ADAIR COUNTY BLUES

Part 1 in a series

By Andrew W. Griffin

Red Dirt Report, editor

Posted: March 26, 2009

STILWELL, Okla. – It was sometime after midnight on the morning of Jan. 11, 2009, when Russell Turner was awakened by a call from the Adair County Sheriff’s Office.

“They told me my barn was on fire,” Turner told Red Dirt Report at the site of the charred remains of his barn, seven miles west of Stilwell on State Highway 51. By the time Turner arrived the barn was completely engulfed. There was little for the fire department to save.

“This thing was packed completely with hay,” Turner said.

The following day Turner said someone said in passing that a “firebug” was on the loose setting fire to buildings, but his structure was the only one that had burned as far as he knew.

The arson investigator out of Poteau ruled out the idea that the hay had spontaneously combusted because it had been lit on opposite ends of the barn.

“The gate was locked,” Turner said. “Whoever did this crawled over the gate and caught it on fire on both ends.”

Turner said he and his father had built the 40-by-80 feet metal and wood barn 15 years earlier.

Now it was a pile of uninsured scrap metal. The loss? Seventy-five thousand dollars for the barn and the hay.

“I’ll have to clear all this mess up and haul it off,” said Turner, looking glumly at the debris.

So, if it was arson, who was behind it, asked Red Dirt Report.

Although he can’t prove it, Turner thinks the man behind it and other threats to him and his family in recent months is his fellow Adair County Commissioner Sam Chandler, who represents District 2.

“He hates me with a blinding-hot passion,” Turner said, adding that people who know Chandler and see him regularly said he “runs around in a seething rage.”

Now, Turner admits that he doesn’t have any evidence to back up his notion that Chandler is directly involved in anything.

“But I think it’s some of his friends. He has generated hatred in them. I don’t have an informant who says he had it done. It’s feelings. I think he knows a whole lot more about it than he’s said,” says Turner.

Chandler, when interviewed for this story, insists that he is not the problem, that it’s all Turner’s fault and that Turner is a “bald-faced liar” for suggesting that he was involved in the barn burning.

“There’s no telling who would’ve wanted to burn down his barn,” Chandler said. “He’s made so many enemies.”

Asked how he would describe his relationship with Turner, Chandler laughs.

“We don’t have any relationship,” Chandler says firmly.

But the two men do serve the county as commissioners, deciding on how to spend county money on everything from road projects to bridge repairs.

It appears the personalities of Russell Turner and Sam Chandler are continually clashing and allegations are being made on both sides. But it’s Turner who is trying to get the authorities to take a magnifying glass to Adair County and take time to turn over rocks and see what’s underneath.

In 2006 Turner became the second Republican on the three-member board and serves as chairman. The other member is Haskell Kindle, who represents District 3.

And being chairman has its perks.

Turner said as chairman he has the right to be the first to open mail that is addressed to the commissioners. But Turner said Chandler is obsessive about being the first person to open the mail.

Chandler, when interviewed by Red Dirt Report, said he has always opened the mail, even before Turner became a commissioner, and will continue to do so.

“Any three of us can open it,” Chandler said. “If it’s addressed to the County Commissioner’s office, I open it.”

A county employee, who preferred to not be named, was asked about Chandler and his seemingly controlling behavior. The employee confirmed that Chandler is “aggressive.”

“I had an encounter with him where he was almost screaming,” the employee told Red Dirt Report. “And it was over minor things.”

Pressed to explain why Chandler may act the way he does while still maintaining widespread support, the employee responds, “There’s probably a bigger, underlying story, one that I don’t know about. It may explain why they defend him.”

While Chandler was courteous during the interview with Red Dirt Report, it was clear that he was put off by Turner.

While Turner is a Republican and Chandler is a Democrat, it appears there may be more to this than simple disagreements along party lines.  Turner says this runs far deeper. It has to do with a culture that is firmly entrenched in this economically-depressed, rural county hugging the Arkansas line.

Red Dirt Report first heard about Turner’s case and the alleged corruption surrounding the political machine that seems to run Adair County in early February. 

Accepting an invitation to drive to Stilwell in February, this reporter took the road leading north into this small town. The drive from Sallisaw off of Interstate 40 is scenic and curvy. Stilwell has a Wal-Mart and other amenities common to county seats of its size.

Meeting Turner at a local barbecue joint, he began to lay out the story of what has been happening in the nearly two years since he became a County Commissioner in the county he has called home all of his life.

