Dear editor:
No one should ever feel threatened when they go to work. I read with much interest the report that Kylie Towns, the Director of Job and Family Services in Williams Co. went to her bosses, the Williams Co. Commissioners, to explain that some of her people were feeling threatened by the folks at Dad’s Place Church which is right next to the exit from the back of the JFS building.
I’ve spent my entire working career as an executive and I would never have gone to my bosses with a problem I could easily solve on my own. Also, I would have acted IMMEDIATELY if one of my people had been threatened.
I wonder why she left her people to be threatened apparently on several occasions over an extended amount of time when it was an easily solvable problem?
On or about Dec 18th she and I met to discuss some concerns about how JFS treated the people who attend Dad’s Place Church. We were hearing that there seems to be a separate way to handle people who go to the church…not the 24/7 crowd but the regular attendees.
She denied such a thing was happening and told me she’d look into it. I left it at that. While we were together, she mentioned that she had heard some concerns from her people about the people out back when her workers were leaving or going on smoke breaks.
I told her we have cameras out back and if she would call me when something happened, I would most certainly deal with it!
I told her that we would not tolerate anything like harassment of her employees or anyone else and would ensure that anyone harassing them would immediately be removed from Dad’s Place.
All she had to do was to call me so I could look at the cameras to see who was doing what. She agreed and we exchanged cell phone numbers. BUT SHE NEVER CALLED.
Instead, she waited weeks until she had several complaints, then went to her bosses with a problem that could have been easily solved.
Maybe her bosses ought to ask her why she didn’t protect her people better and faster by making a simple phone call?
And maybe her employees ought to ask why she didn’t protect them faster? Maybe as a new supervisor, she needs better training?
Michael Kelly
Bryan, Ohio