Council might move to rehire fired workers

The two fired Veterans Affairs Office clerks said they will appear before the county's grievance committee in hopes of keeping their jobs.

But the committee may not need to meet. According to a source close to the situation, Cherokee County Council members are considering making a motion to rehire the pair at their 5 p.m. meeting today.

Kathy Love and Michele Tucker were abruptly fired last Monday by Cherokee County Veterans Affairs Officer Sammy Willard. Their allegations against Willard triggered a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) investigation.

"Your employment with Cherokee County Veterans Office is terminated effectively due to your making unfounded accusations against Cherokee County Veterans Affairs Office," Willard wrote in the one-sentence letter to the clerks.

Last week, Willard said he was confident he would be exonerated by the SLED investigation.

Both Tucker and Love said they couldn't discuss the allegations they made to SLED.

Sources said the investigation has been turned over to the Attorney General's office. Several messages left there were not returned.

Love and Tucker said they have spotless work records during a combined 27 years of service with the county, including a total of eight years with the local VA office.

The clerks declined to comment if they will pursue legal action against the county, but did confirm they have hired attorneys Pat and Grace Knie for the grievance hearing.

The fired employees claim they were told their jobs were safe under the Whistleblower Act.

Tucker said State Rep. Olin Phillips (D-Gaffney) publicly stated in a meeting with the Cherokee County Legislative Delegation that she and Love couldn't be fired or harassed by Willard.

That didn't stop Willard from terminating them.

"(Willard) had not been in the office for 10 weeks and he shows up out of nowhere (Monday) at 11 a.m., shuts the door and locked it on us," Tucker said. "He handed us the letter and he watched us get our stuff out."

The county grievance committee was involved in another high-profile county firing in 2005 when it upheld the dismissal of former Cherokee County Tax Assessor Barry Kelley, who claimed he was fired unjustly for reporting the county had not properly charged taxes to certain citizens who claimed tax exemptions for agricultural property. Kelley filed a wrongful termination suit against the county and agreed to a settlement in June of $9,500.