Latest news with #Burkholder
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Family of Butler Eagle employee killed in DUI crash offers forgiveness to driver at plea hearing
The family of a man who was hit and killed by a drunk driver while leaving work at the Butler Eagle is getting justice. Channel 11 was the only TV station in court as the woman police say was behind the wheel faced a judge and accepted a plea deal. 'Jim was a Christian, and after two years, we forgive her. We wish her the best,' the victim's cousin, Mary Jo Burkholder, told Channel 11. On the day Kassandra Clyde pleaded guilty to driving drunk, and hitting and killing Jim Barge, his family wants her to know they forgive her. 'She does have a life ahead of her, and she can make good decisions. She has to start from here, and go on. And make much better decisions than she did before,' Burkholder said. Channel 11 was there as Clyde walked into the courtroom for her plea hearing, where she agreed to three to six years in prison. In May of 2023, Clyde's blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit, yet she decided to drive and crossed the center line on 422 in Franklin Township. She crashed into Barge's car. He died two weeks before he was supposed to retire from the Butler Eagle. 'From a grieving perspective, we've done the grieving. We just needed it to close in the court system. We wished it would have been a little faster,' she said The family tells Channel 11 that the plea hearing was postponed almost a dozen times over the last two years. 'Very, very frustrating with the continuances. We would be ready to have this done, and we would learn of a continuance,' Burkholder said. A judge will officially sentence Clyde in August, and she will find out exactly how much time she will serve in prison. 'We all make mistakes, and sometimes we make really bad mistakes, and we can be forgiven for them,' she said. According to court records, Clyde was arrested for a DUI prior to the crash, but completed a program to get the charge expunged. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
In weekslong email exchange with state, fired Grand Forks jail administrator sought to fix 'misunderstanding'
Apr. 16—GRAND FORKS — Former Grand Forks County Correctional Center Administrator Bret Burkholder's recent termination was preceded by back-and-forth emails to and from the North Dakota attorney general's grant office about how a "Back the Blue" grant could be spent. The Grand Forks Herald obtained the emails between Burkholder and the grant office, sent between mid-February and March. They began on Feb. 18, when Burkholder asked if the grant's funds — set aside by the Legislature for recruitment and retention bonuses — could instead be used for employee incentive programs like personalized gift cards, and if so, how best to allocate funds within the framework of the grant. "We have purchased a number of items under the umbrella of 'retention' to make (staff members') life a bit better while working here, enhancing much of their breakroom with amenities they never had," Burkholder wrote in the Feb. 18 email. "Is this permissible under the grant? We sure hope so as we believe this idea is much better than simply purchasing them appreciation gifts now or providing a cash outlay to them and then have 20% leave within the year." On March 7, Grants and Contracts Officer Deanna Gierszewski replied to Burkholder saying that wasn't allowed, adding that the funds needed to be used by March 31 and within the 2023-2025 biennium. "What you are requesting to do with the funds does not match the purpose these funds were intended for," Gierszewski wrote. When Grand Forks County Sheriff Andy Schneider learned about the misapplied funds during his department's merger with the jail, he brought the issue to the Grand Forks County Commission on April 1 and explained measures he had taken to mitigate the issue. The roughly $38,000 that had already been spent from the $88,000 grant GFCCC received was to be covered out of other budgeted correctional center funds — such as office supply funds or general operations, depending on the expense — and the full $88,000 has now been given as a bonus to GFCCC employees, Schneider told commissioners at that time. However, the incident led the commission to recommend, in a 3-2 vote, that Schneider fire Burkholder. Schneider, who has sole authority to discipline and terminate in his department, terminated Burkholder's employment on April 8, saying that his service was no longer needed as GFCCC moves in a different direction. The "Back the Blue" grant was created by the Legislature in 2023 to aid the recruitment and retention of law enforcement and correctional officers. Funds were disbursed through the Attorney General's office to 106 law enforcement and correctional agencies across the state. The Grand Forks jail is the only recipient of the grant to use the funds incorrectly, according to Gierszewski. When grant agreements were signed in November 2023 to authorize the disbursement of the funds, Burkholder wrote in the grant acceptance letter that he intended to use the money for retention bonuses, length-of-service recognition garments, a recruitment bonus and other appreciation activities or materials. Later, that evolved into more of a focus on improving working conditions for employees at the correctional center, with the idea that those improvements would invest this grant into GFCCC and "make a perpetual impact," Burkholder wrote in his December 2024 update to the grant office. The philosophy, according to Burkholder, was this: Had the correctional center given out a flat monetary bonus, because of the department's high turnover, a quarter of the funds would have gone to people no longer employed by GFCCC. On March 18 — after Gierszewski informed him the jail's purchases did not match the grant's intent — Burkholder asked for clarification on how the grant could be used. "I apologize for the urgency of this request, but we are limited in time, and if this was a misunderstanding of uses of what the funds could be used for, I need to ensure that the cost of these things aren't applied to the grant and rather simply added to a one-time bonus," Burkholder wrote. Later that day, the Grand Forks County Commission voted to merge GFCCC into the sheriff's office and the sheriff became the head of the corrections center. Gierszewski replied on March 20 and said that an agreement had been signed and that an update would be needed to reflect how the grant funds were actually used. "After reviewing your application budget plan, I'd like to kindly remind you of the importance of adhering to the terms outlined in your original agreement," Gierszewski wrote. "While we understand that the funds may have been used differently than initially planned, the agreement itself remains unchanged." The bill and grant language does not explicitly define a bonus, but the attorney general's grant office said that the intent was for a monetary bonus given directly to employees. "When you go back and listen to the legislation that everyone was pushing for ... that is the route that they were intending to go down and that is what everyone in their (grant) statement said they were going to spend it," Gierszewski told the Herald.