DISCUSSION: DEVIES UNLOADS ON MARLBORO TRUSTEES WISE AND WOLF - PART IV OF SCPR VIDEO INTERVIEW

in today's STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) film segment, Chief Devies brings Trustee Tim Wise into view.

Watch as Devies describes the "off-hand" and/or "by-the-way" approach of Wise in bringing up the Lyle Devies working on township computers.

Of course, hindsight is 20/20. The whole let's give the Devies kid $9.50 an hour but police officers $9 an hour is in of the world of the surreal. To his credit, the chief has a problem with this.

Watch for yourself:

DISCUSSION: IS THE MARLBORO TOWNSHIP FUSS OVER THE POLICE CHIEF A DISAGREEMENT OVER TIME WORKED?

A source has told The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) that "the bone of contention" between - at least two of the trustees (Wise and Wolf) and the well respected Marlboro Township police chief Ronald Devies, may be whether or not Devies actually worked hours reported.

We do know that whatever the reason for township trustee scrutiny of Chief Devies involves a computer. And what are computers used for? In large part to keep records. Is this the tie-in between what The Report's source is saying what the Stark County sheriff is investigating at the request of (all?) the trustees?

Perhaps more will come out tonight as Trustees Shillig, Wise and Wolf conduct a regularly scheduled township meeting. A large number of Marlboro citizens are expected to attend.

In addition to the possible reason why Chief Devies was put on paid administrative leave several weeks ago by "all" the trustees, The Report has learned that a huge rift has developed between Trustee Shillig and Trustees Wise and Wolf.

It seems that Wise and Wolf have not taken it well that Shillig was united with them as to whether or not to put Devies on administrative leave in the first place; only now to be put in a position where Shillig appears to be distancing himself from them.

The Report draws on the mostly political saying "I don't have a dog in this fight" to describe Shillig's apparent current position in graphic form.

If the trustees' are proven to have "egg on their faces" at the end of the investigation, the The Report believes Marlboro Township could be looking to change the make up of the Board of Trustees.

Could Shillig's backing off the initial unity stand with Wise and Wolf be an act of political preservation?

DISCUSSION: IS JOHN HAGAN ABOUT TO RETURN TO A LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT THAT - MAYBE - HE CAN HANDLE?

Things are topsy-turvey in Marlboro Township government these days.

According to a Stark County police official observation to the STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) who knows all the parties in the Devies/Township trustee flap; the trustees are hurting themselves by not telling all they know about the basis of Devies situation.

It will be interesting to see whether or not the official has good advice to the trustees. Of course, we will not know until this matter comes to a conclusion.

If the answer is yes, this would be an indication that THE PETER PRINCIPLE is in full swing in Marlboro Towship.

If he turns out to be correct, it could be said, perhaps, that THE PETER PRINCIPLE is in full swing in Marlboro Township government.

THE PETER PRINCIPLE is thusly defined in Wikipedia:

The Peter Principle is a special case of a ubiquitous observation: anything that works will be used in progressively more challenging applications until it fails.

The Report brings this up because The Report believes that former Marlboro Township trustee John P. Hagan is the Stark County personification of the principle once he got out of township government.

And it may have been in full operation when he was township trustee.

The Report simply does not know enough about how he performed as trustee to make a judgment.

But The Report has had an up close look at Hagan as state representative and in his attempt to become a Stark County commissioner.

All Hagan can do to survive at a higher level is to find someone to attach to that can do his thinking for him and provide him with some model of how to handle himself. This guy is not a leader. He is a follower who tries to bluster himself so as to appear to be a leader.

From the comments that have been made on The Report's story, there appears to be some interest in Hagan returning as a township trustee.

Is township trustee, in a rural township where, John Hagan truly belongs?

DISCUSSION: CAN MARLBORO TRUSTEES WISE & WOLF SURVIVE? WHAT IS TAKING SHERIFF SWANSON SO LONG?

On December 31, 2009 Marlboro Township trustees Dave Wolf and Tim Wise are due to end their respective terms as trustee.

Undoubtedly, both will run for re-election.

But in light of the Marlboro Township Police Chief Ron Devies matter, can they be re-elected?

Area press reports have recounted how Marlboro Township trustees voted on January 12th to put the chief on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation by the Stark County sheriff's department on possible misconduct involving township computers.

Today, Stephanie Ujhely of The Alliance Review reports that a furious crowd of Marlboro residents showed up at a regular township trustee meeting last night to demand Devies' reinstatement.

The STARK COUNTY POLITICAL REPORT (The Report) understands that Chief Devies is a community institution.

And anyone who understands the political life of a community. If authorities go after a community institution, they had better be right or their own political future is in great jeopardy.

Such is exactly the position Trustees Dave Wolf and Tim Wise find themselves.

Their only hope for political survival is that Sheriff Swanson turns up a prosecutable offense in his investigation of Devies'. If he doesn't, then Wolf and Wise are political dead ducks.

It is now over two weeks since township computers were confiscated for investigation.

Why is it taking the sheriff so long?