FloGas Took Wilkie's Body & Dumped It

We received this letter earlier today from April Koonce. We're publishing it in its entirety and will comment below:

This probably isn't the right venue for my letter to be printed, I'm not sure what would be, or if anyone would even want to hear my story, but it is therapeutic for me to make people aware.  I want others to know how the Gas Department took something so important from me.

I feel a crime has been committed upon me for which there can be no restitution.  Something that belonged to me was stolen, along with any chance for closure.  There are those that won’t understand my grief, but there are those who certainly will.

The coolest cat in the Universe, Wilkie, well, I couldn’t have possibly adored him any more than I did.  He was much loved.  I was protective, never letting him go outside until he came in to his elder years.  He always wanted to go out there, and I didn’t want him to die not getting to enjoy the warmth from a sunbeam.  His favorite spot was beneath a hedge on the side of my house.

He developed blood clots on November 18, 2012, and despite their efforts, the vets at the emergency clinic weren’t able to save him.  He died with my arms wrapped around him.  I did not let him go until I placed him in his eternal resting place, beneath his favorite hedge.  A spot I had visited every morning since.  For a temporary marker, I had placed 3 bricks, symmetrically aligned.  I enjoyed cutting flowers from my yard to place on the bricks. You see, my other cat, Leeroy, is to be buried next to Wilkie, as they were very close.  Leeroy is old and in poor health.  I took comfort in knowing I could bury them side by side.  I had big plans for that plot; I was going to make it very special once they were both there.  Probably a rock garden, I hadn’t yet decided.  In my grieving, that had brought me peace.

Wilkie & Leeroy

On May 1, 2013, this was all taken from me by the City of Florence Gas Department.  They were moving my gas meter.  I was told they might have to “cut back a hedge”.  I joked that they should neatly trim them all.  I came home that afternoon to find the brick markers tossed aside, and the dirt of Wilkie’s grave was upturned with his favorite hedge on the side of the road.  I saw pieces of his white fur scattered around.  I became hysterical; I called the man I’d been in correspondence with from the gas department.  He sounded sincerely sorry about it, and I believed he was.  He didn’t know my cat was buried there, and I didn’t know he was going to dig up my yard.

It was decided a friend would recover his remains so I could bury him elsewhere and create a new sanctuary.  But his remains were not there.  The man from the gas department was contacted again.  And this is when I knew the apology couldn’t have been sincere.  This crew from the gas department, for some deluded reason of which I will never, ever be able to understand, decided they had the right to put my beloved pet in a bucket and in to a trash can.  Now he is unrecoverable.  He and Leeroy will not be buried side-by-side.  I am left with images of my companion of 14 years in a mass of things that were never important enough for anyone to keep, picked at by buzzards.  An unloved animal is seldom buried.  Why was he not put back down in the earth?  Better yet, why wasn’t I contacted?  My phone number was at his fingertips.  Wilkie was mine.  It was MY choice!  They DID NOT have the right to do what they did.  An unloved animal is seldom buried.

Wilkie's Grave Before Flogas Destruction

I am deeply mournful and incredibly angry.  To me, this is an ethical crime and morally reprehensible.  I don’t know what could make me feel better right now.   I know so many people have suffered things so far worse than this, and I have always been very empathetic and I hurt for people I do not even know, but no matter how trivial this may be to some, it hurts me so much.

All I can do is write out my grief and my injustice and hope that someone out there who loves their pets as a part of their family reads this, and will NEVER EVER allow this to happen again.

*****

How did this happen? I shared the letter with another blogger to get a second opinion on this misdeed. She felt perhaps the men were just this "dense," to use her word. Were they?

I personally can't understand this. These workers, unless mentally deficient, knew this was a grave. Their actions were intentional and hurtful. Were they having a bad day and decided to take it out on a dead baby and his grieving mother?

April isn't asking for money; she simply wants to make sure this doesn't happen to someone else. We'll be happy to publish any rebuttal from Mike Doyle, FloGas General Manager; however, unless he's written up these employees, there doesn't seem to much he could say that would matter at this point.

