Shenandoah Farms fire chief: Squad turns it around

Cook: Situation improving after department hits low point

By Joe Beck -- jbeck@nvdaily.com

FRONT ROYAL -- The Shenandoah Farms Volunteer Fire Department hit what its chief calls the lowest point in its existence in 2011, but Harlin "Buddy" Cook is convinced a turnaround is well under way.

Several investigations, including one examining possible crimes in the management of the department's finances, took an emotional toll on the department's leadership and rank and file.

The Clarke County Commonwealth's Attorney said she lacked enough evidence to prosecute anyone in the department, but, like other county officials in Clarke and Warren County, criticized the department for shoddy management of personnel and finances.

"I'm happy to get rid of 2011," Cook said in an interview Thursday. "It's been a pretty tough year for Shenandoah Farms Volunteer Fire Department. We went through a lot of things and probably reached the lowest peak that this department has ever reached."

A formal financial reform and oversight agreement reached with Warren County near the end of the year has put the department on the road to recovery, Cook said. And despite some bitter complaints from department officials and rank-and-file members, county demands for reform have revived accountability and discipline, Cook said.

"We made a lot of internal changes," he said. "We've got our management in perspective, and that's where a lot was lacking, in the management of this department.

"There's quite a few people who wanted to blame the county for putting a little pressure on us, but actually it made us a better department by doing what it did and making us get our ducks in a row."

Under the agreement with the county, Chief Richard Mabie of Warren County's Fire and Rescue Service is overseeing the payment of the department's bills from funds set aside by Warren and Clarke counties.

Mabie said he also is closely observing the department's readiness and emergency response performance.

Shenandoah Farms has asked Warren County for the same amount of funding in fiscal 2013 that it received in 2012 -- $44,602 from the general fund and $10,000 in fire equipment. Clarke County contributed a total of $65,000 in 2012. The department's total budget proposal for 2013 is $165,000, which includes money expected to be raised from several fundraising projects.

In an email reply to written questions, Mabie agreed with much of Cook's upbeat assessment about the state of the department.

"We feel they are headed in the right direction," Mabie said. "The company has made some internal changes to improve their status with the county."

Mabie said the county is letting the department manage its fundraising projects such as weekly shooting matches and monthly breakfasts "in an effort to allow them to show improvement in their financial management."

Cook said credit card abuse that drew especially harsh criticism from one independent auditor has been ended by eliminating all but one of the numerous credit cards that were once available in the department.

Any purchases made with the card must be approved by the president, vice president or fire chief, Cook said.

"We've got a paper trail for everything we do, every dime that we spend, which is the way it should have been all along," Cook said.

Cook also praised department members and residents of its service area for continued support, despite waves of embarrassing disclosures about department management failures.

"It's nice to know everybody didn't give up on us," Cook said. "It made it worthwhile. It made it worth fighting for."