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Show Singleton Clashes with Commissioners sponded that he was unaware una-ware they weren't informed since state health department depart-ment officials had told him the commission had been contacted. Commissioners Ovard and Young remained skeptical. Ovard said "you can see our position when a statement of yours comes out in three papers that a meeting was going to be held and we knew nothing about it." Ovard also alluded to comments com-ments by state health department de-partment inspector Mike Stapely indicating Singleton had been working closely with them on the hospital situation. "I never knew Mike Stapley until Monday morning (the day before the meeting) even though 1 understand he said he had been working closely with me. Dr. Mason (State Health Department Director) can attest to the fact that I had nothing to do with their actions," responded Singleton. Single-ton. Commissioner Young appeared ap-peared more than angry with . Singleton. "I feel quite hurt about this, you knowing about it and not coming to us right away. This hospital has Please turn to page 12A Summit County Health Director Dir-ector Frank Singleton found himself embroiled in yet another controversy that sent him storming out of Tuesday's Tues-day's county commission meeting. Commissioners said they were unhappy about a Salt Lake newspaper story that indicated Singleton had known about a pending Tuesday meeting between the commissioners and state health department officials regarding the closure of the Summit County Hospital. The newspaper article did not specify the nature of the meeting but indicated it could have some bearing on the relicensing of the hospital hospit-al by state officials in light of a February routine hospital inspection. The commissioners claimed Singleton knew about the meeting before they did and failed to notify them making them look like "horses asses." In fact, commissioner Wal-lin Wal-lin said the state health department notified him last Friday night of the pending meeting but didn't tcil him "they were planning to close the hospital." Singleton re- i i i : i More Singleton Continued from Page 11 A been on fire for about a month. This thing is totally out of your realm" he told Singleton, "when you put it all together we're concerned about you being out there starting fires." , After listening to Singleton's Single-ton's explanations of what happened commissioner Wallin said, "the whole thing looks to me like they determined to close the hospital then decided to find out why." Ovard put it bluntly, "we want to find out if you're part of the action." Singleton responded just as bluntly, "I was not." Young told Singleton the commissioners would be taking a closer look at the situation but it wasn't until he threatened Singleton's health department budget that Singleton became visibly visi-bly angry. Young explained, "I'm looking at wages and you have too much time on your hands. I'm tired of people coming up to me on the street and jumping on me about the public health department." Singleton made it clear he wasn't happy about his budget being threatened. Young responded, "did I say that?" Young then raised an unidentified issue he and Singleton had apparently discussed in private some time ago. Young refused to discuss the issues further noting to Singleton, "I can see you're about to blow up." Singleton assured Young he wouldn't hear any more complaints about his department de-partment and walked out of the meetin. But it was clear the issues between the county commissioners and the county jpublic health director remained unresolved. |
