair did his part to see that justice was done to the Devies by dismissing the case at the end of the prosecutor's presentation of evidence.

But the battle rages on to restore the Devies - as nearly as possible - to the situation they were in before being put through a totally uncalled for law enforcement process (i.e. being formally indicted).

No apologies from the sheriff, the prosecutor nor Trustees Wise and Wolf.

Ron Devies says that Trustee Wise is adamantly opposed to compensating he and his son for their expenses incurred in connection with the event. Wolf reportedly is waffling on the matter, while Trustee Schilig is for compensating.

So has justice been done?

Only partly: Judge Sinclair's decision.

For the fullest measure of justice to occur (in the opinion of the SCPR), Sheriff Swanson, Prosecutor Ferrero and Trustees Wise and Wolf would have to write public apologies. Moreover, the trustees would have to compensate the Devies for their expenses.

The trustee have called a "work session" for Monday, June 15th to hear township residents on the Devies matter. The SCPR hears that residents are so skeptical of the sincerity of the meeting, that many do not plan to attend. Ron Devies himself has told The Report that he will be unable to attend.

The SCPR is including in this blog posting a video of the opening statements of Prosecutor Dennis Barr and defense attorneys Jeff Jakimedes (Kyle Devies) and Richard Reinbold (Ron Devies).

The video provides an outline of how the trial proceeded.

The video is immediately below.http:

REPOSITORY EDITORIAL BOARD INSULTS RON/KYLE DEVIES & SNICKERS AT "SMALL TOWN" MARLBORO?

In his own mind Repository Executive Editor Jeff Gauger - even though he hails from Rockford, Illinois (Rockford where?) - is a very important guy.

From the tone and the smugness that emanates from yesterday's Rep editorial Chief, trustees must move on, the SCPR is guessing that Gauger was the editorial writer.

Yours truly would e-mail Gauger and find out who wrote the editorial, but it would probably be blown off; like his sidekick Gayle Beck blew off an e-mail asking a mundane question about whether or not The Rep had endorsed in the Chandra/Dann attorney general primary race in 2008.

The SCPR had been hearing that the Rep editors were unhappy with the penetrating critiques that The Report has been doing on their work.

Beck's blow off was all the confirmation the SCPR needed. The SCPR is pleased to put "only countywide newspaper" under the microscope. As former editor David Kaminski once said, The Rep likes being the 800-pound gorilla. Even though he is gone, his statement accurately reflects the attitude among the editors at The Rep today.

The Canton Repository is fast fading as a respected investigatory newspaper. Staff cuts galore are being made at The Rep except for the sports department - of course, many Stark Countians cannot do without their sports.

New owner GateHouse Media Ohio is disliked by the folks who work at The Rep about 60/40 (with 60 being the negative number) according to a source from deep inside the bowels of the Canton daily.

The biggest drop off at The Repository has been with the quality of the editorial staff headed by Jeff Gauger. Let's put it thise way: he is no M.L. Schultze!

The editorial being commented by the SCPR on is about as bush as editors get.

It's done in what the editorial writer thinks is a clever way to demean the Devies and Marlboro Township without it being clearly apparent.

Some examples.

"Let’s put aside the snickering about small towns ... " The writer goes on to cover his/her tracks by bringing in Canton, Massillon and North Canton and their "silly politics."

Not so fast. Apparently, Gauger (et al?) betray themselves and conversation that has been going on in The Rep editorial board room. Frequently, such is the case. He who disses "anonymous" others is covering up his own dissing.

A clever attempt to ridicule Marlboro, while appearing to take the high road.

The clincher is this line: "It’s time for the trustees to put Devies back to work, for him to drop any thought of a lawsuit, and for both sides, now, to put the public first."

The Devies have always put the public first. But not Wise and Wolf. No! They got this mess started. And Marlboro has suffered at their hands. Not the Devies.

To equate the Devies with Wise and Wolf is a huge insult.

And, the Devies are "to drop any thought of a lawsuit."

No, no and no again.

It is obvious that the member(s) of The Repository editorial board do not fully understand the American system of justice.

There is a civil side to our system of justice. The Devies unjustifiably experienced the criminal justice side. Now is their turn to have justice. That is the beauty of the American system.

If the Marlboro trustees damaged the Devies in violation of legally recognized rights in established tort law, then making them pay money damages is the civil side of the American system of justice way sending a message that such conduct could be costly and therefore is check on any who would follow their example.