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Following administrator Bret Burkholder's termination, Grand Forks jail will move in a different direction
Apr. 9—GRAND FORKS — Grand Forks County Correctional Administrator Bret Burkholder's employment has been terminated, a little more than a week after the County Commission suggested he be fired for his decision on how to spend a state grant and also as the jail and Sheriff's Office continue their consolidation. "This was my decision (and) was my task on how to restructure and what direction (correctional administration) was going to go in," Sheriff Andy Schneider told the Grand Forks Herald. Burkholder's employment was terminated Tuesday, April 8, according to the county human resources department. Schneider confirmed it was an involuntary separation. During an April 1 meeting of the County Commission, commission members voted 3-2 to recommend firing Burkholder. However, the commission noted, it ultimately was Schneider's decision. Schneider said he believes Burkholder is not the best fit for the new direction of administration. The commissioners themselves could not fire Burkholder, as only the sheriff has the power to discipline and terminate employees within his jurisdiction, according to a 2017 North Dakota Supreme Court ruling. Corrections Lt. Jodi Hilde has been appointed temporary jail administrator. Burkholder's salary was $153,372.51. He is not expected to be given severance pay. Schneider said he is not concerned about existing contracts and agreements with other agencies to utilize the GFCCC, as he had already taken over many of the department's administrative duties when the commission voted March 18 to merge GFCCC into the sheriff's office, eliminating it as a separate department. The Herald reached out to Burkholder for comment but did not hear back prior to this report's publication. During the April 1 meeting, commissioners — during that 3-2 vote — recommend firing Burkholder, saying his department had not correctly used funds from a state grant. The "Back the Blue" grant was intended to be used for recruitment and retention bonuses for law enforcement and correctional officers. GFCCC used the funds in a way that was deemed to be not allowed by the Attorney General's Grant Office. Both the sheriff and correctional center — at the time separate entities — applied for and received funds from the grant and were required to give reports at the end of 2024. The sheriff's office used the grant to give monetary bonus to employees. The correctional center, on the other hand, used the grant funds for employee incentives — like improvements to an employee break room — as its form of a hiring and retention bonuses. According to Burkholder's grant report, his department thought a more creative approach to the grant was needed and would be a long-term benefit, given the high turnover rate of correctional officers. Commissioner Mark Rustad, who led the initiative to combine the correctional center and sheriff's office, has contended the correctional center should be overseen by an elected official, like the sheriff. "What happens next really is out of our control at this point, because the jail is — in my opinion — where it belongs: in the hands of our sheriff's department," Rustad said. "So how (Schneider) reorganizes it is completely up to him, and the sheriff who comes along after him can change it how he wants." Rustad added that there are always savings when combining departments. The merger was viewed by some as a way to save money as the county faced a budget crunch with capital projects and debt service. However, despite several meetings between the commission and a committee to study the merger, a clear answer on where savings would come from was not found. Commissioner Terry Bjerke added that he's brought the idea to county administration to have someone work as a grant compliance officer, serving as another line of review when county departments use and spend grant funds. "I wish him the best, whatever he's going to do," Bjerke said, referring to Burkholder. "It was just time for a change, and we have to look at doing things differently and that's one place we have to look at trying to do things differently." The formal notice of Burkholder's departure will likely be in front of the commission at its next regular meeting on April 15 as part of its regular business reviewing employee status changes. Herald reporter Sav Kelly contributed to this report.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
No decisions or timeline made so far in the future of Grand Forks County Correctional Center administrator
