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  • From: Bob Batson <rcb AT kc.rr.com>
  • To: market farming <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: More on Fired VA Extension agent (Long)
  • Date: Sat, 3 Feb 2001 17:40:09 -0600


The following article about the fired Virginia extension agent is forwarded from the Agnet-L Mailing List.

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VA.TECH EXTENSION OFFICIALS SAY LETTER WASN'T REASON AGENT LOST HIS JOB
February 2, 2001
Free Lance-Star
Pamela Gould
www.Fredericksburg.com

Attorneys for Virginia Cooperative Extension say a letter written by former Stafford County agent Dennis Bishop damaged the program's credibility, but was not the reason he lost his job. Papers filed in U.S.. District Court in response to Bishop's law-suit seeking reinstatement claim that his performance so deteriorated in the month following his annual evaluation that he would have been terminated even without publication of the letter to the editor in the Aug. 31 edition of The Free Lance-Star. Bishop's "publication of the letter is one example of [his] violation of the terms of his employment in that it had the effect of adversely affecting the mission of the Virginia Cooperative Extension in providing competent educational and technical assistance ... in matters relating to horticulture, agriculture and management of natural resources," Senior Assistant Attorney General Guy W. Horsley Jr. wrote in his Jan. 22 response to the lawsuit. Bishop received a favorable first-year evaluation from his immediate supervisor Aug. 14. On Sept. 11, Northern District Director Beverly Butterfield notified him he was being placed in a terminal six-month position.

In between, The Free Lance-Star published a letter from Bishop criticizing traditional farming methods and stating that they "rape the earth." The letter came in response to an Aug. 13 opinion piece critical of organic farming, but Bishop said he wrote it from home and did not identify himself as an extension agent.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia filed suit Dec. 13 against Virginia Cooperative Extension officials and Virginia Tech, which administers the extension program. The federal suit claims Bishop was fired in retaliation for his published letter and seeks his reinstatement on the grounds that his free-speech rights were violated.

The response from the Virginia Attorney General's Office states that
extension agents have a duty to advise farmers and others in the traditional agricultural community and that Bishop showed a "pattern of ignoring and violating the clear expectations of the terms of his employment," thus justifying his reassignment.

But Bishop said he was never told of any problems with his performance or attitude. And Cooperative Extension officials admit his personnel file does not contain any complaints or reprimands.

"My opinion is they went digging for dirt after the letter to the editor," Bishop said this week.

Bishop was hired as an environmental horticulturist for Stafford County in August 1999. In his first year, he helped launch the popular First Saturdays in the Garden program and worked with Downtown Greens Community Gardens, gaining a loyal following among local gardeners, who protested his dismissal.

After being transferred to the temporary position, Bishop submitted a
one-month notice and resigned in October. He now works on the grounds staff at Mary Washington College.

Kent Willis, Virginia director of the ACLU, said the state's response has had no impact on the group's allegations.

"We stand by our case," he said. "And we believe that, as our complaint
said, he was demoted because of his letter."

A trial date for the lawsuit has not yet been set.


--

Bob Batson L 39 12 14 N 94 33 16 W
rcb AT kc.rr.com Kansas City
TCS - Mystic Fire Priest USDA Zone 5
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Under the most controlled conditions, the experimental apparatus
will do exactly as it pleases.



  • More on Fired VA Extension agent (Long), Bob Batson, 02/03/2001

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