Where were the editors when the trustees made a mole hill of a matter into a gigantic mountain?

Why weren't the editors editorializing the trustees to not make this a criminal justice matter? Why weren't they editorializing the Stark County sheriff to proceed on a criminal basis with the greatest reluctance. Why weren't they editorializing the Stark County prosecutor to make double, double sure they had a solid case before going to the grand jury?

It is said that a prosecutor can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich.

The Devies matter is a classic case of the Stark County prosecutor doing just that? Except the Devies are not ham sandwiches. The Devies are real breathing, feeling and thinking human beings. With his sloppy work (as confirmed by Judge Sinclair), Ferrero and his involved staff deeply hurt and damaged a pillar of the Marlboro community. Feel good about that John?

There was no case against the Devies. As one who attended a good part of the trial, that became apparent to me by noon of Tuesday, the 19th. Of course, yours truly knew that long before the indictments came down. Check The Report's blogs.

But where was The Rep editorial board?

Nowhere to be seen!

But now they want to weigh in.

Go get a life Rep editors - outside the editorial board room!

BREAKING NEWS! DECISION IN DEVIES "MOTION TO SUPPRESS" HEARING

DISCUSSION: THE TESTIMONY IS IN - JUDGE SINCLAIR TO MAKE DEVIES "MOTION TO SUPPRESS" DECISON IN ABOUT 72 HRS

The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report/SCPR) was at the Devies' generated (Attorneys Richard Reinbold [Ron] & Jeff Jakimedes [Kyle]) Motion to Suppress hearing before Stark County Common Pleas Judge V. Lee Sinclair this morning in Canton.

Here is a short video in which Judge Sinclair is seen and heard stating his timetable for issuing a decision on whether or not to suppress the evidence gathered by investigators when three township computers housed in the police department part of township hall were taken by sheriff deputies and sent to a crime lab for analysis.

DISCUSSION: IS MAYOR WILLIAM J. HEALY, II ABOUT TO GET "LUCKY?"

CORRECTION: 03/28/2009 AT 11:55 AM. Jack DeSario was a "political consultant" to William J. Healy, II in his race for mayor of Canton; not "campaign manager" as stated below. A SCPR thank you to the TeamHealy member who wrote in to point out the error.

These days Canton Mayor William J. Healy, II is probably saying to himself: "I'd rather be lucky than smart." That is quiet a leap for Healy who prides himself on and widely touts himself as being a graduate of the New York University Stern School of Business."

But a politician has to do what a politician must do to survive.

And Healy's luck may be turning?

Earlier this week Governor Ted Strickland announced Stark County's share of federal stimulus money: $21.5 million.

Guess where most of it, if not all, goes?

You've got it. To the city of Canton.

Remember that the governor has a huge stake in the survival of the Healy administration.

How's that?

It took Strickland (according to Jack DeSario) to get DeSario to agree to become the campaign manager of the TeamHealy Committee (the Mayor's campaign committee).

Some Stark Countians believe DeSario's involvement was a key to Healy's victory over Republican Janet Creighton. Although DeSario denies that he had anything to do with Healy being able to attract campaign donations from Cuyahoga County political figures, a number of local political observers are skeptical of the denial.

It has long been a sticking point with Stark County Democratic officials and undoubtedly the likes of Chris Redfern (chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party who personally donated $5,000 to the Healy campaign), that Canton (before Healy's election) was the only one of Ohio's eight major cities not to have a Democrat as mayor.

So it stands to reason, once your man wins you will do anything the law allows for to keep him in office, although his performance on the job indicates that he is heading pell mell for failure.

Hum? Stimulus money? Canton's economy is going nowhere? So why wouldn't the governor who is an arch-Healy supporter, with tons of discretionary authority, direct the money where certainly a huge need exists, (Canton has an 11.5% unemployment rate) and - by the way - co-incidentally props up a political ally?

Now on to the Swanson factor.

It could be that Stark County Sheriff Tim Swanson is so deficient in manpower that he cannot conduct expeditious and efficient investigations.

If such is the case, Swanson needs to farm out his work to less busy investigatory units - especially when there may be a political dynamic to the matter being investigated.

Maybe the STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) is just seeing things that don't exist, but it does appear to The Report that Swanson has tough time being expeditious and efficient in investigation on politically sensitive cases.

