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County machine missing
Confusion surrounds front-end loader
Published Tuesday, January 15, 2008
CORRECTION: The article that originally appeared in Tuesday's edition of The Natchez Democrat misstated the cost of a front-end loader. The cost of the machine is $78,453 not $47,453. The article also misstated Adams County Purchase Clerk Rosa Wilson. Wilson said she had three purchase orders for six front-end loaders bought in 1992. In Tuesday’s edition it was reported that Wilson only had information about three front-end loaders. These corrections have been made in the following story.
NATCHEZ — In May of 2007 county officials realized something was amiss when they could not locate one of the county’s $78,453 front-end loaders.
In September the machine, sometimes mistaken for a bulldozer, was reported stolen to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.
In October, board members approved the county’s fixed inventory assets audit, minus the front-end loader.
County officials are still unable to locate the 1992 John Deere 544E front-end loader.
And now some are starting to question if the machine was stolen or if it actually ever existed.
Supervisor S.E. “Spanky” Felter has unofficially spearheaded the effort to find the missing machine.
“It’s really confusing,” he said. “It’s going back 17 years.”
Since October, Felter has been milling through a mountain of paperwork, examining serial numbers, auction sales and purchase orders for parts.
However for all the time Felter, and others, have spent looking over files concerning the machine, no clear answer emerges on its whereabouts.
And what little information exists about the front-end loader is under debate.
Sheriff Ronny Brown said he has been told that the machine was stolen by some, and told by others, that it never existed at all.
“It still has not been found,” he said. And right now that may be the only certainty surrounding the machine.
Felter said his records indicate six John Deere 544E front-end loaders were purchased in 1992.
Felter also said he has records that show parts corresponding to the missing machine’s serial number were ordered in 2004.
Felter speculates the machine was either sold at a county equipment auction or stolen.
“I don’t think it’s a bookkeeping error,” he said.
Durham Auctions in Brooklyn, handled the county’s most recent auction
However, Vice President Jim Durham said his company has no sales record for the missing loader.
Road Manager for Adams County Clarence “Curlee” Jones has his own theory about what has happened to the machine.
“It’s not missing at all,” he said.
Jones said the county never had six loaders but instead only had five to begin with.
Jones’ department was in charge of the now missing machine.
Jones said the county sold one loader under the direction of former Road Manager Russell Dorris and never removed it from its inventory.
This would have happened around 1999 or 2000 Jones said.
In addition, Jones said if parts were purchased under the serial number for the missing loader, in 2004, that would not necessarily prove it was in the county.
Jones said since all the county’s loaders were the same model parts for one machine would fit all the others.
On Monday Adams County Purchasing Clerk Rosa Wilson said she had information about six 544E loaders purchased in 1992.
Wilson did say that the Adams County Inventory Clerk Angela Hutchins might have more complete records about the machine’s purchase.
However Hutchins will be out of the office until Friday.
And while the location of the loader, or its existence for that matter, is a mystery Felter said he feels confident the loader will be located.
“We are going to find it,” he said.
Comments
Posted by NtzMom55 (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 12:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It is amazing how the $76,000 front end loader has now been depreciated to $47,000! And that's only in four months. So, if it's not found within the next 4 and a half months, it will depreciate to $0.00. If a multi ton piece of machinery can become missing, one can only imagine how many tens of thousands of dollars worth of tools and other highly walkable items are missing from the past decade.
So can anyone tell me if Crop Circles and Aliens are real?
Maybe the front end loader flew over the Burmuda Triangle?
Elvis is alive!!
Posted by natchez1 (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 12:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I remember years ago seeing a yellow "bulldozer" type machine parked near Church Hill (go to the old country store and turn left) dozer was on the right covered in Kudzu, yes I know its just outside Adams County but not by much! I used to work a lot in Church Hill, and it looked like it broke down and no one bothered to try and fix it. I probably last saw it there in maybe in 1997-98. It seems that no-one has seen it in years, go look it may be still there. I was amazed to watch it disappear under the Kudzu, It did not take long.
Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on January 15, 2008 at 3:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
1. A 1992 front end loader would be fully depreciated since it has a depreciable life of about 6 years. However, there should be a residual value for the loader.
