Continued misrepresentations by APS At the Task Force meeting Wednesday March 17, Pat Beyle claimed that APS continues to have public support with 2200 members and continued financial support. A few months APS produced what Ron Merritt insists is their full membership list with under 200 names; when they changed the bylaws 16 months ago Beyle said they had just over a thousand members. This is either gross ignorance or gross misrepresentation. In Court Thursday Merritt claimed that APS contributions were down due to Jude and me. Nicole's friend Jenn Merritt defended the failure to vaccinate animals who are "scared" while Kris Bergstrand said that any vet could tell them how. Nicole did not dispute the fact that they are not vaccinating animals within 24 hours as she and Laura once claimed. She acknowledged that APS euthanized the Pet of the Week which had been at the shelter for two months. They renamed it and made it the Pet of the Week because one of the staff wanted to "give it another chance". This is just what HSUS decried saying "The trainers said they were looking to identify the really good dogs and also the ones that should not be put up for adoption. The trainers did not have ultimate authority to determine euthanasia or adoption decisions on animals they evaluated; however, the HSUS team concluded that decisions were often made based on staff favoritism of certain animals. It was not clear how the temperament evaluations outcomes affected adoptability or who had final authority to determine what animals were adoptable." Of February adoptions for animals admitted after December 26,2004 few were vaccinated within 24 hours as required by the procedures manual. 21 were vaccinated in 5 to 46 days - a median of 8 for these animals. ID date in date vac delay 472 2/9 2/14 5 467 2/8 2/14 6 551 2/18 2/24 6 466 2/8 2/14 6 424 2/4 2/11 7 422 2/4 2/11 7 455 2/7 2/14 7 318 1/21 1/29 8 94 12/28 1/5 8 111 12/29 1/6 8 95 12/28 1/5 8 62 12/26 2/4 9 63 12/26 2/4 9 127 12/29 1/6 9 105 12/29 1/8 11 429 2/4 2/19 15 412 2/2 2/17 15 289 1/18 2/5 18 64 12/26 2/4 40 96 12/28 2/12 46 195 1/6 none ________________________________________________________________ I understand that Ann Peterson has claimed that her comments about Beverly Rockhill were "taken out of context"; here is the context. I believe that her statements about Beverly are untrue as are many of the other statements she has made. On Sat, 27 Mar 2004, Kris Bergstrand wrote: "I've seen Beverly speak on a number of occasions and NEVER saw anything even close to a tirade. She gave APS many chances to do the right thing!" You can form your own judgment about Peterson's fitness to be President of APS. --- EXTRACTS FROM DEPOSITION OF ANN PETERSEN COMMENT refers to editorial comments of Elliot Cramer and were not a part of the deposition. VOLUME IV Pages 662 - 758 March 9, 2004 10:15 a.m. Q: Mr. Merritt has provided me an application for an extension of time to file a tax return for--a 2002-2003 tax return for APS, May 17. Do you know why that's not ready yet? A: No, sir. Q: Do you know the status of the Orange County Animal Shelter Financial Statements for the years ending June 30, 2002, and June 30, 2003? A: You'll have to ask our accountant what the status of those is. Q: Do you know whether the new accountant is preparing--that is, Kim Anglin--is preparing financial statements for the Orange County Animal Shelter for the years ending June 30, 2002, and June 30, 2003? A: I know he's working on 2003. I do not know about 2002. I have had no personal dealings with the financial records and doing the taxes or the budgets or anything. The board gets the end result. --- COMMENT: This seems to be shocking ignorance on the part of the President of a non-profit organization. It is equally shocking that their financial records are not in order. APS has clearly violated the recommendations of HSUS stating "It is critical that up-to-date financial information is available to stakeholders at all times. The organization's books should be closed immediately upon the conclusion of each fiscal year. Another good practice that APS should consider is the preparation of quarterly financial statements by independent CPAs. This will expedite the preparation of annual reports. Assure that tax returns are filed in a timely manner. Accuracy in reporting information on Form 990 is extremely important and as public access to this information becomes more and more commonplace it will become even more important. While filing an accurate and timely Form 990 and financial statements is the law, it is also in the self-interest of all nonprofits to do so. To keep the public trust, nonprofits must show they are accountable and responsible. All sorts of donors, foundations, regulators, legislators, government officials, and policy makers can and will request the 990." --- Q: Do you know--looking at that second paragraph, do you know what the reference to "an unsuccessful attempt at a hostile takeover of the APS board" refers to? A: Changing the--I mean, Elliot and his group of people trying to get on the board. Q: Okay. On page 30-13 of Deposition Exhibit 10, you