"THE DRAGOVICH CHICKEN" IS COMING HOME TO ROOST IN HARTVILLE?

 

The SCPR broke the news to soon-to-be Hartville police chief Larry Dordea that the current chief George Dragovich was coming home to roost in the form of a lawsuit filed against Dordea and other village officials (including, obviously, current chief George Dragovich) because of the villiage's alleged treatment of former village police officer Aaron Bardwell.

Republican Dordea was recently elected councilman-at-large in Alliance (where his home is located, and, it is widely believed that he will be running for Stark County sheriff in 2012.

Dordea told the SCPR that he had not yet received a copy of the complaint filed by Bardwell's attorney Celeste DeHoff.

DeHoff is also known in Stark County as a Tuscarawas Township trustee and defeated Democratic candidate for the Ohio House (50th) in a 2008 contest with Todd Snitchler of Lake Township.

Edd Pritcherd of The Repository summarizes the complaint this way in today's edition:

Bardwell claims he was harassed, humiliated, belittled and embarrassed because of Dragovich’s conduct and because of the lack of action by the village’s mayor and council when they were told of the police chief’s behavior.

The dispute between Bardwell and Dragovich goes back to 2007, according to the lawsuit. It’s led to Bardwell being placed on an unpaid administrative leave earlier this month.

Back in March, 2009, The Report filed this piece (CLICK HERE FOR A REFRESHER) on the Bardwell/Dragovich matter.

Dordea further said that there has been talk around village hall over the past several months that Bardwell was contemplating litigation, but that lawsuit talk from this quarter or that quarter is commonplace and that he had no specific indication that Bardwell was about to file on November 10th (this past Tuesday).

 

 

The SCPR has been amazed how long Dragovich has held on in Hartville.  There have been a number of controversies which have dogged the police chief, but he is proving to be a cat that literally has nine lives.

In an ironic sort of way, it is likely that Dragovich will "officially" announce his retirement within the next two weeks.

Had he retired in 2006 as he told village officials back then, Hartville would not be where it is today.

The SCPR sees Mayor Edsel Tucker as dropping the ball in coaxing Dragovich out.

Now he and all of Council and to be successor chief Larry Dordea have to deal with the "Dragovich chicken coming home to roost."

JUST WHEN THOUGHT THINGS WERE GOING WELL IN HARTVILLE?

With Police Chief Dragovich on his way out and "the public prayer before meeting controversy" dying down;  it began to look like Hartville was revisiting the halcyon days of Ed DiGiacomo being mayor of Hartville.  In those days Hartville was the qunitessential "all-American," bucolic community.  Stability, stability and more stability.

With the advent of the Tucker administration (who defeated Bev Green a few years ago), it was beginning to look like there were "showers of blessings" raining down on Hartville, once again.

This is probably too much of a leap, but could it be because Pastor Tom Hough is a member of village council.

At least that was what yours truly was beginning to think.

So the SCPR was amazed to get a phone call from a Hartville resident putting all the "apparent" contentment and benison  in question.

Well, what did this person have to say about the state of affairs in Hartville.

First, was a shocker-roo, if true.  According to the source (who turned out to be wrong about a possible move), Scott Process Systems, Incorporated had been sold and the new owner wanted to move out of Hartville.  And, Mayor Tucker and Village Council were just letting it happen.

The SCPR asked Ron Genovese who is Scott Process Systems, Inc's vice president of sales/marketing whether or not there was any truth to the sale/move rumor. As you can see from the e-mail (duplicated below), Genovese does not respond to the sale question, but he does say Scott Process is going nowhere and is staying in Hartville "PERIOD!"

Second, that Hartville is no longer providing school crossing funding for teacher aides who help Hartville's children to safely cross the Hartville village street that fronts Hartville Elementary  Hartville funding has been in place since the early 70s. 

Apparently, this is so.  A source in a position to know (other than the original reporter) tells the SCPR that such is the case.