The Report believes that Marlboro Township Devies case is an example of a "slowdown." In the judgment of The Report, there is no way it should have taken over two months for Swanson to make a determination of whether or not Marlboro Police Chief Ron Devies and his son Kyle may have violated Ohio's criminal laws in course of Kyle being a township employee working the township's computer system.

The Report has an advantage over the readers of this blog. The Report has a working knowledge of the intricacies, relationships and connections of Stark County politics from both sides of the isle.

The Report does not believe Tim Swanson is dumb enough to let the fact that Ron Devies openly supported his opponent (Republican Larry Dordea) in Swanson's 2008 re-election campaign be a motivation in how the Devies matter has been handled.

If politics were involved in what The Report perceives to be a slowdown, and The Report emphasizes the IF, then the politicizing factor would have been far more subtle and virtually untraceable to the average observer.

The Report does not know whether or not politics were a factor in the perceived slowdown in the Devies investigation nor, for that matter, in the Healy investigation. But The Report does know that political relationships and connections exist deep within the Stark County political establishment which could - if were ever know the truth of the matter - end up being factors.

Okay, assuming The Report's perception is correct and there was indeed a slowdown in Devies; such begs the question:

Why?

The Report believes that the investigators were having a difficult time finding (criminal charge wise) something to nail the Devies' with. And there were a couple of township trustees rear-ends to protect (from possible civil suits, if nothing else - NOTE: the SCPR has learned that Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero sent "civil side" legal counsel to the last Marlboro Township trustee meeting to advise the trustees during the meeting). And, maybe just maybe, political pressure (from the deep recesses of Stark County political relationships and connections) was being brought to bear to find something.

Well, how does The Report's take on Devies factor into the Healy situation.

Pretty much the same, but with one important difference. In the Healy situation, the political push (if there is one) from Stark County's deep political recesses would be the opposite of what The Report speculates in the Devies matter.

In Healy, The Report's conjectured reasoning is that slowdown is needed to give time for the local political climate surrounding the Mayor to cool down. Once matters cool down, then it would be easier to sell a "no bill" to the awaiting public.

Whether or not The Report is correct in its analysis, one thing is for sure.

The political survivability of Mayor Healy is looking better everyday.

Healy may in time join in on a chorus with his TeamHealy devotees, the New York Sun editor September 21, 1897 penned the refrain: "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."

DISCUSSION: MOST OF MARLBORO IS BEHIND THE DEVIES FAMILY?

The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) has learned that supporters of Ron and Kyle Devies are forming a DEVIES FAMILY DEFENSE FUND to help Marlboro's police chief and his son come up with the financial wherewithal to defend themselves againist Stark County Grand Jury indictment charges which were an outgrowth of an criminal investigation launched by Marlboro Township trustees.

Readers of The Report will recall that Kyle Devies started out as a volunteer to fix the Township's decrepit computer system several years ago.

Trustee Wise got wind of the "volunteer" status and insisted, according to Police Chief Ron Devies, that Kyle be put on the township payroll. Apparently, that was before Wise and his fellow Dave Wolf figured out that the chief was not easily ordered around by trustee micromanaging when it came to how he ran the police department.

The Report believes that once Wise and Wolf concluded that the chief was going to run the Marlboro Township Police Department the way he saw fit, they devised Plan B.

If there was a Plan B, what would it be?

The Report is of the opinion that Plan B was to replace Ron Devies as police chief and they (not Trustee Shilig) were waiting for something to materialize (e.g. out-and-out insubordination) that they felt would carry the day, in terms of community acquiescence, to implement the plan.

Nobody is really sure (outside of Sheriff Swanson, Prosecutor Ferrero and the grand jury members) as of the writing of this blog, exactly what the factual allegations are which underlie the indictments. Speculation seems to center on Kyle and his use of township computers with the complicity of his father in the alleged mischief.,

With the grand jury action (remember the popular saying about grand jury indictments" "a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich if the prosecutor asked it to), Kyle Devies stands charged with a fourth degree felony: Disrupting a Public Service and, his father Ron, with Complicity in Disrupting a Public Service. These charges carry a possibility for a 6 to 18 month jail term and up to $5,000 in fines.

The Report thinks at the end of the day the Devies will be acquitted or work out a plea bargain.

If there is an acquittal, one would think that there will be a civil suit and Ron Devies could wind up re-instated as police chief as part of a settlement of such a suit.

The Report likes to think and believes that this whole matter has gotten out-of-hand and Trustees Wise and Wolf wish they could "put the genie back in the bottle." But they can't. So what The Report' believes started out as something like "we have to replace our insubordinate police chief" is now way beyond that.