2. If it never existed, why would there be a serial number in the equipment records? You would think that the serial number could be traced back through John Deere to see if it is valid and if so, did the county buy it.
3. You mean to tell me that the Adams County Inventory Clerk has been left out of the "loop"?
4. Sound like a lot of passing the buck! It maybe time, no it is past time, to kick ---, take names and heads roll. My opinion of course.
Posted by hellcat (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 6:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hello?! These are the people that run our little piece of the world?! Sounds like it's time to upgrade from the "good ole boy" system of voting to actually voting for someone with some kind of experience. Maybe along with soliciting business to our area, we should be wooing competent candidates. These people should know that after the "Binky incident", we are going to be watching, and though we may not hold them fully accountable for their actions, we will see them out the door. Seems this is the result of no consequences for our "good ole boys". I am supposed to feel confident in our leadership and I wouldn't even ask them to babysit, they can't keep up with heavy equipment, they certainly can't keep up with my 12 year old.
Posted by supertrucker47 (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 6:57 a.m.
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Posted by SayItRight (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 7:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I would be looking back to 1992 to see who all worked and ran this department, who entered it as inventory and who might know if someone was "borrowing" the county equipment at that time. It may be too late for heads to roll because whoever is responsible may be already gone. But, if you can prove someone was using the equipment for personal gain and it was known by others someone may go to jail or have to pay for it.
Posted by mike8427 (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 7:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why don't they contact the company where they bought the machines. They would probably still have the records of when and how many were sold. This is really a poor job of management. Its embarassing that this is how the county is being run.
Posted by beammeupscotty (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 7:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I think the first place I would look is in the bookkeeping records. If money is missing then either a loader was purchased or the money was stolen. If the loader was sold then money should show back up on the books. All this beating around the bushes suggest to me the money was stolen in the first place when the loaders were supposed to have been ordered or the money was stolen when it was sold.
Posted by Let_us_think (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 7:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Forget the bookkeeping records; they're no good or we wouldn't have this problem to begin with. I'm with Natchez1--it's under the kudzu somewhere. Desperate times call for desperate measures. There's bound to be some Agent Orange left over. Time to spray the county and get to the bottom of this.
Posted by beammeupscotty (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 7:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Agent Orange was never a good idea.
Posted by opinsab (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 8 a.m.
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Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on January 15, 2008 at 8:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"In addition, Jones said if parts were purchased under the serial number for the missing loader, in 2004, that would not necessarily prove it was in the county. Jones said since all the county’s loaders were the same model parts for one machine would fit all the others."
Was the loader on the prior physical inventories? If so, we what does that say about....................
So when repair parts are requisitioned for the loaders, someone just picked a VIN number for one of the loaders? Which means that the county is not tracking the operating cost for each loader? Maintenance records would be a good indication when equipment should be replaced.
Posted by plpriest (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 9:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
who is to say that all of them did not have something to do with it. All of them are twisted. Maybe they let let someone borrow it and forgot who. It sure has took him a long time to relize that it is gone. how do you mistake a dozer for a front end loader. Come on. Felter more than likely had something to do with it. He is not no straight arrow himself.
Posted by oldman (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 9:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
When is the statute of limitations over for this sort of thing?... I have heard about a piece of equipment that came up missing, after the statute of limitations had "expired" .. the equipment was used by the "taker" ... Hummmmmm??
Posted by readingthepaper (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 9:15 a.m.
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Posted by dixiemama (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 9:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How on earth are we to expect the police to find robbers that weigh no more the 200 lbs. when a company can't keep up with a piece of machinery they weighs hundreds of pounds if not tons!
This all sound fishy. All evidence says there was no 1992 John Deere 544E front-end loader. Someone is trying to make fast buck but before it's over they may be only getting room and board at the county jail.
Posted by redgirlemt (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 9:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
And we allow these people to handle our tax money worse yet we pay them to handle our tax money. I dont know who has the mental problem us or them. I bet there never was one and the money got pocketed by one of the city officials but thats my opionion.
Posted by cchat123 (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 9:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Gosh! Surely someone knows if a instrument that size is not longer visible...it's like a building vanishing. As
William Shakespeare Marcellus postulated in Hamlet....
