South Carolina sets virtually no minimum qualifications for the jobs. Controversy swirled around a firefighter whose pay tripled while his wife sat on the commission. “Did I make some mistakes? Huslinger told The Post and Courier he was used to even more lavish parties during his time with a fire department in New York. In any event, after a campaign that consisted of knocking on neighbors’ doors, she skated through the 2015 election that swung three of the five seats on the board. lstamper@aikenstandard.com, By Blakeley Bartee amitchell@postandcourier.com, By Emily Williams If you find anything on this site that does not comply with either Act please notify us immediately so we can correct the problem or supply needed documents. The filings indicate she paid the money back, and the case was dismissed. “On the bright side, it makes it easier for people who want to serve to serve,” she added. It remains unclear how prevalent such issues are among South Carolina’s hundreds of other special districts. For the first time since the winter break, the Aiken County Public School District reported fewer than 100 new COVID-19 cases among students and employees last … But a former chief lamented that commissioners did not perch the building in a more central location of the district, allowing firefighters speedier access to calls. Scandals followed. She contends the new board brought a more professional approach. MVHS reported 10 student cases, and NAHS reported nine. All-virtual students account for about 16% of all students in the district. The Post and Courier sent a message to Lynn through Clear Spring’s chairman; he declined to comment. Officials spent $3.2 million on a rebuild of Clear Spring Fire and Rescue's main fire station. Almost half of them work in elementary schools, and a majority of them are teachers or aides. He said he wanted to contest the charges in court but didn’t have the money to pay a lawyer. She also was not compelled to mention her 2009 misdemeanor theft case in Las Vegas, which The Post and Courier tracked through bankruptcy and other court documents. Low 34F. They were paid through a special fund set up by the S.C. State Firefighters’ Association, intended to help recruit firefighters. She graduated from Georgia Southern University in 2020. Huppmann, the current chief, composed what he called the district’s first employee handbook, developing a more formal process for promotions. “I wasn’t going to use my phone to do it.”. But though Mistrulli-Cantone had left the room, she returned and accused them of breaking the law. The Post and Courier reviewed more than 1,000 pages of government spending records, lawsuit depositions, state ethics filings and court documents. In early 2016, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office opened a probe into longtime Clear Spring Fire Chief Gregory Merritt. awilks@postandcourier.com, The Berkeley Independent - Moncks Corner, SC, News deserts and weak ethics laws allow corruption to run rampant in SC, Accountability suffers as newspaper closures grow in SC, nation, Greenville County’s trash utility bound for 3-day Asheville retreat on customers' dime. More than $20,000 — enough to buy new protective gear for seven firefighters. Clear Spring’s department of 15 full-time firefighters averages 600 to 700 calls a year — less than two a day, according to fire officials. In his deposition, Beason said he had tried to get the issues resolved long before, but didn’t know where to turn for help. To be sure, Clear Spring is not the only special district that has run into trouble — The Post and Courier is teaming up with other news organizations across the state to expose even more misconduct at these and other little-watched agencies. Our public service and investigative reporting is among the most important work we do. Either way, firefighters said their issues with Cantone boiled over after a June 2016 convention in Myrtle Beach, when Cantone was accused by firefighters of drinking before driving a department vehicle. The board has since axed the practice of accepting district-provided phones or gym memberships, said Todd Milam, the current chairman. Before taking the Tahoe, Mistrulli-Cantone said she sought permission from the board’s chairwoman at the time, and Mull told her the department didn’t need the vehicle. Special government districts are a vestige of the period before South Carolina counties ruled themselves, when state lawmakers entrusted the management of critical services like sewage treatment and fire protection to lay panels of volunteers. Yes,” Merritt said. Midland Valley High School and North Augusta High School had the highest number of COVID-19 cases among students last week. “That is absolutely false,” Mistrulli-Cantone said. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. “If this is the way it’s going to go, I’ll take this as far as we need to take it,” Mistrulli-Cantone said. The parties drew the department’s personnel miles away from its stations, meaning other fire departments had to cover Clear Spring’s territory those nights, Mull and Allison said in interviews. A total of 97 people, including 74 students, 21 employees and two temporary staff members or volunteer coaches, reported positive virus cases from Jan. 31 to Feb. 6, according to district data. This is only to be used after 4 PM on weekdays and anytime on weekends. Avery G. Wilks is an investigative reporter based in Columbia. He said he has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and has taken up counseling. “If I wrote him up, I figured I would get fired,” Beason said, according to a transcript of the deposition that was part of a federal lawsuit Beason filed against Clear Spring. The council also added two seats to the Clear Spring board. Firefighters would later say Cantone used one of the Tahoes as his personal vehicle. Reporters interviewed current and former firefighters and Clear Spring officials. The number of quarantined students and employees has trended downward in the school district over the last two weeks, after quarantines hit record highs during mid-January. Meantime, with three new commissioners, it didn’t take long for the board’s spending priorities to be called into question by the fire department’s chief. Within months, firefighters were complaining that Cantone was receiving special treatment. In little-watched Greenville fire district, public servants served themselves ... not enough to fill a school bus. And commissioners threw lavish end-of-the-year parties, where they charged taxpayers thousands of dollars while passing out gifts and booking overnight stays for themselves at a Greenville hotel. Quarantines in the Aiken County Public School District have been trending downward over the last two weeks, according to district data. In his deposition, Lynn outlined what happened after the incident: Firefighters held a “gripe session” at the firehouse where they raised concerns about Cantone and the board’s interference in fire department operations. The two have since separated, Mistrulli-Cantone said, and he didn’t respond to numerous messages left by The Post and Courier. Sunny. tbartelme@postandcourier.com When confronted by Lynn, Cantone denied the accusation, Lynn later said. Understand SC: Corruption runs rampant in SC. The Post and Courier described the spending and arrangements to Teague, the League of Women Voters official, who said they are “really inappropriate.”. “I stayed far away from anything that had to do with him,” she said. And when a lieutenant tried speaking up about what he saw, he was fired, he asserted in a lawsuit the fire district later settled. During an executive session of a board meeting the following month, Lynn said he recommended firing Cantone. Five of the 74 students with COVID-19 attend the all-virtual Aiken Innovate program. Taxpayers also picked up the tab for more than a dozen hotel rooms, including overnight stays booked for five commissioners, records show. Less than 10 months after Merritt’s resignation in January 2016, his replacement, Joel Lynn, also turned himself in to authorities. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. “It’s easy to go out and recruit some friends and neighbors to vote for you,” Kirven said. Winds light and variable.. A mostly clear sky. A year ago, SC military bases began to fight COVID. The elementary school level has had the most quarantines since January, according to data from the Aiken County Public School District. You have permission to edit this article. Commissioners who run special districts like Clear Spring, formed to provide hyper-local public services, wield significant power in their communities. But they also operate independently. Mistrulli-Cantone booked the parties — for firefighters’ children — at the direction of the board, she said. Low 39F. 134 Columbus Street On average (including a large spike in November), about 454 people were quarantined per week from Sept. 6 to Dec. 12. All entered as write-in candidates. “It needs more scrutiny.”. But before that, Commissioner Randy Allison, whose father helped found the department in the early 1980s, was among those who tried reaching out for help. In an interview, Mull said he regularly felt pressure from commissioners to protect and promote Cantone. Earlier Clear Spring gatherings were rustic — one involved a catered barbecue meal inside someone’s barn, a former commissioner recalled. Merritt told The Post and Courier his judgment was clouded by several traumatic events in the summer of 2015, including the suicide of a fellow firefighter. She said commissioners ought to be commended for their work on a $3.2 million fire station, adding that the old building was dilapidated and had issues with mold. Commissioners also accepted other perks that for years had been a custom of these part-time positions: a district-provided phone and memberships to a local gym, valued at $300 annually.