Turner said he didn’t expect to become a county commissioner but now that he is one, and chairman to boot, he has to do right by the folks in his district and in all of Adair County.

So, where did this mess first start? It apparently started with a woman working at the courthouse.

“There was a big blow up,” Turner said. “A woman was fired.”

As Turner explains it, the long-time county employee, Karen Horn, had been a secretary for the board but seemed to have a particular loyalty to Chandler.

Horn was fired for what Turner describes as “insubordination.” And while Turner was trying to get some information off the county-owned computer in her office, some very surprising information was discovered.

Besides the normal and mundane county business, the computer was also riddled with pornographic pictures and videos. There was also evidence of non-county related business on the computer including political campaign information. Shocked by this discovery, Turner had the good sense to make a “ghost copy” on his hard drive and the Adair County Sheriff’s Office was informed of this information.

While Horn was the primary user of the computer, the question remains. Who uploaded the pornography? And why was Democrat Party material on the computer as well?

Chandler says that it was probably Turner who put the pornography on there, since he was the last one to have access to the computer. Since being handed over to county authorities to be held as evidence, the computer reportedly disappeared.

“I don’t know anything about computers,” Chandler said. “If you have Internet access … I guess anything can get on it.”

Chandler continued, saying that the real problem Turner had with Horn was that she was telling Turner that he was running his portion of the county account in the red and that he couldn’t do that.  It was Horn telling him that that led to her being let go.

Turner says that Horn considered herself the “queen bee” of the courthouse and that she allegedly told First Deputy to the County Clerk Jean Fishinghawk and purchasing agent Kathy Harrison that anything that Turner wanted to know about county finances or county business had to go through her first.

Regardless of what really led to Horn being fired, it’s clear that Turner and Chandler are not going to come to an agreement.

Later, at Turner’s house on a beautiful piece of property where bald eagle sightings are not uncommon, he showed Red Dirt Report a literal stack of papers, photos, and documents related to the unethical and potentially illegal activity that he has uncovered over the past year.

“Everything I’ve brought before you here has been brought before the DA (of Adair County) Jerry Moore,” Turner said.

As for Horn, she was reportedly hired within days of her firing, by Cleon Harrell, executive director of the Cookson Hills Community Action Foundation in nearby Tahlequah.

It was more than “days” between her firing and her hiring at Cookson Hills. Talking to Harrell, he said that Horn was hired “two-to-three months” after she left Adair County and that it was advertised as a position available to the public.

Asked if he was aware of what allegations have been made regarding Horn, he said she has not been found guilty of anything.

“They didn’t uncover anything,” Harrell said. “They made allegations and tried coming up with something.”

When told of the pornography found on the computer, Harrell said Horn is “a good Christian lady” and an “exceptional employee” and that “anybody could have been on that computer” since the office was open all the time.

Yet, a letter mailed to Harrell, from an employee of the state Department of Commerce, dated Nov. 20, 2007, notes how bad it looks that Harrell hired Horn – a former chair of Cookson Hills’ board of directors who had just resigned – notes that “hiring a former board member so shortly after her resignation from the board only serves to undermine the spirit of objectivity, transparency and shared governance.”

The letter, written by Kathy McLaughlin, director of programs for the Citizen Empowerment Team, concludes, asking Harrell to “provide documentation and explanation of the hiring process that resulted in Ms. Horn’s current employment.”

It is not clear if Harrell ever responded.

In any event, Chandler agrees with Harrell’s assessment of Horn.

“She’s a good, Christian, honest woman,” Chandler said. “She wouldn’t take a dime from anybody.”

Chandler said Horn was well-versed in county business and nothing happened until Turner took office.

“She never did anything in that office that was illegal,” Chandler said, adding, “He keeps pushing stuff that aggravates people. I’ve got work to do and he keeps stirring up conflicts … there’s been more conflict in that courthouse than in all 13 years I’ve been a commissioner.”

Horn, who works as the programs coordinator for Cookson Hills, was contacted by Red Dirt Report and when asked to comment on the allegations made against her and allegedly involving her, she said questions should be “referred to my legal counsel” and when asked who that was, she said, “I have no comment on it at this time.”

So, where does the local newspaper, the Stilwell Democrat-Journal stand in all of this?  They appear to take Chandler’s side. While Turner gets a letter printed every now and again, he gets far more letters and articles printed that are critical of him and his work.

Turner is convinced this is the work of Sam Chandler.

 “(Chandler) likes to bring in his minions to attack me,” Turner said.