" something is rotten in the state of Denmark!"
Posted by freedom42 (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 10:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe David Copperfield visited at one time and practiced his act on the loader.
Posted by beammeupscotty (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 10:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Now that it is missing and has been for awhile the next thing we will hear is they need to buy another one. If it was needed in the first place then it seems to reason they would have kept up with it. I agree never bought, the money over 70,000 went into one of our finest elected officials money can buy.
Posted by destiny (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 10:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks Spanky for keeping us up to date so far. Keep up the good work and you'll find out what has happened.
Posted by dottie (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 10:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Check with Binkey. He may have it stashed away.
Posted by sarabug (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 10:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I was just going to say that Dottie. LOL
Posted by rushinghjr (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 11:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Poor Management on behalf of the Adams County Government! Sounds like the City Administration!
Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on January 15, 2008 at 11:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If we had known about the fiasco in the county, we could have cleaned house. Now we can clean house in city government!!
Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on January 15, 2008 at 11:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The story line should have read, "County machine still missing" since the ND had previously reported the loader missing.
Posted by kpage (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 11:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm with Dots....ask the Binkster! Things seem to disappear rather quietly around him.
Posted by supertrucker47 (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 1:29 p.m.
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Posted by beammeupscotty (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 1:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe it is a good thing we lost it because if parts were ordered it must have broken down. Now that it is old no telling how much it is going to cost to keep it running. I think it is a good time to order another one.
Posted by notfromnatchez (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 2:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
They got rid of supertrucker's comment. Too bad...that was entertaining.
I can see him yelling at squirrels and shaking his fist at them...solely based on how he writes.
LOL.
:)
Posted by timnoklahoma (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 2:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Trucker made a valid point earlier....If parts were ordered for another front end loader and the serial number from the front end loader that was never there was given for the parts ordered---HOW DID SOMEONE JUST COME UP WITH THAT SERIAL NUMBER OUT OF THE THIN AIR??????
The missing loader DID exist at one point in time, but it just don't exist no more!!( At least not on the Adams County owned property rolls!) It might still exist in the county, but if whoever has (HAD) it has not dumped it by now, they really deserve to go to prison, for stupidity!
Posted by buttercup26 (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 3:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
and it still hasn't been found?? hahaha!! i wish i could find it.. i'd bring it on down to the coast... i need to clean off our land.. haha, that's a thought.. some one in NTZ. needed some clear some stuff off??????
Posted by shedevil (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 4:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe the supervisors should post a picture of the loader all over town & offer a reward for its return.....or maybe they should call Americas Most Wanted....lol
Posted by peacerulz (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 5:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
i agree. i have no idea what the thing looks like so if i did see it i'd have no idea what i was even looking at. lol
Posted by dottie (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 7:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If these people think a front end loader looks like
a DOZER, they really have no idea exactly what they
have lost. Pathetic!
Posted by buttercup26 (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 7:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
haha! THEY CAN'T OFFER AN AWARD ((SHE)) remember the CRIME STOPPERS FUND has ran dry! haha!
Posted by peacerulz (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 8:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
guess they'll stop getting tips now since there's no reward money. sad that it takes $$$$$ to get some ppl to tell on some worthless thug.
Posted by MrNobody (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 10:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Natchez1 was right!!
Kudzu got it and here's the link to prove it..
http://www.jjanthony.com/kudzu/vehicles....
I wonder if their's a finder fee for this????
considering all the money spent looking into this.
Posted by natchez1 (anonymous) on January 15, 2008 at 11:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Mr. Nobody - totally brilliant!
The picture of the backhoe was the very similar to what I saw in Church Hill, I was almost tempted to drive out there today and see if I could solve this mystery! -
Sadly no reward money being offered. I suspect if it was the missing vehicle some enterprising individual has long since sold it for parts and for scrap metal.
Posted by shedevil (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 5:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I forgot about that Butter...Maybe we should start looking into what happened to the crimestoppers fund that is missing too.I dont recall many crimes being solved around here to deplete the fund.
Posted by supertrucker47 (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 6:47 a.m.