Â. Commissioner Allison wrote the complaint. Mistrulli-Cantone said there was nothing improper about the district’s spending, and insisted she stayed out of any personnel decisions involving her then-husband, Phil Cantone. He attached an email from then-chief Mull explaining that Cantone had wrecked his rental car the morning the family was supposed to leave for the trip. “I try not to be bitter,” said Mull, the former fire chief. Mull fired Beason in October 2016, telling him, “They want new faces,” Beason said in his deposition. In a sworn 2018 deposition, Clayton Beason, Cantone’s former lieutenant, said Cantone acted like he was “untouchable.” Beason said he feared retaliation from the board after he questioned Cantone’s job skills and confronted him about what Beason described as a poor temper. Post and Courier Turnout was typical — fewer than three dozen voters, not enough to fill a school bus. That’s all it took to gain control of a fire department that now operates with a $2.1 million budget and serves a community of 22,000. In interview transcripts obtained by The Post and Courier, the veteran fireman admitted to investigators he used public money to cover repairs, service and parts on equipment for his landscaping company. “These guys worked so hard, and they don’t really get any recognition.”. Still, those expenses were dwarfed by Clear Spring’s annual bashes at a Greenville hotel. It was around 2:30 a.m., and Cantone said he was returning from Harrah’s Cherokee Hotel and Casino in North Carolina. Despite the decrease, quarantines are still higher than they typically were during the fall. That set up a far more rigorous process, one where the council screens commissioners, checks their backgrounds and votes on the candidacies as a full body. “It was very much implied that if this didn’t happen, you were failing at your job and they would get rid of you,” Mull said. Lynn also said he feared action from the board if he disciplined Cantone. Bart Boatwright/Special to The Post and Courier, Angela Mistrulli-Cantone (left) served as a commissioner of Clear Spring Fire and Rescue even as her then-husband, Phil Cantone, worked there as a firefighter. Charleston, SC 29403, News tips/online questions: newstips@postandcourier.com, Delivery/subscription questions: subserve@postandcourier.com. SC governor and lawmakers want to close ethics loopholes for big-spending gas districts, Understand SC: Unethical, illegal behavior at Upstate agency costs taxpayers thousands, SC government waste and corruption revelations confront culture resistant to change, SC lawmakers weigh reforming special districts after Clear Spring Fire revelations, Test your knowledge of this week's headlines with our news quiz. “I told the staff what’s happened has happened — nothing we can do to change it,” said Chief Michael Huppmann, hired in 2018. “But we are going to pick it up and move forward.". Journalist of the Year for his reporting on South Carolina's nuclear fiasco and abuses within the state's electric cooperatives. gsmith@postandcourier.com Around the same time, department morale was plummeting, firefighters said in interviews and sworn court testimony. “It’s a system that’s designed to fail,” Teague said. The new Clear Spring board got rid of the commissioners’ credit cards, hired an outside auditor and scaled back a practice of holding secretive executive sessions, said Milam, the chairman. In an interview, Mistrulli-Cantone said the family paid for the SUV’s gas on the trip. Earlier Monday, the district announced that South Greenville Elementary School would remain closed to in-person learners through Friday due to a high number … Cantone did not respond to emailed questions, messages left with his current employer or a Facebook message. There was no requirement she disclose her family’s two bankruptcies, including one filed by Phil Cantone the year before she ran for election, court records show. But it’s unclear what discipline Lynn faced. File/Ashley Tumlin/Special to The Post and Courier. Lynn was accused of improperly boosting his own pay and swiping his government credit card for personal expenses, according to media reports that cited charging documents. “Was there any criminal intent? But Clear Spring stands out through its recent parade of scandals — many details of which never came to light. Clear Spring's current leaders remain adamant about moving on — they mostly declined to discuss their predecessors. And those are just the cases uncovered so far. With an estimated