Who's Been In Your Wallet?

I'm sure you've all seen the "what's in your wallet" Capitol One commercials, but if you've had work done by this contractor in Hampshire County and the surrounding areas, you may be wondering "who's been in your wallet". Andrew Shane Mowery, 31, formerly of Capon Bridge, put the screws to several folks with his contracting company, Potomac Highland Builders, Inc. With a reputation for starting jobs and never finishing, Mowery's work must have run out some time last year when he skipped town with over several hundred thousand dollars in funds obtained from clients for work he was supposed to do or said he had already finished. He high-tailed it off to somewhere in New York to live the high life on the stolen money.

Well, folks, he's back and currently staying at the Hampshire County Hilton to wait for a pending bond hearing. With any luck, Magistrate Billmeyer or Timbrook will set his bail high enough as to prevent him from jumping bail once he's out. Listen up folks, if he does post bail, don't let yourself be another victim of the "who's been in your wallet" bandit. If he does hang around, he'll be up to his old tricks in no time.

***UPDATE*** Magistrate Billmeyer has set a $75,000 CASH ONLY bond for Mr. Mowery. Congratulations Magistrate Billmeyer on knowing a likely skip when you see one!

***UPDATE*** Bond was modified allowing a surety bond to be posted. A bonding company posted his $75,000 bond on Tuesday, August 21st. We've been keeping our eyes and ears open but haven't seen or heard from Mowery since his bond was posted. Wonder if he's skipped yet? Think about it.....what reason does he have to hang around Hampshire County? It's certainly not to clear his good name which is already mud in the area of contracting, and he ranks far from first on the top 500 list of fine, upstanding citizens in the county. Our sources tell us his path of destruction was a mile wide and every bit as deep. He's no better than any other common thief and should be punished as such. If anyone has any information which would help put Mowery where he belongs, contact the state police at (304) 822-3561 or the sheriff's department at (304) 822-3894. They can put you in touch with the investigating officer in charge of the case.

***UPDATE***Mowery was indicted on 6 counts of false pretenses on Tuesday, September 4th, by the grand jury.

Schools & Drugs - An Unsafe Combination

I recently read an article in the Daily-Mail which I found very disturbing. Several employees of the Kanawha County school system were suspended for numerous reasons. Among those, three were arrested for drug-related charges, one for distributing or using a controlled substance with a student, some for failing random drug testing and consuming alcohol while working. Currently, the only employees who are subject to mandatory drug testing by the state board of education are school bus drivers, and this is due to DOT requirements.

The idea of mandatory drug testing has been toyed with in Kanawha County, but success in getting a policy in place is not yet in the near future. I don't believe this is something that should be left up to the individual counties. This should be a state requirement in every state, but is only mandatory in Hawaii presently.

School employees must pass a background check before being hired, but I'm sure not sleeping better at nights knowing that there are still those working in our school systems who, not only are using drugs themselves, but also giving or selling them to our children. The background check only works if someone has gotten caught in the past. What about now?

A physical education teacher at Cedar Grove Middle School in Kanawha County was recently arrested and charged with possession with intent to deliver various drugs. WV State Police pulled the teacher over to give him a traffic ticket and found several bags of marijuana and cocaine packaged for resale in his car. When they searched his home they found even more drugs.

After all of this, the West Virginia Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union, remains one of the strongest opponents to any mandatory drug testing policy. They've joined forces with the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and other teachers' unions in the fight against the proposed policy. They've sighted every argument from the drug testing being insulting and demeaning, a violation of employees' Fourth Amendment rights, and a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. My personal favorite was from the general counsel for the West Virginia Education Association who said, "It's just not the American way."

An attorney for the American Federation of Teachers cited a WV Supreme Court case which he said protects employees from random drug testing based on their fundamental right to privacy. The Supreme Court justices made two exceptions in the case. First, testing is allowed if the employer has reasonable, good faith suspicion to believe the employee is using drugs. The second exception is the cause for the debate in the issue. The justices said drug testing is not banned when the employee’s job responsibility involves public safety or the safety of others. Those arguing against the policy do not believe school employees are in a "safety-sensitive" position.

I must be missing their point here. When it comes to our children, I consider those who mentor them to very much be in a "safety-sensitive" position. How many children did that physical education teacher who was arrested sell or give drugs to? Is it safe to have someone who uses or sells drugs working around children? Would you send your children to school if you knew their teacher was a drug user? Probably not.

This is not the only issue facing safety in our schools, but I believe it is a major issue. The state board of education needs a statewide policy for mandatory drug testing of school employees. With the overwhelming problem of drugs in our schools, pre-employment drug screenings and random testing in the school system is crucial to the safety of our children.