Winona police escorted Alderwoman Sylvia Clark from the boardroom in handcuffs after Mayor Aaron Dees ordered her dismissal during a regular Board of Alderman meeting on Tuesday.
Dees told Clark to leave the meeting after he, Alderwoman Linda Purnell and Alderman Charles Harris told Clark to stop interrupting people discussing accusations of money being stolen at the Winona Recreational Park.
Three park employees were at the meeting requesting proof from Board members to support the claim that park employees had been stealing, and they wanted to know specifically who was being accused of illegally taking money from the park.
Darlene Hobbs, a park worker, told board members the accusations are affecting her personal life.
“I have had people come up to me saying, ‘Give me some of that money you stole. How much money did you steal?’” said Hobbs. “I do not steal. I have worked with money all my life, and this is the first time I’ve heard, me being around money, that it’s been stolen.”
Annie Mae Whitehead, who wears a fanny pack while working at the park, said people have informed her that board members have discussed in open meeting that an employee wearing a fanny pack steals money from the park.
“Several people have come up to me [saying], ‘Can I borrow some money? Give me some money out of your fanny pack,” said Whitehead.
During the Board’s June 6 meeting, Clark reported hearing about an employee, wearing a fanny pack, stealing money from the park.
However, during Tuesday’s meeting, Clark denied the accusation.
Hobbs, Whitehead and board members also discussed another accusation Clark made during the June 6 meeting – park employees using a “five finger discount.”
As park employees, including Keith Small, tried to voice their concerns, Clark repeatedly interrupted with outbursts, denying having made the accusations, which are said to be available on a voice recording.
“My biggest concern is they’re saying that money is being stolen out there at the park. I have a daughter that works out there. My main concern is if I got false accusations about my daughter, I need to know why,” said Small, who serves as an umpire. “If they’re calling names out, I want to know who.”
Clark then replied, “I have not said anything – even in a board meeting. I have not said anything to nobody using nobody’s name. I never even thought to say your name.”
In an effort to help Small and Clark understand each other and end the argument between the two, Dees said, “I think what he’s saying, Ms. Clark, is in the last meeting you indicated that it was a ‘five finger discount.’ People take that as stealing.”
The heated discussion continued with Clark saying she talked about how workers would take money from their pockets to give change rather than using a locked box to house the money.
Amid the back-and-forth with Clark and Alderwoman Linda Purnell, Small emphasized the important role the recreational park plays in Winona.
“The town is benefiting off [Park Director Mike Narmour] having tournaments,” said Small. “Every town is having baseball tournaments every weekend. All the other towns are going to benefit.”
While Small and Board members discussed the potential of Winona losing the park, Clark hummed and spoke in an angry low voice to someone sitting behind her.
“If he keeps making accusations at me, I’m going to have him removed,” said Clark while pointing behind her.
Dees responded by saying, “No, you’re not. If he goes, you’re going with him.”
Clark and Purnell then referenced Narmour’s not attending meetings or providing financial reports to board members about the park.
Purnell asked City Attorney Adam Kirk to offer insight on the legal aspect of suspecting someone of stealing money from the park.
“If anybody, whether you’re a board member or not, if you believe somebody is misusing funds, you call the State Auditor’s Office and report it. That’s all that needs to be done,” said Kirk. “The board is not the judge or the jury or [anything] like that. All of this other stuff is just creating a bunch of mess that we shouldn’t have to deal with.”
The Board then allowed Narmour to speak, and he read from a statement he had prepared.
He commented on the “five finger discount” statement made in the June 6 board meeting and told board members he had listened to a recording of the meeting to hear the statement for himself.
Narmour went on to discuss how statements made about him in past meetings have affected his life.
“Last year, Ms. Purnell put me on the spot in an open board meeting concerning how money is handled after a tournament and where money is kept until it is turned in at City Hall the next day of business,” said Narmour. “This comment could have put me and my family in potential danger.”
He then told the Board he was the state director of Grand Slam Sports Tournament.
“This allows me to essentially decide where tournaments are hosted in the State of Mississippi within the Grand Slam Sports Tournament travel ball circuit,” said Narmour, adding he has decided to make changes among his staff and himself at the park.
“My staff and I will not handle any monies,” said Narmour. “The Board, the mayor or those appointed outside of the park staff can run the gates and the concession and handle the monies.”
When Narmour completed his statement, Purnell and Clark began discussing park finances and statements made in previous meetings leading to an argument between Clark and Dees. Clark continued to interrupt others as they spoke about park finances until Dees ordered her to leave.
After Clark refused to leave multiple times, Dees ordered Winona police to escort her out of the meeting. Her refusal to follow the request of Officer B.J. Edwards was followed by her arrest and forced removal in handcuffs. She was taken to the Winona Police Department and charged with assault on a police officer, disorderly conduct, failure to comply and resisting arrest, according to Chief Roshaun Daniels.
She is out on her own recognizance due to health issues, he said.