Florence Utilities Gas Department
110 W. College Street
Florence, AL 35630
Telephone: (256) 718-5100
Fax : (256) 767-1818


Florence Utilities Gas Department
650 Rickwood Road
Florence, AL 35630
Telephone: (256) 760-6490 - (256) 767-3430
Fax : (256) 767-1818

Administration:
Michael Doyle, Manager
Email Michael Doyle
Regina Hall, Administrative Assistant to the Manager
Email Regina Hall
Engineering:
Tim Truitt, P.E.
Email Tim Truitt
Field Operations:
Jerry Bates, Field Supervisor
Email Jerry Bates
Marketing:
Randy Fannin, Public Affairs Coordinator
Email Randy Fannin
Gas Controller:
Dolphus King, Chief Gas Controller
Email Dolphus King
Laura Butler, Administrative Assistant to the Chief Gas Controller
Email Laura Butler
GIS Department:
Stan Pruitt, GIS Gas
Email Stan Pruitt
Larry Grace, GIS Water
Email Larry Grace
Technical Services:
Kenneth Davis, Technical Services Supervisor
Email Kenneth Davis
Stores/Safety:
Reid Ware, Stores/Training Coordinator
Email Reid Ware

 

Shoalanda

Osborne Ink on Roger Lovelace

Shoals political pundit Matt Osborne wears many hats. One of them is blogger.

I have not before added Mr. Osborne's blog Osborne Ink to my list of "must reads" mainly due to his blog's evolution toward national and world politics. Yet when Mr. Osborne returns to local politics, he does so with pithy eloquence.

His column on former FloGas manager Roger Lovelace is so informative as to be breathtaking. It demonstrates how little most of us know of the inner workings of the Florence political machine. I will not reveal here any of its explosive revelations; you should read them in Mr. Osborne's own words.

If the Lauderdale County judicial system drops the ball on Lovelace this time, each registered voter needs not to ask, but demand an explanation.

http://www.osborneink.com/


What's up with this: Speaking of making your opinions known, if you're tired of that money pit commonly referred to as a Sportsplex, be sure to ask your elected officials if they know the meaning of the words "financial accountability."

Roger Lovelace and Flogas - Part IV

One has to wonder if Lovelace saw the demise of a public FloWeb as the beginning of the end of his career at FloGas. In all probability, he did not. His immediate superior was still Jack Hilliard and, earlier in his career, he had survived rumors that he had helped his son hack into Pentagon computers. Lovelace continued his rush to an FBI investigation that is still ongoing.

Contending that replacement pipe for the FloGas system did not fall under bid laws, he purchased large amounts from at least two companies at inflated prices. The Florence system was not expanding, a fact that produced dismay in several newer subdivisions, including Heritage Village to the north of Florence. Why the need for so much pipe? An official inventory found enough stockpiled replacement pipe to reach to Birmingham and back.

Lovelace also was known to use gas department labor at his home and continued to use his brother-in-law's construction company, not bothering to request official change orders to existing purchase and construction contracts. In all, over $420,000.00 additional work was given to Ronnie Golden's construction company without proper approval. To add further insult, Lovelace authorized the loan of FloGas equipment to Golden Construction, including phone lines.

Whether one is a Scott Carrier fan or not, the late Florence Councilman, along with a handful of other concerned private citizens, succeeded in bringing Lovelace's malfeasance to light. By now, Bobby Irons was mayor, and while he was reported to be no fan of the corrupt gas department manager, neither was he anxious to fire the department head.

For almost two years, Roger Lovelace remained on FloGas payroll, finally retiring in 2006. When Jack Hilliard also retired, Mayor Irons eliminated the position of General Utilities Manager and combined the Gas and Water Departments under Mike Doyle, who has managed to keep a low profile during his stint at the helm.

Roger Lovelace then went to work for the Brinks Security Company where he planned to work until retiring at the age of 70. While already drawing a substantial retirement from the city, Lovelace should have been in a position to offer his expertise to charities and other social causes, thus insuring a more inspiring legacy. Now it seems we will be filing Roger D. Lovelace's latest chapter under notoriety, and the FBI has yet to weigh in with its official report.

Visitors to the Florence Municipal Building may have noticed changes in recent months. Where a photograph of Roger Lovelace used to grace the wall, now hangs a poster of a colorful Dalmatian--a sad commentary indeed.

Roger Lovelace and Flogas - Part III

If Florence officials were initially happy with Roger Lovelace's FloWeb, many others were not. One local businessman, hoping to start an ISP in the private sector, went as far as retaining hotshot Florence attorney Marshall Gardner to sue the city over its intrusion into the private sector. The businessman decided to drop the lawsuit, but others were still skittish about FloGas' foray into the still-new realm of the Internet.

