• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Schuylkill's Dem DA Replaces Republicans: A Second Prosecutor is Fired. But Not All New Hires Are Democrats.

Posted on: Thursday, 23 March 2006, 09:00 CST

By Chris Parker, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.

Mar. 23--At his Dec. 30 swearing-in ceremony, Schuylkill County District Attorney James P. Goodman said he was "looking forward to working with the staff and making any changes that must be made."

The changes have come thick and fast in the three months in office for Goodman, a Democrat who unseated Republican incumbent Frank R. Cori in November.

On Wednesday, the county commissioners approved the "involuntary termination" of Assistant District Attorney James G. Caravan, a Republican who has held the part-time job for 25 years.

"He's a Democrat and I'm a registered Republican," said Caravan, whose firing is effective April 1. "That's politics. I'm not inclined to fight something like this."

Earlier, Goodman was straightforward when asked about the firing.

"He was replaced," Goodman said of Caravan. "I made changes in the office."

Neither Caravan nor Goodman attended the commissioners meeting.

Caravan is the third Republican to leave the district attorney's office this year. Christine Holman, who handled juvenile court prosecutions, and Assistant District Attorney Arwilda Haynes, who handled domestic violence cases, also left.

Haynes, who started her job in 1999, was terminated effective March 3. Holman, who started in 2002, transferred to the public defender's office on March 6.

Goodman has also hired and promoted several people. The commissioners learned Wednesday he hired Republican Robert P. Frantz as an assistant district attorney at $27,946 a year. And in February, after a struggle, Goodman promoted Assistant District Attorney Karen Byrnes-Noon to first assistant.

The move, and accompanying pay raise, was supported by Democratic Commissioner Mantura M. Gallagher, but Republican Commissioners Frank J. Staudenmeier and Robert S. Carl Jr. balked at the raise.

Byrnes-Noon, a Democrat, was an assistant district attorney for 18 years. She is paid $61,174 a year in her new job. That's a $3,300-a-year or 5.7 percent raise over the $57,874 a year she made previously.

Goodman also hired Democrat Charles Bressi as an assistant district attorney in February.

In other matters, the commissioners entered into a contract with R&P Industrial Chimney Co. of Nicholasville, Ky., to repair an 80-foot-tall radial brick chimney at the courthouse for $16,802.

They also adopted written policies governing employment and drug and alcohol abuse. Under the policies, written by county Administrator William Reppy, the county has the right to fire employees "at any time, with or without reason."

It also has the right to transfer or demote employees at will, with or without reason.

Under the drug and alcohol abuse policy, anyone applying for a county job will undergo a drug screening. Further, any employee using illegal drugs or alcohol while on county property or on the job will be considered to have violated the policy, as will those convicted of a drug or alcohol-related criminal offense while off-duty.

chris.parker@mcall.com

610-379-3224

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Morning Call, Allentown, Pennsylvania

More News in this Category