I woke up this morning and felt that in light of the recent event that took place yesterday, I needed to address the issue in my blog. Headlines read: "Sheriff Fires Three Deputies Running for Office." My thoughts are not only with The Sheriff, but with the three deputies who lost their job. This was a no-win situation for all. Sheriff Jarnagin tried to do what he felt was the right thing--allow these gentlemen to take adminstrative leave without pay and hold their jobs in place. This plan was approved by the Civil Service Board and signed off on by Sheriff Jarnagin. Unfortunately, neither state nor federal law (The Hatch Act) upholds this decision. When informed by both the State Attorney General and Hamblen County Attorney Rusty Cantwell that the decision to keep the deputies on adminstrative leave was against the law, Sheriff Jarnagin was forced to terminate the three men seeking offices in Hamblen and Jefferson County. Again, the situation is most unfortunate. Is Sheriff Jarnagin a guilty party in this matter? Absolutely. He's guilty of being a nice guy trying to do what he felt was the right thing. I commend him for his efforts.