He demonstrates this by showing copies of the Stilwell Democrat-Journal newspaper, with half-page letters to the editor devoted to attacking Turner and praising Chandler. Turner said the newspaper editor, Gary Jackson, is seen as a good friend of Chandler.

Chandler didn’t outright deny this but he didn’t elaborate either.

In the Feb. 4, 2009 edition of the Stilwell Democrat-Journal, a letter from Adair County resident Annie Vaughn criticized Turner for his alleged failure to patch roads in his district.

Wrote Vaughn: “I’m sorry that Russell Turner’s lost his hay barn and hay, but I’m so glad that Sheriff Austin Young put a hold on the OSBI investigation, because who pays for the OSBI? Our taxpayer dollars.”

Of course taxpayer dollars went into the investigation into Vaughn’s violent attack on her daughter in 2006, according to records obtained from Adair County District Court.

“I’ve known Annie Vaughn for 30 to 40 years,” Chandler said. “I probably haven’t seen her in 10. I know she’s had holes in her road.”

Chandler said that compared to Turner and Kindle, who use “chip and oil” road patching methods, Chandler prefers asphalt, which lasts longer.

But Turner says his district doesn’t get the funds for expensive asphalt projects like Chandler does and does the best he can with the funds he is given.

Talking to Keith W. Neale, a reporter for the Stilwell Democrat-Journal, the burning of Turner’s barn probably has nothing to do with any political in-fighting that may involve Turner.

“Does he really think there’s any connection to this? Stuff that happened one or two years ago?” Neale asked. “I just think he’s paranoid.”

Chandler echoes Neale’s assessment of Turner.

“He is paranoid,” Chandler said. “He’s scared of his own shadow. He’s crossed everybody he can.”

Added Chandler: “He can’t get anyone convicted of anything.”

Neale said that Moore and Young didn’t feel the incident was important enough to investigate, particularly since no lives were personally affected. Neale also said that the way he understood it, Turner was leasing the barn.

“It’s still part of the Turner farm system,” countered Turner.

But folks in Stilwell are on to the idea that Neale and others involved with the local newspaper are siding with Chandler and the Democrats. This was highlighted recently in that paper when Neale wrote that a local hair salon banned Neale “forevermore.”

This was largely due to salon owner Judy Grant confronting Neale when he came in for a haircut recently. Before banning the reporter from her shop, she tried to get him to explain why he supported Chandler and alleged illegal activity taking place in the county. Neale, it was said, was unable to respond.

Grant’s reaction to the confrontation and some allegedly illegal road work being done for the Cherokees will be featured in an upcoming article on Red Dirt Report.

When Turner is told that Neale thinks he is “paranoid,” he said it’s easy for Neale to say that but then notes that he just had another incident take place on his property. He tells Red Dirt Report that a $600 cow on his property in the far western Adair County community of Rocky Mountain was shot in the eye and killed.

“But they’d say I’m just paranoid,” Turner says, with a tinge of bitterness. “But there’s just more and more things going on.”

When told of the cow shooting, Chandler scoffed, suggesting that the cow was probably neglected and simply died and that scavengers had pecked out the eye.

Again, Turner made a report with the Adair County Sheriff’s Office. He is not convinced that anything will be done to find out who was behind the killing of his cow.

“Was there one person involved in this? Are there multiple people involved?” asks Turner, who then suggests that the negative articles and letters about him in the newspaper are inciting people to hate him.

He then notes a story where he was driving home one night and someone chucked a huge rock through the passenger window of his truck, narrowly missing a family member sitting in the back. While he reported this incident, he never heard any more about it.

“Do I need to lose more property, more cattle being shot or me being shot before they do something to stop this? I mean, where do they draw the line?” he asked.

So where are the authorities in light of all this alleged illegal activity? Well, they give the impression they are on the case, although how far along they are into a serious investigation remains to be seen.

Turner has tried to get a serious investigation to take place. And just before this article was posted, a letter leaked to Red Dirt Report revealed that District Attorney Moore was aware of the latest crime against Turner and that he was going to take it seriously. A follow-up call to Moore to inquire further about this latest information was not returned.

In a Feb. 9, 2009 letter to Sheriff Young and District Attorney Moore, Turner writes on Adair County Commission letterhead that he is not satisfied with the investigation into the arson attack on his property.

Wrote Turner: “I have at numerous times expressed my concern for my safety and that of my family. We need to remember that the person or persons responsible for this crime are still out there.”

