No decision made on circumstantial evidence
The Cumby City Council met Tuesday night to hold a public hearing regarding the removal of municipal judge, Lana Adams, on the grounds of local government code 22.077, “incompetency, corruption, misconduct, or malfeasance in office.”
No decisions were made regarding the removal of Judge Adams following the hearing.
The accusations facing Adams were allegedly obtaining information without going through the proper channels and changing a fine to community service through ex parte communication.
“This hearing is simply to understand the full scope of Judge Lana Adams’ job and what channels should be used to gather information,” Mayor Doug Simmerman said.
Adams was invited to speak first and allowed to call three witnesses to speak on Adams’ behalf.
Adams alleges that she “has never solicited any personal information or had a council member dig up dirt on anyone in the council or city.”
“I’ve never participated in the gossip, but I sure have heard a lot of gossiping happening in this office,” Adams said. “I was asked to come to Cumby, I didn’t ask for this job. I’ve worked to fix the problems in this office and accommodated other’s schedules.”
Regarding a child bit by a dog, Adams claims that she had contacted Commerce Animal Control asking for their advice to best handle quarantining the dog.
“I requested the proof of vaccination and the police report filed by Chief [Jeff] Hundley, so that I would know if the dog needed to be removed from the home or was able to quarantine at home with proof of rabies vaccination,” Adams claimed.
“I just wanted to avoid a possible law suit later down the road if the bite became infected and the child required hospitalization. I don’t have to protect you, the council, but I chose to. I feel like there have been given differential treatment with my name being put out there, being listed on the public notices. I’ve already contacted the police academy and resigned from teaching over this defamation. I accepted a salary of $300 a month instead of the $25 an hour that I was hired on at. My reputation has been tainted by this,” Adams said in closing.
The father of the child, Kevin Meisenheimer, received a text with a screenshot of a conversation between Lana and another party about the dog bite after the fact, according to Meisenheimer’s mother-in-law.
“Kevin doesn’t want to pursue any charges or sue the city. His daughter was riding her bicycle near the school when a dog lunged out of the bushes and bit her on the leg. She got stuck in a muddy hole and couldn’t get out. We never agreed that the dog was not dangerous. The chief said that it was ‘just a puncture’ but Kevin told him ‘it just jumped out and bit my kid, how is that not dangerous?,” the grandmother shared. “I see no issue with the judge wanting the report as long as everything is taken care of, we have no issues.”
“Chief Hundley told me that he filed the police report and tracked down the proof of vaccination. He said the father didn’t want a hearing so I took him at his word. I trusted that if a hearing was needed, we would have filed for one,” Adams claims. “The dog owner had the paperwork showing rabies vaccination so it was quarantined at home, after a month I can’t schedule a hearing. If the dog had been deemed dangerous, the owner has to register it and file for insurance. That’s it.”
Alderman Ryan Horne shared that he did not tell Adams about the dog bite and was not sure who did.
“I keep my personal life outside those doors. When I walk into this building I focus on being professional, only work stuff,” Horne said. “I want things to be above board and to go through the proper channels. This isn’t high school student council, this is city council.”
Next to speak was Julie Morris, on Adams’ behalf.
“I served as a council member for two and a half years and I have to say, nothing has made me shake my head more than this right here. First two city secretaries, two maintenance workers, a court clerk, three cops, two council members and we’re about to lose the water clerk, all have quit or resigned. What’s next? Why is Judge Lana Adams being targeted when she is the one that helped pull the court office out of a dark hole? If we’re going to base this off of character, I can say without a doubt that one of the current council members has attacked my character and called me toxic,” Morris remarked.
At this point, Mayor Doug Simmerman stepped in and asked Morris not to attack anyone’s character.
An unknown male spoke up from the back of the room and claimed that “that is what the council is doing is it not? Attacking Miss Adams’ character?”
Simmerman asked the man to please hold all remarks until they had the floor.
The next person invited to speak was Nathan Airheart, an old coworker of Adams from the Hunt County Sheriff ’s Office.