write, referring to Elliot Cramer, "He came to us and told us he was going to join our organization, get his people to apply as members, take over our board, fire our executive director, and destroy the organization as it is now." Is that right? A: That's what I said. Q: And when did Elliot Cramer do that? A: He came and gave a speech to us. Q: And what did he say in the speech? A: He said exactly that. Q: When you say "he came and gave a speech to us," to whom did he give that speech? A: The Board of Directors. Q: Of APS? A: Of APS. In fact, he even presented us with a lot of his speech in writing, gave it to us at the end. We had invited all of the candidates that had signed up to run for the board to speak. He was one of them. Q: And does his written statement also say that he was "going to join our organization, get his people to apply as members, take over our board, fire our executive director, and destroy the organization as it is now"? A: Not in that speech he didn't say all those things, but in prior--he came to the board at least twice, and then he e-mailed and spoke to a lot of the people on the board prior to him coming, signing up, bringing his petitions. --- COMMENT: Of course I never said any such thing, in fact, in my prior statement to the Board I said on October 14, 2002 "Given the suspicions of the general public as reported in community newspapers, I suggest that the Board reconsider its Board nominations and consider supporting five of us nominated by the Membership. We would be eager to work with the current Board to bring back community support and assure a bright future for APS." APS would still be viable if they had taken me up on that offer. --- Q: And did you have any reason to think that Bibb Latane was interested in taking over the board, firing the executive director, and destroying the organization as it is now? A: I had reason to believe that he was recruited by Elliot so that Elliot could get his group of people on the board. Q: And do you know whether Bibb Latane would have been a responsible member of the board? A: I have no idea. Q: Do you have any reason to suggest that he would not have? A: The information that we had about him on other boards suggested that he was not an active participant on those boards. Q: Not an active participant? A: (Witness nods affirmatively.) ... Q: Beverly Rockhill. What do you know about Beverly Rockhill? A: Beverly had been a friend and supporter of Bobby Schopler and the wildlife program, and she--our understanding was that she again was part of Elliot's group of people that were wanting to get on the board. ... Q: Sure. Do you have any information that Beverly Rockhill intended to take over the APS board, fire the executive director, and destroy the organization as it is now? A: I know that she wanted the executive director fired. I know that--could you read those three things again? Q: "Take over the APS board, fire the executive director, and destroy the organization as it is now." A: I don't know--I can't attribute destroying the organization as it is now to Beverly Rockhill. I know that she had several changes that she wanted to be made, and she felt that the organization should be changed. Q: You at one time actually thought the executive director should be fired, didn't you? A: Before we got her answers to the questions. Q: Do you have any reason to believe that Beverly Rockhill would not have been a responsible member of the board of APS? A: Yes. Q: What is that? A: Since--oh, for the last probably nine months or a year, she's appeared at many of our board meetings, and she's gone into tirades. I think I view a board member as somebody who is even-keeled and can listen to both sides, and I don't think she is capable or willing to do that. Q: And during what period of time has Beverly Rockhill done that? A: At least the last nine months, maybe a year. She hasn't been there recently. ... A: Lots of people knew Beverly for the years that she had worked as a volunteer. Q: And what did they say about her? A: There were some negative comments about her as a reasonable person. Q: Who made those negative comments? A: I don't know if I can attribute them to any particular person on the board. I mean, they were board members. Q: Okay. Do you remember anything else about the comments? A: That she was volatile. That one day she would be reasonable, and the next day she would go into a tirade. That she was a difficult person to deal with. I don't remember--I mean, the positives were that she had spent a lot of time volunteering, that she and her ex-husband had contributed money to the wildlife, that she had a lot of educational background that was probably helpful and useful. ... Q: All right. Did you have any other information about Bibb Latane? A: Not other than what I've told you. Q: And who is Margy Huggins, as far as you know? A: The first time we ever met Margy Huggins or saw her or had any experience with her was when she represented Elliot and Jude in--my understanding was that she took over in representing Elliot and Jude after Bill Reppy got out. ... Q: Did you have any information that would suggest