NORWAY – One of Orangeburg County’s longest-serving police chiefs was dismissed Thursday after receiving a hand-delivered letter from Norway Mayor Brad Fogle.

After serving for 17 years as police chief of the town of 369, Jim Preacher is out.

“I can’t believe it,” Preacher said. “I guess from what he’s saying, he’s mad at me. I guess I made him mad.”

Fogle declined to go into specifics Thursday. He did confirm Preacher had been dismissed.

“I can’t get into the reasons behind the termination,” Fogle said. “All I can really say is the decision was made in consultation with town council.”

But one councilman says the whole council wasn’t consulted.

Norway Councilman Ken Bates said late Thursday he wasn’t asked to attend any discussions on Preacher’s future with the town.

“I called the mayor this afternoon to ask what was going on,” Bates stated. “He said, ’What do you mean? I don’t know what you mean,’ and I said ’With you firing Chief Preacher. What about those secret meetings you’ve been having?’ He said, ’I already knew your position.’ I think I should have been invited to be there, don’t you?”

Bates said he had not been entertaining the notion of firing the police chief.

“I felt Jim Preacher’s done more for this town than anybody else,” Bates said. “He’ll help anybody that needs help.”

It’s Bates’ contention that Fogle met with at least three members of Norway’s town council in recent weeks without inviting the councilman who may have had a dissenting opinion.

Bates said he believes the meetings centered around Preacher; however, he said he doesn’t know what transpired during the alleged meetings.

“I don’t know, I wasn’t there,” he said. “I can’t say what happened since I wasn’t there or invited to be there.”

Fogle, who was elected mayor last year, said “I felt like I wanted to have the right people in the right places. I think the taxpayers need to get all they can for their money.”

Preacher produced a copy of the hand-delivered letter given to him when he was summoned to Town Hall for a meeting at 3 p.m. Thursday.

In the letter, there are 12 reasons given for the firing, including allegations Preacher insulted former employees, violated the mayor’s police policies and slammed a door “in the presence of two potential contractors.”

Some of the 12 reasons given:

n “You cursed a Town police officer in the presence of a town citizen. When I asked you about this you confirmed the action but said you had later apologized to the officer.”

n “When the town decided to bid out the operation of the waste treatment plant I put together a set of requirements and asked you for input. Your response was only: ’You do not have a clue.’”

n “On two occasions you failed to provide information back to an individual who needed a utilities tap. In both cases the individual had to come a Council meeting to complain before appropriate action was taken.”

n “You angered a local businessman when you told him that he was not allowed to work on Town vehicles. You were never instructed in this manner. You were told to use local businesses instead of out of town dealerships. You asked me if I approved of your using another local business but I never limited you to only that business.”

Preacher did not agree with most of the allegations, although he did admit he angered the local businessman.

“Yeah, that’s true,” Preacher said. “That’s his brother.”

Norway native and lifelong resident Debbie Durr said she was shocked.

“I just think Brad’s young and inexperienced,” Durr said. “He doesn’t realize he has a group of people here who are ready to ask him, ’What were you thinking?’ There’s no one in this town who loves people more than Jim Preacher. I just can’t imagine.”

At 61, Preacher said at this point he plans no appeal of Thursday’s dismissal. He simply said, “I guess I’ll go out and find another job. I don’t hold any ill will. I’m not mad at anybody.”

Meantime, the town isn’t actively searching for a new head of police, Fogle said.

“We’re certainly not looking for a police chief,” he said. “We still have our officer on duty, and I’ve spoken with Sheriff (Larry) Williams” to plan police coverage.

While the town may not be searching for a new chief, Durr said she plans to take action with the help of several area residents.

“We’re going to see what needs to be done, get together a petition,” the school teacher said. “If you have an emergency, he is there. It’s like a death to me.”

T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5516. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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