population of 70,635 as of 2019, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Law enforcement agencies have purged their files from that case, but court filings indicate she owed more than $1,400 in restitution. Phil Cantone also saw his salary triple after two promotions during his wife's four-year term. The Post and Courier obtained receipts from parties the commissioners threw in 2017 and 2018. Firefighters said the behavior wrecked morale within the department, which is entrusted with protecting roughly 21 square miles in the well-to-do Greenville suburb of Simpsonville. Greenville County Schools is a “choice” district, offering quality schools at all levels across the school system. “If they go to check the mail across the street, they’re in another fire district,” Mull said. ... Greenville, SC 29615 Phone… Blakeley Bartee covers the education beat at the Aiken Standard. No training is required. To view the school district's weekly COVID-19 data updates, visit acpsd.net/Page/48564. New reported COVID-19 cases in the Aiken County Public School District dropped below 100 for the first time since the winter break. Taken together, these and other examples paint a portrait of nepotism, intimidation and excess at one of the smallest public agencies in South Carolina’s largest county. The Post and Courier obtained records documenting a separate ethics probe into alleged misdeeds involving former commissioner Angela Mistrulli-Cantone, revealed here for the first time. Mistrulli-Cantone said the parties were not all her doing — the board approved the budgets for the gatherings, and she handled the bookings. "Serving on a board of that kind should be a public service, not a grab bag of goodies,” Teague said. The city's mayor is Knox H. White, who has been in that position since December 1995. That’s because these districts are among the state’s many islands of governance that regulate themselves, spending taxpayer money largely outside the public's view. Through his lawyer, Beason declined to comment. Investigators eventually discovered more than $12,000 in transactions — from just 2015 — on what appeared to be personal items for Merritt, including RV parts, electronics and other goods. At one point, he went online to look up the phone number for his county councilman. It’s also the most expensive reporting we do. We can’t do it without your support. Firefighters told The Post and Courier said it’s customary to throw some kind of end-of-year party. The three new commissioners were also eventually each given their own credit cards, occasionally racking up thousands in monthly charges, bank statements show. Employees who work for the district, but not a particular school, reported fewer than five cases. tbartelme@postandcourier.com, By Anna B. Mitchell Student loan debt influencing who can own a home in SC's booming real estate market. They pinned the blame squarely on elected board members and other top officials serving themselves before the interests of front-line firefighters and district residents. Much of the controversy at Clear Spring started after three commissioners won seats as write-in candidates in a November 2015 election. In an interview, Greenville County Councilman Butch Kirven said the process opens the door for potentially unfit candidates to take control of these districts. “South Carolina’s government is structured for the total proliferation of these little empires,” Teague said. More than a year later, the department’s next chief, Mull, elevated Cantone to assistant chief. When doing so, please leave your name and phone number with your message in case any further clarification is needed. bbartee@aikenstandard.com, The Berkeley Independent - Moncks Corner, SC, Disagreements remain over whether S.C. teachers should be moved up in vaccine line, Extra COVID-19 paid leave to continue for Aiken County school employees, New home for Aiken Scholars Academy expected for this fall, Over $28 million in federal relief funds going to Aiken County Public School District, COVID-19 cases trending downward in Aiken County school district, Charleston extras requested for Season 2 of Danny McBride's 'The Righteous Gemstones', USC, Clemson will resume in-person fall classes, normal campus life — including football, 33 Citadel athletes face NCAA suspensions for improper bookstore purchases, Prisma Health, Providence await court date, status of buyout unclear, Major airline will be adding service to Myrtle Beach for Summer 2021, Mount Pleasant prepares to ban most new apartments and condominiums through early 2023, Debate over Charleston port debt plan briefly veers off course at Statehouse. The council eliminated Clear Spring’s popular elections — council members now appoint the commissioners themselves. Last week, 550 elementary students and employees were