that she wanted to "take over the APS board, fire the executive director, and destroy the organization as it is now"? A: Only because of her connection with Elliot and Jude. Q: Okay. And then Kendall Page. What do you know about Kendall Page? Or what did you know at the time she was a candidate for the board? A: At the time she was a candidate for the board, I knew she was a long-time APS supporter. I knew she was a respected attorney in town. I knew she had been on the boards of other organizations and had been a valued member of those boards. She had always--if we called her and asked her to do something, she always agreed to do it. I knew she grew up in Chapel Hill and had lots of local interest and stake in the community. ... Q: Did you know Kendall Page personally before she was a candidate for the board? A: Not really, no. I mean, I knew who she was but I didn't know her personally. Q: Okay. Did you have any information that Kendall Page intended to "take over the board, fire the executive director, and destroy the organization as it is now"? A: No. Q: Did the board then elect Kendall Page to its membership? A: A bsolutely. Q: And why did the board do that? A: For the very reasons that I just gave you. I felt that--I can't tell you why other people voted for her, but I can tell you why I did. Q: Why did you? A: Because I felt that she was a well respected, even-keeled, rational person that would listen to both sides, that had been a long-time supporter of APS, that had been interested in both animals--domestic animals and wildlife, that she had been in Chapel Hill for a long time, had local connections and concerns about local issues. That she had been on other boards and been a good board member on other boards. And I felt that she would be a great addition to our board, so I voted for her. Q: A fter she became--after Kendall Page became a member of the board, what did she tell you about Elliot Cramer? A: That he had called her and asked her to be part of his slate. Q: Did she tell you anything else about Elliot Cramer? A: Not that I remember, not specifically. Q: Did she tell you anything about what Elliot said to her when he asked her to be a member of his slate? A: I never asked her. Q: Do you know whether she told anybody at APS anything else about what Elliot told her when he asked her to be a member of his slate? A: I don't know. Q: Do you know whether Elliot said anything to--did Kendall Page say anything to you or to the APS that Elliot had told her anything about wanting to "take over the APS board, fire the executive director, and destroy the organization as it is now"? A: Ask that question again? ... A: The only thing I remember her saying to me personally was that Elliot had asked her to be a part of his slate. ... I cannot attribute a statement that she said that he intended to take over the board, but to get five people on the board at one time to us inferred that he was trying to take over the board. That didn't come directly from the mouth of Kendall. But she did tell us that he recruited her. Q: On page 30-13 of Deposition Exhibit 10, you wrote, "Elliot has been in Chapel Hill for years. He attaches himself to a cause and takes it on to destroy. He has done it several times before. Any governmental agency is afraid of him, because if he gets on one of his missions, it is years of litigation and useless time and expense. Google him and see." What was the basis for that statement? A: Conversations and memory. I remember when he took on OWASA. I remember how frustrated everybody was when he took on OWASA. I've been a member--I used to be a member of the Tennis Club, and I know that he caused no end of useless time over there. Q: Okay. What governmental agency is afraid of Elliot? A: I think to some extent our current Board of Commissioners is. Q: And what's the basis for that statement? A: Just my own impression. Q: Any other governmental agency that's afraid of Elliot? A: The basis for that statement, like I just said, was my memory of what happened when he took on OWASA, and my conversations with people when they see Elliot's name. The first thing they think about is what he did with OWASA, and how many years of needless time and expense all of that mess took. Including all the government people that were involved in that. I consider OWASA as government. Q: All right. Did the OWASA issue involve years of litigation? A: I don't even remember whether it was--litigation in the sense of being in court, I don't remember. But litigation in the context of hearing after hearing after hearing, I think there was. Q: Okay. But no litigation in court, so far as you know? A: I don't remember. --- COMMENT: In fact there was NO previous litigation. I can't imagine where one would have litigation, other than in court. --- Q: Okay. What's the basis for your saying that "Elliot takes on a cause to destroy"? A: Because I think that was my personal opinion. Q: And what did you think he tried to destroy in connection with the OWASA issue? A: Whatever he was trying to do over there. I don't even remember the specifics that were involved in OWASA. Q: Was he trying to destroy