Most likely, the discontinuance is just a matter of economics.  Undoubtedly, if citizens of Hartville want their government to continue to fund this function, Council would be open to reversing course.  But they will have to visit a Council meeting and let their desires be known.

Third, that the Schumacher Lumber brothers are unhappy with the security that Hartville is providing for their vacant three story building located in the heart of Hartville.

The SCPR had a discussion with "soon to become" Hartville police chief Larry Dordea about this matter.

Dordea says that he definitely thinks that the Schumacher brothers are dissatisfied with the work being done by the Hartville Police Department (HPD).  However, Dordea defends the surveillance being done by the department.  He says that the Hartville police are at the Schumacher facility daily in an endeavor to capture intruders.  He thinks the  juveniles are the culprits.

Dordea relates how the HPD spends hours upon hours in policing the security of the Schumacher property,  citing how it takes an hour to do a walk through of the three story structure.


Fourth, the source says that Hartville sold four police cruisers (that should have been put up for public auction) to a friend of Dordea's located in Alliance for $1,500.

Dordea confirms that the cruisers have been sold to an Alliance scrap metal firm but denies any personal connection.  Dordea says he sought bids from a couple of scrap metal dealers who advertise in the Hartville News, but that they were offering from $100 to $200 per car.  Moreover, Dordea says that the cars were not road worthy enough to offer to the general public.

And there were other observations by the SCPR's source that were critical of how Mayor Tucker, the Council and the police department are handling matters in Hartville.

Are Hartville's residents about to see a revisitation of turmoil?

The SCPR senses that such could be the case even in face of the political reality that there are three candidates for four seats in this November's election cycle.

Perhaps not.

The next two years is likely to tell the tale.

Will it be a period of bliss or discord in Hartville?

SCPR SOURCES ARGUE OVER WHETHER OR NOT HARTVILLE POLICE CHIEF IS GOING TO RETIRE. WHO IS CORRECT?

The SCPR has been urging Hartville Police Chief George Dragovich to retire.

As has been documented in area media a number of times, Dragovich has been involved in number of controversies in recent years involving his conduct.  The SCPR believes these controversies have not been  a positive phenomenon for Hartville's image and that that Dragovich, if he cares anything about a community that has been good to him for many years, will move on.

Anticipating Dragovich's departure, Hartville went out and got former Alliance chief Larry Dordea to come in to beef up the Hartville police effort.  Undoubtedly, in the back of the minds of Hartville's governors, he was brought in to one day replace Dragovich.

But there has been a rub.

What rub?

Dragovich has a good thing going for him and has resisted Tucker administration (Ed Tucker is mayor of Hartville) efforts to move him on.  Dragovich announced during the Green administration (former mayor Beverly Green whom Tucker defeated) that he was going to retire (supposedly, June, 2006).

Well, he didn't.

Now a source is telling the SCPR that Dragovich is going on vacation on October 5, 2009 and will be retiring sometime in December.

The SCPR was all set to do a blog disclosing the imminent "for certain" retirement of George Dragovich.

Hold on, Martin!

Another source called the SCPR today and vehemently challenged the notion that Dragovich was going to retire.  This source says Dragovich is telling two stories in the Hartville community.

First, he is telling Tucker et al  that he is going to retire.

Alternatively, he is telling his friends that hangout at Hartville's McDonalds over coffee that is not going to retire.

Moreover, the SCPR's (not retiring) source says that Dragovich has too much to gain by staying beyond January 1, 2010.

So which account is the truth of the matter?

Probably only the passage of time will tell the tale.

You can be sure that Tucker and his key supporters on Hartville Council will push and push hard to get Dragovich to retire.  The trick on the administration's part is to get Dragovich's retirement without being sued by Dragovich.

The SCPR's (Dragovich is not leaving) source says that Dragovich is telling some village residents that "sue Hartville" is exactly what he will do, if Hartville officials make his departure involuntary.

Stay tuned folks!