Paige McWilliams - Over the Budget?

Until last week, Paige McWilliams was the librarian in the small Colbert County town of Cherokee. (McWilliams is pictured second from left during a Christmas party given by Cherokee City Schools.) Now McWilliams has been relieved of her duties while the town council initiates a forensic audit of the library's books.

The small library's annual budget is only $19,000.00, and now almost $17,000.00 of that is missing. McWilliams failed to appear at two due process hearings, and sources indicate that Mayor Chuck Lansdell has already filed an initial complaint with Colbert County District Attorney Bryce Graham Jr.

Paige McWilliams had held the position of Librarian in the small town for the past two years. Last year she was quoted in the TimesDaily:

With wireless Internet access, she says technology is a vital part of her facility. But nothing takes the place of books and reading.

"There's not a lot to do in Cherokee, so we have a lot of readers," McWilliams said.

With approximately 13,000 books in the library, McWilliams said many of them come from donations from the town's residents.

As with many small rural libraries, fundraisers are important in Cherokee.

"We have a yard sale once a year that helps bring in money," McWilliams said.

Perhaps McWilliams will not need to hold a yard sale in order to reimburse the town; sources also reported her family has come forward with an offer to make restitution for the missing funds.