Apr. 2—GRAND FORKS — The path moving forward hasn't been decided for the future of the position of the Grand Forks County Correctional administrator following Tuesday's County Commission meeting. "Because of the situation it puts me in I cannot speak to it right now," GFCCC Administrator Bret Burkholder said. "It is (Sheriff Andy Schneider's) prerogative as to what he wants to do and it has not been communicated to me as of yet." Schneider had not returned the Herald's request for comment before this report was published late Wednesday afternoon. On Tuesday, April 1, the Grand Forks County Commission voted to recommend that the sheriff fire Burkholder after Schneider told commissioners that the jail received feedback from the state Attorney General's Office that it had not used a state grant disbursement correctly. During the meeting, Schneider said he became aware of the grant's disbursement issue as he began to consolidate the correctional center into his department. The grant in question was a "Back the Blue" initiative created by the Legislature in 2023 to aid the recruitment and retention of law enforcement and correctional officers. Both the sheriff and correction center — which at the time were separate departments — applied for and received funds from the grant. Both were required to submit reports at the end of 2024 to explain progress on the grant, which had to be spent by March 31 of this year. The state had not given feedback to how the grant could be used until recently. The correctional center was given feedback, but the sheriff's office was not, Schneider told commissioners. The sheriff's office gave the grant out as a monetary bonus to employees. However, the corrections center used the grant funds for employee incentives — like improvements to an employee break room — as its form of a hiring and retention bonus. According to Burkholder's update to the Attorney General's Office, the state agency administering the grant, his department thought a more creative approach to the grant would have served the correctional center better and invested the funds for long-term benefit. The state said that the correction center erred in this line of thinking. It happened at nearly the same time Schneider was taking over the department. Schneider told commissioners that when he took over, he changed course to give it as a flat bonus to correction center employees and used other county funds to cover the costs of items ordered. The law authorizing the funds for the grant does not directly define the exact form a recruitment and retention bonus should take. The eventual outcome of Burkholder's position is now between him and Schneider. According to a 2017 North Dakota Supreme Court decision, Schwartzenberger v. McKenzie County Board of County Commissioners, county commissions can't directly fire employees of the sheriff, which the Grand Forks County Commission had tried first before changing course. Only Schneider can directly fire Burkholder in this case. If a termination or resignation does occur, the commission would get a notice as part of its regular items of business.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Grand Forks County Commission recommends firing correctional center administrator
Apr. 1—GRAND FORKS — A majority of Grand Forks County Commissioners on Tuesday told Sheriff Andy Schneider they would like to see Correctional Center Administrator Bret Burkholder fired. The commission voted 3-2 to recommend the action, with Commissioners Bob Rost and Cynthia Pic dissenting. The reason for the suggestion is that the correctional center department did not follow the expenditure rules for a state grant it had received. According to Schneider, the North Dakota Attorney General's Office told the county last week that the way the funds were spent was not allowed under the grant's language. "(The grant) says that it's to be utilized specifically for hiring and retention bonuses and for tuition and fee payments," Schneider told commissioners during a Tuesday meeting. "The correctional center had spent some of that funding that was allocated for that on other items like vending machines and appliances (for employee use)." Schneider made the commission aware of the situation at the correctional center as he consolidates it into his department. Burkholder did not speak during the meeting. According to the material provided to commissioners, Burkholder said that giving a flat bonus to the correctional officers would have meant that most of the money would have gone to employees no longer employed by the county. "While a simple solution to utilizing these funds would have been to simply divide the award amongst the current officers, and officers know of agencies that have done this, we are looking for a long-term impact from this money to positively affect current and future officers as (the) current trend is is a turnover rate of approximately 20 officers per year," Burkholder wrote in his progress update to the attorney general. The "Back the Blue" grant was created back in 2023 to aid with helping recruitment and retention for law enforcement and correctional officers. Both the sheriff and correction center, at the time separate departments, applied and received funds from the grant. Both were required to submit progress reports at the end of 2024 for progress on the grant, which had to be spent by March 31 of this year. The state had not given a reply to the notice until recently, if at all. Schneider said that after he took over the department, he used the grant funds to give employees bonuses and use other line items to pay for the already bought items. He added that this is a likely issue for communities across the state, given the lack of notification or feedback given on the use of the grant. The total grant received by the correctional center was $88,000 and $37,966.42 had been spent. The move to terminate Burkholder, led by Commissioner Terry Bjerke and seconded by Mark Rustad, was first motioned to eliminate Burkholder outright. However, due to a 2017 North Dakota Supreme Court decision, State's Attorney Haley Wamstad told commissioners that only Schneider, as the elected sheriff, has the authority to terminate employees in his jurisdiction. The commissioners can make a recommendation. "Not happy that we have a state grant that wasn't followed," Bjerke said. "Inexcusable, unacceptable, and we have issues, so taking the bull by the horn." If Schneider decides to fire Burkholder or if Burkholder resigns, the commission receives a receipt of the outcome as part of county employee policy. In other news, the commission: * Laid out priorities for the 2026 budget. Bjerke presented his proposals to raise additional revenues and cut spending. Some of his proposed revenue increases include leasing space at the youth assessment center. The proposed cuts include funding to Safe Kids Grand Forks and Grand Forks Young Professionals, along with reducing some of the mills that are allocated to various entities, like the county weed board and library. * Approved contracting with Larimore and Northwood to have the sheriff's department do local policing. Larimore has contracted with the county for roughly 15 years for the service and a co-op was formed following the closure of Northwood's police department.