OWASA? A: I don't--I just finished answering that. I don't even remember what it was. I just remember all the controversy. --- COMMENT: For the record I was trying to help preserve the well-being of an historically African-American community. It appears that I was right; there has been no expanded excavation by American Stone and there probably won't be any for years to come. Orange County has lost the opportunity to expand it water supply within the next 10 years. --- Q: What was he trying to destroy when he took on issues at the Tennis Club? A: The board. Q: The board of the Tennis Club? A: Uh-huh (affirmative). Q: Were you on the board of the Tennis Club? A: No. Q: What is the basis for your information about what Elliot did with regard to the Tennis Club? A: That he gets involved in issues and attaches himself to it, and just endlessly, endlessly complains and complains and complains until he gets what he wants. --- COMMENT: I was one of a number of people interested in change on the tennis club board. There was change and the club is thriving. --- ... Q: Now I call your attention to page 30-14 of Deposition Exhibit 10. You said, "We filed our countersuit for libel and slander after they sued us. It was what is called a mandatory counterclaim. In other words, if you have a claim against someone and they sue you first, you have to assert it in a counterclaim when you answer the lawsuit, or you forever give up your right to sue on that claim." Is that right? A: Right. MR. MERRITT:I'm going to object and instruct her not to answer any questions about the nature of the lawsuit or anything that might reflect advice of counsel, which this question is about. Q: Okay. do you know yourself about the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure? A: I'm not primarily a civil lawyer. Q: Okay. So the answer is no, you don't? A: I know some. MR. MERRITT:I object to that question. Q: Do you know the Rules with regard to mandatory and permissive counterclaims? A: No, I don't know all of the Rules. I know some of them, and I know what we were told by our lawyer when we were talking about the lawsuit. ... Q: When you made this statement about a mandatory counterclaim, were you relying on your own knowledge of the Rules with regard to mandatory and permissive counterclaims? A: Some. Q: You then said, "We originally did not want to sue, just because it would bring more publicity and cost." Is that right? A: Yes. --- COMMENT: This was not a "mandatory counterclaim". --- Q: But actually, the APS decided to sue Elliot and Jude for libel and slander or defamation before they filed their lawsuit, didn't it? ... Q: Do you remember that on February 18 of 2003 that you made a motion that the APS of Orange County and Laura Walters sue Jude Reitman, Elliot Cramer, et al., for defamation of character and any related claims, and that the motion carried? A: I don't remember it. I mean, obviously, I did that. I'm not denying that I did that, but I don't remember doing it. I remember the meeting. --- COMMENT: This was two days before we filed our lawsuit --- Q: Looking back at Deposition Exhibit 10, page 30-14, you wrote to Mr. Guibert, G-u-i-b-e-r-t, "The County kept telling us to fight back and say something. We did." When you said the County kept telling you to fight back and say something, who was telling you that? A: The County Staff told us that the County Commissioners wanted us to fight back. Now, whether that's true or not, I don't know, but that's what the staff was telling us. Q: Who in the County Staff told you that? A: Neither one of them told me personally, but we were told that both John Link and--the woman, I can't remember her name, his assistant--were saying that we should come forward and fight back. Q: And who told you that? A: Laura Walters, Pat Beyle. Q: Anybody else? A: No. Q: When you say the woman who's John Link's assistant, are you referring to Gwyn Harvey? A: Yeah, I think that's her name. It may have been Rosie Summers as well. I know the three of them were talking to Laura at that time. --- COMMENT: Say it ain't so, Joe. --- ... Q: The purpose of that bylaw change was to prevent Elliot's election to the board, wasn't it? A: The purpose of the bylaws change had a number of reasons. We had been talking about it for some time. It was to prevent somebody like Elliot, and including Elliot, from--if you want to use the term "hostile takeover," whatever--from getting a group of people to come to a general membership meeting and take over the board in a manner that we felt was harmful to APS and to the organization. ... Q: What is that? A: It's a memorandum that I wrote to myself, I think. Well, maybe I didn't write it to--I don't know who I wrote it to. But I think I drafted this. It essentially says what I just told you. Q: All right. Does it also say that the APS board deemed the change in the bylaws to take away the right of members to vote for board members "an absolute necessity to prevent Elliot and his supporters from doing what they said they wanted to do, get on the board and take over, which would have destroyed APS, in our opinions"? MR. MERRITT:Well, I'll