This whole scenario is tragic for all concerned: the Devies, the trustees and the community of Marlboro.

DISCUSSION: SHOULD THE DEVIES HAVE BEEN INDICTED?

UPDATED: 03/21/2009 AT 11:30 A.M.

The viewpoints in graphic format above are largely based on the viewpoint holders take on the factual underpinings of events that precipitated the Marlboro trustees referring the matter to the sheriff and the county prosecutor.

The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report, SCPR) takes a difference perspective in arriving at a point-of-view.

Although the indictments are fourth degree felonies (Disruption of Public Services [Kyle] and Complicity Disruption of Public Services [Ron], the The Report's point-of-view is that Trustees Wise and Wolf have created a public turmoil hugely disproportional to the allegations - even if one accepts the factual premise of the trustee, the sheriff, the prosecutor and the grand jury.

Much more serious allegations involving public officials may be in the process of being white-washed by Sheriff Swanson and Prosecutor Ferrero (reference: the Healy matter).

Why make that point?

Because The Report believes that there is a disparity in the Stark County law enforcement community, at the county level, as to who gets prosecuted and who does not. While the law enforcers will claim a factual distinction for the variations, The Report believes, when public officials are involved, the real reasons are too often tinged with political considerations.

In the Marlboro situation, The Report believes the sensible solution would have been for the sheriff and prosecutor to encourage and perhaps even facilitate a sitdown between the Devies and the trustees to iron this matter out without invoking the criminal process.

Now that the legal path has been chosen, it should be obvious to one and all that Marlboro Township will be ravaged by political vendetta after political vendetta after political vendetta.

The Report believes that Wise and Wolf were motivated in the first place by political vendetta. Chief Ron Devies is a strong personality and did not kowtow to the all powerful Trustees Wise and Wolf ("all powerful" in their own minds).

So now Marlboro Township and derivatively Stark County has a mess on its hands.

If Stark County had a sheriff and a prosecutor (who, by the way, was unopposed in the last election) with some social and community sense about them, they would have been instrumental in having "cooler heads" prevail in the Marlboro situation.

But Stark doesn't.

Swanson too often acts like a "bull in a china shop," and Ferrero, a former chair of the Stark County Democratic Party, has - in the opinion of SCPR - a tendency to look at matters from a political perspective. Political in the sense who are the players in the matter before him.

They will tell Stark Countians that they "play it by the book." The Report knows both of them and does not believe such protestations for one second.

Swanson and Ferrero have let the Marlboro matter get totally out-of-hand.

In the judgment of The Report, they could have prevented this escalation and therefore have failed the Stark County community.

DISCUSSION: MARLBORO POLICE CHIEF & SON INDICTED?

The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) has reason to believe on the basis of a report from a source close to the Devies that Stark County Chief Deputy Rick Perez has served grand jury indictment papers on Marlboro Township Police Chief Ron Devies and his son Kyle today.

At this writing The Report does not know what the specific charges are.

A source who is familiar with the investigation surrounding the Devies matter has told The Report that the source understands that the charges focus on the tracking of inter-trustee e-mails and from the reformatting of the confiscated computers' hard drives to remove traces of the tracking effort.

No matter which way this case ends up, The Report's sense of the community reaction is that there are gaping open wounds in the body social and politic that will take years to heal.

DISCUSSION: WHEN PETTY POLITICIANS CANNOT HANDLE POWER, GOOD PEOPLE CAN GET RUINED - CAN THEY NOT?

The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) is astounded over the controversy that the Marlboro Township trustees have unleashed.

Rustic Marlboro Township? Who would have thunk that a family who has devoted its life to the well-being of their community could have end up have two family members indicted and prosecuted for crimes that have their origins in guess what? community service! Wow!

Kyle Devies, who is a young man, but who was even a younger man several years back when he - get this - VOLUNTEERED - to fix the broken township computer system.

Kyle began his volunteer work back in the good old days when the township trustees deeply appreciated community people stepping forward to help out. Nowadays, Marlboro has a couple of "wheeler-dealer" trustees who have brought "big city politics" to this bucolic community and to an office which officially is "non-partisan."

Tim Wise, a member of a politically initiated Stark County family, is an interesting "political" person to The Report. The Report has always thought well of the Wise family and believes that Tim is a deviation from the Wise family political standards. His brother E.E. Jr. (currently city administrator for North Canton) is highly respected within the Stark County political community and not just among Democrats (his affiliation) but among the entire Stark County political establishment.

