The Overton County Commission approved the hiring of Michael Deaver as the new Senior Center Director Monday night, but not without questions about the hiring process.
Commissioner Darwin Clark said he received two calls from constituents who applied for the job, but did not receive an interview. Clark said one of those applicants had some 28 years of relevant experience. County Executive Steven Barlow said he only interviewed the top three candidates.
“I picked the one with the best application,” Barlow said. “If you went through and you’d seen the application of Ms. Deaver and interviewed Ms. Deaver, she was the best person for the job.”
Barlow said the hire was made quickly because of the abrupt closing of the Overton County Senior Center. Barlow said some renovations need to be done at the Center and Deaver needs to be trained before the center re-opens.
Clark said the applicant with 28 years of experience worked in settings like a Head Start center, and is a pillar in the community.
“The one with 28 years concerns me that Ms. Deaver has more than this lady here,” Clark said. “And she asked me to ask those questions, so that’s what I’m doing.”
Some commissioners questioned Deaver’s credentials. Barlow said Deaver has a dual bachelors degree, with one of the concentrations in health sciences. Barlow said she also has some 20 years of experience in both state and local government.
Other commissioners were not pleased that they were not included in the hiring process.
“I wish I could’ve been included with the shutting down of the Senior Center when it was shut down, but I wasn’t,” Barlow said. “I found out by a phone call, ‘Why is the Senior Center shut down?’ I said I don’t know, I thought somebody was running it while we was finding somebody to hire.”
Barlow said he was asked to hurry the process, and he tried to do his due diligence of posting the position and hiring it.
The motion was approved, but Commissioners Clark, Gail McCowan, Cindy Robbins, Phillip Talley, Geraldine Walker, and Shane Walker all voted against Deaver’s hiring.
Deaver’s salary has not been formally agreed upon, but it will based on her credentials and experience. She will replace Betty Parrot, who held the position for 44 years.
Deaver will be a full time employee when she officially takes over as the Senior Center Director. The position was previously a part time role.
In other business, the Overton County Commissioners approved two Senior Citizens grant applications. An $18,000 grant would be used for annual Senior Center expenses, and a $50,000 grant would be put toward the Center’s parking lot and landscaping.
Commissioners approved signing on to the Purdue Opioid Settlement, meaning the county will be eligible for some of the $6.2 billion to be dispersed nationwide.