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Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on January 16, 2008 at 7:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"Supervisor S.E. “Spanky” Felter has unofficially spearheaded the effort to find the missing machine."
I think it is time for someone to OFFICIALLY spearhead the effort to find the missing machine. Even, if that means hiring a CPA firm to audit the county's books and records.
Posted by noneya (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 7:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
supertrucker, I love you! You are such a character, that I can't help but smile thinking what a mess you are! But I agree with you that somebody, somewhere KNOWS where that front-end loader is. Maybe it got loaned out and never brought back but the borrower sure as heck knows he's the one that has it. I think they need to follow the serial number and check with the PARTS HOUSE and see when the last time a part was ordered and by whom. Forget the purchasing agent for the county, go to VENDORS.
Posted by supertrucker47 (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 8:03 a.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by noneya (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 8:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
now look, I wasn't getting fresh, I only meant that I get a kick out of you! Please don't think I was making a pass at you.
Posted by sandyman7 (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 8:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
mmmmmm There is only one supervisor that was in office back then,,,He just got voted out of office...Anyone ever think to ask him about it?????
Posted by mike8427 (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 9:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Supertrucker has left the building! If anyone noticed it appears that all his blogs have been removed. He has made so many false statements that it appears the democrat had to remove him all together. Some of his stuff made me laugh, but sometimes it was so far out there and just lies. Anyway I just noticed that.
Posted by noneya (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 9:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
dang, you'er right Mike, he IS gone! He always made me chuckle, too. One thing I will say about him/her...he was devoted to his ideas and opinions! And he got removed just when he/she decided to go with the flow and stop using all caps to try to get along with folks!
Posted by freedom42 (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 9:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Don't worry folks, he'll be back. Maybe he will tone down a liltte for a while. Love the pictures Mr.Nobody!
Posted by Prayingforachange (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 1:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Ok, I realize the County is in another uproar!!!!! Please take the time to look at all the facts, and don't just continue to speculate and wrongfully accuse the HARD WORKERS of the County. The employees that I come in contact with are always friendly and assertive in all of their daily tasks set before them. Personally, I think Dots' preception to ask Binky is FUNNY!!!!!!! To accuse the Road Manager isn't the answer either, he has never done anything wrongful regarding Adams County. If you all are looking for someone to point the finger at, look at the "former" employees of the Road Department that have now retired.
Posted by shedevil (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 4:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
DANG SUPERTRUCKER....THEY REMOVED ALL OF YOUR COMMENTS.I THINK THEY ARE PICKING ON YOU FOR SPEAKING THE TRUF
Posted by mike8427 (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 5:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well its like they say shedevil - The truf will set you free. Welcome back supertrucker! I seldom agree with you, but you are very comical!
Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on January 16, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I do not know that the “truf” set Super free. I could be that the ND realized they would lose their daily comedy routine if they continued the block. Or could it be that one of the blog participants interceded for Super?
Welcome back, Super!
Posted by freedom42 (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 7:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I told you so! He's Backkkkkk!
Posted by grrbrts (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 7:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
A very well spoken cause...from Mike8427!
Posted by mike8427 (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 8:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
gemcull - I was joking with she devil on the truf thing
Posted by noneya (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 9:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
super, you might not realize it, but for a while you were totally eradicated from the blogs...all your comments were gone. SO BEHAVE YOURSELF before you get permanently banned. Stop using peoples names in your accusations...that's libel. We want to continue to be able to get your input and don't want to see you banned. You are a very good person, I can tell by your past post and maybe a bit more radical and vocal than most, but that's okay...that's your voice. Just please, please don't call names or curse (you seldom curse). Peace, brother.
Posted by shedevil (anonymous) on January 16, 2008 at 9:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
SUPERTRUCKER..I HOPE THE ND DIDNT OFEND YOU TODAY.I ENJOY READING YOUR COMENTS.I WISH YOU WOULD RUN FOR MAYOR.YOU WILL HAVE MY SUPPORT...I THINK YOUR A TRUFUL PERSON . BY THE WAY I THINK NONEYA IS KINDA SWEET ON YOU.
Posted by noneya (anonymous) on January 17, 2008 at 6:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
no, not sweet on him...just feel the way you do. Maybe not for mayor though. lol
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