Is Tim a case of "the political black sheep" of the family who is frustrated at not having achieved at his father's level (Earle E. Wise, Sr. - a kingpin of Stark County Democratic politics and a retired 5th District Court of Appeal judge) and is out to prove himself as a politically powerful player in Stark County?

Added on to Tim's frustration might be his brother's prominence in Stark County politics. E. E., Jr. ran very respectable and relative close campaigns for county recorder (losing to Republican Jane Vignos) and probate court judge (losing to the hugely campaign financed Dixie Park - her husband's money).

The Report believes that both E. E. Sr. and Jr. have to be horrified at what Tim has done in helping to create the ugly political mess (totally unnecessary) with the Devies family in Marlboro.

Dave Wolf? How did he come to have a hand in creating this mess?

The Report believes it is a "religious Right" political thing with him. No sooner had Wolf taken office as trustee and he was knocking on Marlboro Police Chief Ron Devies' door.

Was this a "let's get to know each other session?" The Report thinks not. Rather it was a "orders from God Almighty" encounter which didn't last very long. It only lasted long enough for Wolf to hand Devies a video tape done by a religious Right South Carolina sheriff by the name of Ray Nash with the Wolf admonition to Chief Devies "this is how I see things."

Things?

Presumably, how law enforcement should be run.

Well, the Chief had a little bit of police training and experience himself and predictably blew-off Wolf by continuing to police Marlboro as he and his predecessors always had.

The Report believes the Chief did the right thing by Marlboro. Religious Right folks are known for their "take over tatics" of local government (mostly boards of education). If Wolf is the religious Right firebrand The Report suspects he is, then Wolf may be trying to bring fundamentalist (religious) political values and programs to the township. The Nash intro may be Chapter One of a book full of religious grounded prescriptions.

Again supposing The Report is correct and Wolf embodies "religious fundamentalism" in political action; it is more than a touch ironic that someone who embraces "family values" would attack a Marlboro family which is the personification of family values.

Whatever the motivations of Wise and Wolf, they have created a firestorm in Marlboro Township.

And The Report believes Wolf, at least, now realizes this and that is why he met with Chief Devies last weekend to try to diffuse the community volatile situation; pleading with the Chief "to call off the dogs" (an unfortunate metaphor if dogs is the word that Wolf actually used).

Finally, The Report believes that the trustees control of how this scenario is going to play out. Even if the Stark County grand jury refuses to indict the Devies, these two trustees have unleashed damages galore: the Marlboro community, the Marlboro police department, the Devies family and to each of themselves.

And just think, it all began with a young man wanting to help out his community by volunteering.

The message: Indeed, NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED. Especially when folks come to the table with a political agenda.

Here is a history of the Devies family civic involvement in Marlboro community life as written by Ron Devies:

1. My father Gene Devies was one of the organizers and charter members of the Marlboro Fire Company. He was the departments second ever chief. After he retired he served on the board of directors for the fire department. My mom was on the Ladies Auxiliary and back then when there would be a fire in the middle of the night the ladies would get out of bed too and make coffee to take to the firemen. They also kept canned hams so they could also fix sandwiches and take to the firefighters. One day no one was free to drive the fire truck to a fire and my mom loaded up little Denny and Bob and drove the truck to the fire scene.

2. My oldest brother Gene started on the fire department as soon as he turned 18 in 1957 and rose through the ranks and retired as chief in 1995.

a. His son Rob joined the fire department when he turned 18, went to EMT and Paramedic school and worked with me at Alliance Ambulance before going to the police academy and working with Denny and I on the police department. Rob has quit all of that now and is a Lieutenant for the Alliance City Fire Department

b. Gene's son Mike is a Captain on the Marlboro Fire Department.

3. While Bob has never done anything in those areas, he specializes in police & fire screening and treating related problems. He was instrumental in the organizing of the Stark County Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) that sits down with police and fire departments and debriefs them after a catastrophe.

4. Denny was a cop from 1971 till his death in 2003. While Denny was never an EMT he did work as an ambulance attendant from 1969 to 1974. (that was before they had EMTs) His wife is a surgery nurse.