quarantined. You can follow her on Twitter: @blakeleybartee. File/John Raoux/AP, Clear Spring firefighters lamented that money the fire department's board used to throw parties and buy Chevy Tahoes for top officials could have been used to replace aging protective gear and breathing air packs for firemen. Later that year, with her term up, she left the board — along with Mosher and Huslinger. Joseph Cranney is an investigative reporter in Columbia, with a focus on government corruption and injustices in the criminal legal system. The USC Honors College graduate was named the 2018 S.C. Not everyone is convinced. A total of 30 schools reported COVID-19 cases among students, employees or both. Another commissioner, Allison, said Lynn’s account was accurate. Non-school virus exposures outnumbered virus exposures at school last week, according to the district's quarantine data. “Everybody was hollering and screaming,” Lynn recalled, “and I finally put a stop to it about probably 20 minutes into it.”. Most fire commissioners in South Carolina don’t accept the perks of that fund, which are meant for firefighters, the association’s executive director told The Post and Courier. Ashley Tumlin/Special to The Post and Courier, Clear Spring firefighters, entrusted to protect a 21-square-mile district in Greenville County, said department leaders' behavior wrecked morale. But The Post and Courier’s reporting has revealed no fewer than a dozen of these officials across the state were arrested or faced ethics fines in the last decade alone — more than one per year. Virus cases and quarantines down in Aiken County Public School District, By Landon Stamper Low 34F. Greenville (/ ˈ ɡ r iː n v ɪ l /; locally / ˈ ɡ r iː n v əl /) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. Embezzlement allegations prompted back-to-back chiefs to step down. Now, hundreds of these districts remain across the state, though no one keeps an exact count — not even the U.S. Census. The pair also benefited from two promotions that increased his annual pay from $16,000 to $53,000. Just 35 voters cast ballots in the contest. Former chiefs said they feared retribution from the board. Merritt pleaded guilty to an embezzlement charge and was fined $200.Â. Their financial troubles stemmed from expenses they incurred caring for their special needs children, including one with a terminal illness, she said. She insisted Clear Spring had a history of questionable or unethical financial decisions — she even helped flag the sheriff’s office to Merritt’s improper spending, records show. Elementary schools have remained the source of over half the quarantines since winter break. A total of 530 students and employees were quarantined due to exposures outside of school, compared to 420 school exposures. The total tab cost to taxpayers for both parties? The dispute cost taxpayers more than $27,400 in a settlement and legal fees, according to records from the state insurance reserve fund. Lynn soon promoted Cantone to fire marshal, even though Beason questioned whether Cantone had the required certification, Beason said in his deposition. “On the darker side, if people want to take advantage of their community, there it is.”. The reports indicated Lynn was charged with embezzlement of public funds — valued at $10,000 or less — and two counts of financial transaction card fraud. They hand-pick leaders of public safety departments. Nothing prevented Mistrulli-Cantone from applying for a job overseeing the department where her husband worked, an arrangement that led to accusations of special treatment. The firefighters deserved them, she said. But during the meeting, Phil Cantone suggested the board spend the money on three 2016 Chevy Tahoes for the department’s chief and his top deputies, Mull said. Asked directly in a 2018 deposition if Mistrulli-Cantone pressured Lynn to fire Beason, Lynn responded, “Yes,” adding that she suggested Beason “didn’t know what he was doing, didn’t know how to run his job.”. Our district currently has seven isolated active cases. Another promotion eventually tripled his initial compensation to $53,000 — all within four years, state records show. awilks@postandcourier.com Hundreds of pages of testimony from a Clear Spring whistleblower lawsuit also offer a rare window into the abuse that can occur in these seldom-watched agencies. Commissioners initially agreed. That included parties in 2017 and 2018 at Dave & Buster’s, an arcade and sports bar, with a spread that included Kobe beef meatballs, game passes and as much as $200 in tips for staff, receipts show. Winds light and variable. And they spoke to experts and people close to the agency who successfully pushed for reforms, creating a blueprint for how other special districts across the state can also safeguard themselves from abuse.