“In the time that I have known Lana Adams, she has shown good character, honesty, integrity and has always made the right decision,” he said. “She started a GED program in the jail, claiming that education could be the path to keep people out of jail. She promoted anger management and family matters courses and helped build an agency that could be trusted and respected. She has always backed others and put other’s needs before her own. It’s not about the money with her, she just wants to make things better.”
Louis Lufkin, who attended the Northeast Texas Community College Police Academy with Adams, spoke next.
“Accusations of corruption and incompetency seem to be a recurring theme lately. I would beseech the council to look at their motivation for wanting for remove Lana Adams,” he said. “Lana has played many roles in my life and the lives of those who know her; teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend. Fixers are not popular people, and the ones who request the fixer often can’t help but find fault with them. Fixers are unbiased, bold, and fix whatever and whoever they feel needs it. It seems that the council has been making decisions based on circumstantial evidence and need to remember why they hired Lana in the first place.”
Jerry Baer, retired law enforcement, was the last person to speak on behalf of Adams.
“Abraham Lincoln used to say ‘If you call a horse’s tail a leg and ask people how many legs a horse has, they’ll say five. But of course the tail is not a leg, so the horse really only has four legs.’ I say this because, just because you say something is so, does not make it so,” Baer said. “And I feel that is what is happening with Miss Lana Adams here. I’ve had my motivation for speaking today questioned because I’m not a resident of Cumby, but I did marry Miss Cumby, my wife is related to almost everyone in this room today. Lemons, Baxley, and so on.” Baer shared. “There is no one I trust more than Lana Adams, she has her faults, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t, but she is irreplaceable. Her integrity, decency, and reputation transcends Cumby. She’s known in Greenville, Commerce and Sulphur Springs as well. I would ask the council to please do what’s right and listen to those of us who know Lana.” Council comments were next with Mayor Simmerman sharing that he respects the work Adams has done in the office as judge and also has respect for Hundley.
Horne spoke next, “I was honestly caught off guard by this. I’m new to the council so I am not entirely clear about what is going on. All interactions I have had with Adams has been above board and she has only shared pertinent information with me. This seems like all hearsay, he said she said, rumor mill information so far with no really hard facts or evidence. I respect Hundley and only have good things to say. It seems there is maybe a third party involved.”
Alderman Amber Roberson spoke next.
“Before posting the notice, I had not received any complaints about Judge Lana Adams or her qualifications. Regarding the dog bite, the court has their own ordinances about dealing with a potentially dangerous animal and unprovoked attacks. The mayor is responsible for making sure those ordinances are followed. I was never asked to dig up dirt on anyone or any council business and I have never asked for information obtained through a background check,” Roberson said.
City Attorney Leigh Thompson shared that “the dog bite isn’t the only issue here. The judge also reportedly changed a fine that had been decided upon in court to community service after the defendants wife called Adams to say that he had lost his job.”
“The wife called saying that the defendant was unsure of what he could do or how he would be able to pay the fine without a job. Judge Adams told the wife that the husband would need to call her himself and get the paperwork signed. This was all done through ex parte communication outside the court and without the prosecutors knowledge,” Thompson alleged. “She, Lana, also sent a letter to the council claiming that the collection agency used by the city was possibly doing illegal activity and she wanted to change to another collection agency. Miss Lana allegedly called the current agency and said she was going to report them, even though she had no proof that they had done anything wrong.”
Hundley addressed the council and alleged that he had been approached by Alderman Roberson about a letter that reportedly accused Lana of wrongdoing.
“I heard all this through the grapevine. I don’t hold much stock in hearsay or rumors,” Hundley said.
After all statements were heard, no decision was made regarding Judge Adams, and the council moved on to the next order of business.
The council discussed accepting the resignation of Kirk-Evans, CPA, the company that audits the city’s finances. Evans submitted the resignation due to being short staffed and unable to complete the audit.
The council accepted the resignation and approved the Mayor to enter into a contract with a new CPA, subject to later confirmation by the council.