5. Me, I was on the Marlboro Fire Department from the time I turned 18 in 1976 till I retired after becoming police chief. I was the fire departments first EMT,I was one of the organizers of the fire departments EMS Division and started the fire investigation bureau in 1995 under Chief Gary Haines. I was an EMT-Paramedic from 1977-1993 with Alliance Ambulance and then later Gold Cross after they purchased the company. I started as an auxiliary patrolman in 1984 and now Chief today. Barb is a emergency room nurse. Kyle is a Firefighter-EMT and joined the fire department when he turned 18.

DISCUSSION: COUNTY PROSECUTOR FERRERO DODGES A DECISION IN DEVIES MATTER?

The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) has learned that Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero has declined the opportunity to make an assessment on whether or not Marlboro Township Police Chief Ron Devies and his son are to be charged with committing any crime as an outgrowth of an investigation conducted by Stark County Sheriff Tim Swanson.

Instead, Ferrero has opted to present to matter to the Stark County Grand Jury which will hear the prosecution side of the case beginning today.

Chief Devies has told The Report he and his son will present their side of the case to the grand jury next week.

Devies (who was placed on "paid administrative leave" by the Marlboro trustees on January 6th) said he was surprised to learn of the grand jury proceeding yesterday, the 9th, as he and Wolf had sat down over the weekend and discussed a resolution between himself and Trustee Wolf and felt enough progress had been made that he could see "light at the end of the tunnel."

Needless to say, Devies was disappointed by the grand jury news in the light of the progress he and Wolf had made, but expressed confidence that the grand jury would not indict once it has heard the Devies’ version of events allegedly involving Kyle's work for Marlboro Township on its computer system. Devies did contact Wolf after he got the news of the impending grand jury proceeding and was told by Wolf that he was as surprised as Devies was.

Why, The Report asks, didn't Ferrero decide on his own whether or not charges are to be filed against the Devies?

In any event, The Report continues to believe that Trustees Wise and Wolf are “political toast” n Marlboro Township this coming November.

It is clearly a lose-lose situation politically for Wise and Wolf. If the Devies do not get indicted, then political retribution will be in order. If the Devies duo do get indicted; guess what Messers Wise and Wolf - political retribution will be in order.

It is surprising to The Report that Tim Wise would get himself into such a political fix.

His brother Earle E. Wise, Jr. (now city administrator for North Canton) was a long time Stark County assistant prosecutor who ran for Stark County Probate judge in 2002 losing to Republican Dixie Park. In 1992, Wise, Jr. Was the Democratic nominee for Stark County Recorder (having bested current county auditor Kim Perez in the Democratic primary). In the general, E.E., Jr. lost to Republican Jane Vignos.

Tim’s father, Earle E. Wise, Sr., was a one time a powerful Stark County Democrat who teamed up with the recently deceased Roy Gutierrez (the chairman) as law partners in the 1970s through 1980s and from this base lead Stark County Democrats. Wise, Sr served as a judge on the 5th District Court of Appeals for a number of years.

With this political pedigree, why Tim is not a more accomplished politician is indeed a mystery.

Wolf is a different matter. As far as The Report knows, Wolf is a political novice with no prior exposure to politics in the fast lane who may have been motivated to get into local politics as an advocate of “the religious Right” political agenda. One tip-off that this might be the case is Ron Devies account of how (after having just taken office as a newly elected trustee) Wolf came to him with a Sheriff Ray Nash tape telling Devies in effect that the tape expressed his view of how law enforcement should be conducted.

For a taste of the Nash (Wolf’s self-proclaimed model of law enforcement), here is an excerpt of a piece done by Glenn Smith of the Charleston (SC) Post and Courier (February 3, 2008):

Week after week, the hits kept coming, providing fresh fodder for critics who have long taken issue with Nash's management style, spending habits and priorities. They bristle at his faith-flavored approach to law enforcement that some foes say blurs the line between church and state.

The Internet bubbles with bloggers and posters who question the sheriff's links to controversial evangelists and try to paint his character-training initiatives as thinly veiled proselytizing, an attempt to infiltrate law enforcement with cult-like tactics.

Defending his record

Nash, a devout Christian, calls such claims "silly" and says he has never tried to convert employees. He blames his opponents for trying to distort his record, taint his image. He says he has long been the target of an entrenched old guard in Dorchester County that wants him out of the way.

All in all, it seems that both Wise and Wolf have a thing or two to learn about Marlboro Township politics given with whom they were dealing: a highly respected, long term member of the Marlboro community - Police Chief Ron Devies and his son Kyle.