An honorable act

Short steps down

The noblest effort I've seen thus far in the Washington County bridge-building fiasco came the other day when Dan Short chose to relinquish the appointed position he's held more than six years as the county judge's chief of staff.

Short submitted his letter of resignation as controversy continues to swirl over how the county Road Department ignored engineering plans for at least three county bridges.

His boss, County Judge Marilyn Edwards, who by all rights is the person ultimately responsible for the bridge scandal, naturally says she will miss Short and his contributions. I'll bet she will, considering he was the person whose key position was sandwiched between the judge and road supervisors.

The 68-year-old Short admits he departed the courthouse out of health concerns and because he believes he failed to thoroughly fulfill the responsibilities of his position.

He wrote that in recent months he'd "come to realize that I am failing you and no longer have the ability to provide the assistance you require... . for a number of personal and medical concerns I feel that I need to remove myself from the work force," one news story said.

In an email to colleagues, the story said, Short wrote: "I hope this move will be the catalyst needed for Judge Edwards to overcome the strife she has been facing in the recent past."

While it's most definitely a welcome breath of fresh air to see a public official in 2015 drop honorably onto his sword and accept responsibility to protect his superior, I'm not at all sure his departure lets Her Honor off the hook here. After all, she has been and remains the county's top elected official.

As the son of a career Army lieutenant colonel who understands that mindset, I suspect Short's attitude stems from his previous lifetime achievements including years in criminal investigation with the Arkansas State Police, and in various top leadership positions with the state's 39th Infantry Brigade.

In other words, he understands what's required to actually serve as a leader, which includes accepting full responsibility when balls land in his court and admitting if he didn't see the ball flash past him. I can't help but contrast that approach with most of what we see out of public servants today, even to the very top, all constantly passing the buck, deceiving and blaming others for what they know deep inside is their responsibility.

Short was quoted in the news account as having said the county bridge crew needed additional training and quality control when any bridge is under construction.

He said he'd recommended to Edwards (if the county is going to remain in the bridge-building business) that she advertise for a temporary bridge supervisor to replace the one who retired during this mess. In fact, several workers from the road department have left or filed suit since this flap ensued.

"The option, I guess, is that if we're not going to be able to train and bring up a bridge crew that knows how to build bridges according to the [Arkansas Highway and transportation Department] standards," Short said, "then the next thing to do is do away with the bridge crew and bid everything out."

Edwards hired Short as her chief of staff when she was elected to office in 2008. Since the bridge brouhaha and revelations of improper and shoddy construction began to unfold weeks ago, she's placed a three-ton weight limit of the Harvey Dowell Bridge southeast of Fayetteville. Repairs are said to be underway there and at the incomplete Stonewall Bridge near Prairie Grove.

A subsequent county investigation confirmed bridge workers with the Road Department were unprepared and untrained for their responsibilities. The investigation also revealed that department leaders actually approved the mistakes while unaware those decisions could cause serious problems with the final products, the news account said.

Problems with bridge safety and erosion have become of increasing concern not only in Washington County, but across the state and nation. If I were a reporter in any other Arkansas community, I'd be asking to learn (and reveal) all I could about the condition of bridges in my own county.

Who built them? When? Who signed off on their safety? Were they designed by an engineer and did those building them follow engineering designs and directions?

What did they cost? This has become an especially pertinent question in Washington County since it's also been disclosed that the county budget doesn't specifically account for individual bridge expenses. That seems to be a very important set of public records to maintain for any number of obvious reasons.

I'm told by reliable sources that it's mighty hard to audit any public department or project if complete records of it don't even exist.

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Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected].

Editorial on 05/24/2015

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