I would like to give a brief statement regarding the
story which was made public in today’s Temple Daily Telegram, as
as well as on radio station KMIL, TV Station KXXV
and other news sources in the area.
My initial reaction when approached for a statement, was to decline to
say anything, but after reading the paper today, I feel that I must make my
side of the story known.

I have worked faithfully for Milam County for over 20 years, and would
still be employed there, had I not been approached on Monday morning with
a “resign or be fired” request from Judge Summers. During the past 20 years
of employment with Milam County, my books have been audited
by the Out side County auditing firm yearly with no irregularities ever being found.
At least not until an “outside” consultant brought in by Mr. Summers,
were any problems ever found. In addition to having been audited cleanly for over 20 years, I have been evaluated for job performance every year for the past 20 years, and have always been given excellent reviews.

These evaluations were performed by former County Health Director Roderick Holcombe, County Judge Roger Hashem, as well as current Judge Frank Summers.
How is it possible that I’ve been an excellent employee for over 20 years, evaluated
by the Judge himself, audited by the Out Side County Auditing Firm cleanly, but now find myself unemployed and being blamed for the loss of “hundreds of thousands” of taxpayer dollars? Why were the “inconsistencies” found by Mrs. Dunlap not brought to the attention of the Commissioners Court? Stands to reason that the mismanagement of my office to the tune of “hundreds of thousands” of dollars, should have been discussed
among the elected officials of the county, right? Maybe someone needs to ask Judge Summers these questions, among others.

I feel that I have been made a scapegoat by the Judge Summers as well as
Health Department Director Patsy Gaines. The budgetary concerns of Milam
County have been widely covered by the news media in the past few months,
with particular concern being placed on the Indigent Program. In my defense I
feel I must draw attention to the fact, that if there were indeed inconsistencies
within the Indigent Program in Milam County, that the fault should lie squarely
at the feet of Mr. Summers, who as leader of the county, is directly responsible
for all programs and personnel. Even he admitted that his policy of review
was not the best.

My main concern now are the clients of the Indigent Program, who through no
fault of their own, now find themselves caught in the middle of a political battle
that they have no control over. I want all of my former clients to know how sorry
I am that they are being affected by this situation and I wish them all well.

We’ll leave the final decision as to who’s really at fault for the current budget problems
in Milam County, up to the courts to decide.

Thank you for allowing me to air my side of the story.

Sincerely,

Patsy Vrazel