Continuing, Turner wrote, “As in the original request for getting the OSBI involved, I have very serious concerns for my safety and that of my family. Being an elected official entails risks. The events of 1/11/09 as well as other events that have threatened myself and my family have proved that point.”

Turner continues, noting that it is imperative that the OSBI be allowed to come and investigate and that having the DA’s office contact the OSBI “will not cost the people of Adair County anything.”

While the OSBI would be nice, he said, it would be great to just get the local sheriff’s department to look into the things Turner has uncovered.

When reached by phone, newly-elected Adair County Sheriff Austin Young said an “ongoing investigation” is taking place into the burning of Turner’s barn.

“We’ve contacted the fire marshal to help us with it,” Young said. “And our investigators are investigating it.”

Regarding Turner’s request to have OSBI take over the investigation, Young replied, “I talked to OSBI and they wouldn’t be able to do any more at this time.”

A call was put into OSBI, requesting a specific agent out of their Tulsa office. That call was not returned.

Continuing, Young said Turner would be treated “like any other citizen of Adair County” and that a lot of the incidents that occurred happened before he took office in January, when he replaced Gerald Coleman.

Turner, he said, “hasn’t made a report to my office” about the criminal activity he has allegedly uncovered.

“He’s making allegations that he’s not come to me and talked about,” Young said, adding that Turner’s allegations about his family being threatened was news to him.

“I’ll be glad to help him,” Young said.

Asked specifically about the pornography on the computer and the partisan political activity, Young said, “I don’t know anything about them.”

As for the burned barn, Young said there were three arson events that weekend, including some burned vehicles including a semi truck.

“If they were associated with (the barn burning) it has not been established,” Young said, adding that no suspects have been caught.

But Turner, when told of Young’s comments, said Young is well aware of what has been going on, but clarifies that Young’s investigator, Jack Smithson, was told more and that some information was not told to Young directly because Turner felt the sheriff and Chandler were too close.

Turner said District Attorney Jerry Moore who covers District 27, which includes Adair County, has sat on this information related to this alleged illegal activity for months and word on the street is that the DA’s office has no intention of investigating the matter.

“Jerry Moore is afraid of them,” Turner said, adding ominously, “This is about one guy, one group who has had exclusive control in this county for so long.”

Turner adds that he suspects Moore is hoping that if he stonewalls long enough that it will all go away.

When Red Dirt Report reached Moore at his office on a recent afternoon, the district attorney was not forthcoming with any specific information related to Turner’s situation.

“There is an ongoing investigation,” Moore said. “Our policy is not to comment on it at this time.”

Since that interview with Moore, Turner has sent yet another letter to the District Attorney, emphasizing that the shooting of his cow and the other events, which he calls “acts of terrorism,” “go beyond mere coincidence.”

When asked about a February 9 letter Turner wrote to Moore seeking OSBI support, Moore was hesitant, taking approximately 10 seconds to frame his answer.

“I did receive the letter,” Moore said. “I have in the past received a letter from the commissioner and the appropriate steps are being taken in the investigation.”

Moore would not comment any further.

Turner is disappointed but stands by the discoveries he has made.

 “We recovered files, tons of files,” Turner said.

While there was some legitimate county business on the computer, Turner reiterates that there was also partisan political stuff on there as well, information about the Democrat Party and party activity, information on Chandler’s cattle operation and then the worst of it – the pornography, young lesbians having sex, threesomes and some of the filth and smut was far worse, including sex involving minors and sites with names like “FreshTeens” and “TeenPornoSex.”

“A friend of mine who is a judge took a look at this and said, ‘I see multiple felonies here,’” Turner said.

Clearly the guilty parties had tried to delete files and knew they were in danger of being caught. The recycle bin on the computer was full, Turner said.

So, he tried to retrieve it the next day but it had already been tampered with.

Turner is convinced Chandler, and possibly Horn were there trying to get rid of the evidence. He  points to cell phone records that show Chandler was making calls from the County Commission office, on a phone paid for by the county, in the early morning hours.

In the meantime, Turner is keeping meticulous files on every event that has happened and been uncovered while still working to do work for the citizens of Adair County, regardless of political affiliation.

“I wish someone else had done this a long time ago,” Turner says of the information he’s uncovered and reported to law enforcement.  “I wish I could just get back to working for the people of this county and not have to worry about these things.”

To read Adair County Blues Pt. 2 in a series, clickhere.

Copyright 2009 West Marie Media