Rising costs of running FloWeb, few private subscribers, and a missing $215,000.00 Cisco router signalled the death of Roger Lovelace's pet project, but the Florence gas manager's troubles were just beginning. After losing almost a half million dollars in the FloWeb debacle, it was learned that he failed to lock in low natural gas prices during this period. Lovelace blamed subordinates, but did admit that he had not kept track of the overall workings at FloGas while he had been absorbed with the now defunct FloWeb.

Apparently, Roger Lovelace had not kept track of other matters as well, failing to take a $128,776.83 discount on a construction project. When auditors began to delve into the financial machinations of Florence's gas utility, they soon discovered that the company benefiting from Lovelace's oversight was Golden Construction, a company owned by Ronnie Golden, Lovelace's brother-in-law and brother to Donnie Golden, a former member of the infamous Colbert County Dawson gang.

Many Florence residents were enraged by the manager's actions during a period of rising natural gas prices and complained to city officials, who began a deeper investigation into Roger Lovelace's financial dealings. Having been shocked by the initial reports of the gas manager's haphazard business dealings, they were now dumbfounded by the emerging new revelations.

To be continued...

Roger Lovelace and Flogas - Part II

When Jack Hilliard had taken over the management of the Florence Gas Department, it was considered something of a poor relation to the Electricity Department. Until Alabama-Tennessee Natural Gas completed its pipeline in the early 1950s, heating with gas was a rarity in this area. Hilliard was credited with almost singlehandedly making FloGas what it was in the early 1990s, a fact not lost on Florence Mayor Eddie Frost.

It was no secret that Frost wished to combine the management of the Electric, Gas, and Water Departments when the long-time electric manager retired. He felt that Hilliard could do for the other two entities what he had done for natural gas. There was wide speculation as to who would fill Hilliard's Gas Manager shoes when he stepped into the new position of Utilities General Manager. Very few had their money on Roger D. Lovelace who was not known for either his people or managerial skills. When the city announced Lovelace's appointment as Jack Hilliard's successor, a long-time Alabama-Tennessee Natural Gas manager was heard to have said, "He knows where the bodies are buried."

Lovelace took over the management of FloGas in 1993 and by 1995 was lobbying for its own Internet Provider Service. Florence needed a computer service, and Lovelace convinced the City Council that he could provide the needed services at a much cheaper rate than America On Line, the leading contender. When the completed ISP was in place, Lovelace dubbed it FloWeb and named himself the webmaster, a position separate from his duties as gas manager and one that offered a second substantial salary.

Elected officials were initially pleased with Lovelace's work and the money he was saving the city. After a few years of municipal use, Lovelace then proposed offering FloWeb to the citizens of Florence, and by 2000, the city became one of only three governmental entities offering Internet Service to the private sector. Lovelace then initiated an elaborate website featuring FloGas' private weather station, prominently showcasing the company's offices on Rickwood Road.

Despite Lovelace's lack of diplomacy or humility, it seems he was heading in the same direction as his mentor Jack Hilliard. Then Roger Lovelace's tower of Internet power began to tumble.

To be continued...

Roger Lovelace and Flogas - Part I

Retired Florence Gas Department manager Roger Lovelace was arrested Sunday for impersonating a Florence police officer. According to his defense attorney, Tim Case, Lovelace was released from the Florence-Lauderdale County Detention Center after posting a $1,000.00 bond.

Lovelace is 62 years old, lives in the exclusive Indian Springs community, and now works for the Brinks Security Company. What would compel a man in his position to commit a felony of this nature? Perhaps his previous life may offer some answers.

Roger Lovelace was reared in the North Florence neighborhood of Dulin Heights and attended Florence City Schools. Whether because of academic problems or other issues, Lovelace fell behind, graduating from Coffee High School in the late 1960s. Friends report that the he was an inveterate prankster and constant fixture on what was then known as "The Strip," a short access road running between Cherry Hill Homes and the old Florence K-Mart.

After graduation, Lovelace joined his half-brother Doyle in the natural gas industry. Doyle Lovelace worked for many years in the now defunct Alabama-Tennessee Natural Gas Company, while Roger toiled at the Florence Gas Department, commonly called FloGas.

Perhaps Lovelace would have been relegated to field work his entire career, but in the early 1980s, technology gave the future gas department manager a break. It seems that Roger Lovelace was a computer whiz.

When the natural gas industry began using computer technology in metering stations and gas accounting, Lovelace was in his element. He quickly rose to the position of assistant manager under Gas Department Manager Jack Hilliard. Many who knew the assistant manager were surprised at his sudden rise in the department, but thanks in part to Hilliard's own success, Roger Lovelace still had places to go.

To be continued...