object. The document says what it says, and he just read it. So, obviously, that's what it says. And next question. --- COMMENT: Of course, at the time APS said it was just doing what other nonprofits were doing such as HSUS and the Rape Crisis Center. As it happens, members vote in both organizations. ________________________________________________________________ It may be interesting to compare what Ann Peterson recalls about my statements to APS and what I REALLY said. The first statement is my first public statement EVER about APS. The second is after they illegally took away voting rights from the Memmbership. --- October 14, 2002 Statement to the APS Board I'm Elliot Cramer, a retired UNC professor and statistician, an animal lover (four dogs), a long time somewhat silent APS sup- porter and beneficiary (all of my dogs have their rabies shots from APS, one was neutered by APS), several of my dogs were euthanized by APS in the true sense of the word, indeed somewhat later than was probably best for them. I have contributed smoked ducks for APS auctions and have bought things at APS auctions, but I have only recently become a member. APS has a wonderful history of doing good for the community and for animals. Obviously, serious questions have been raised about the care of animals at the shelter and the openness of the APS Board. It is very clear that the Orange County Commissioners are extremely concerned about this situation and that the shelter funding is in jeopardy. I have recently learned that notice was given to the Board of a change in the bylaws regarding the election of members. This change would have taken away from the membership their historical right to elect Board members, giving that right to the Board. I am a nominee to the Board and this would have removed any chance I might have of election. It is clearly undemocratic and though legal, it is wrong. Pat Beyle has assured me verbally that no such change will take place tonight. I would like the Board's assurance that any future changes in the bylaws will take place only at the annual meeting and be preceded by an announcement to the general member- ship so that they may voice their objections. I further object to the Board's policy of going into Executive session to discuss matters of concern to the general membership. I believe that only personnel and property acquisition matters should be discussed in executive session. I petition the Board to adopt such a policy effective immediately. Given the suspicions of the general public as reported in commun- ity newspapers, I suggest that the Board reconsider its Board nominations and consider supporting five of us nominated by the Membership. We would be eager to work with the current Board to bring back community support and assure a bright future for APS. ________________________________________________________________ Statement to the APS Board Elliot M. Cramer November 11, 2002 I'm Elliot Cramer and I've spoken to you before. Now I am speak- ing to you a as nominee to the Board who has been treated very badly by your Executive Board and Attorney. I understand that Mr. Merritt has warned you (as he has warned me) about being sued. I understand that his practice has been devoted to crimi- nal law and I believe that his efforts on your behalf leave something to be desired. He should have told you about your fiduciary responsibilities as APS Board members which, I believe, you have neglected. I particularly speak to the "silent majori- ty" on the Board, giving you the benefit of the doubt and assum- ing that you have been kept in the dark about the improper ac- tions of your staff and leadership. I hope that the material I am giving you will remove all doubt about the impropriety of their actions and that you will restore voting rights to the Membership and remove your Executive Director and Board members who have acted improperly and inappropriately. Some cowardly anonymous "longtime current and former APS volun- teers and staff" stated to the Orange County BOC "we understand that Pat Sanford, Bobby Schopler, and Jude Reitman have banded together to overthrow the current APS management and leadership of the Board." Clearly Bobby Schopler has his own wildlife agenda and I have yet to hear of a public statement by Pat San- ford. Don't I get any credit? I've been very busy documenting APS misdeeds and incompetence and have 21 pages (single spaced) of correspondence with APS available to you for the asking. Your staff member Nicole said that I was the "one who was trying to bring APS down". Nothing could be further from the truth but this Board and Laura Walters are doing a very effective job of it. Your ill-considered action changing the bylaws without notice to the Membership, despite my request, will undoubtedly be chal- lenged in Court if you do not quickly rescind it. My previous statement to you and Orange County and the editorial from the Chapel Hill Herald speaks for themselves. Following your "nationwide search", I believe you should have disqualified Laura Walters based on her past history as document- ed in the enclosed statement from Deputy Sheriff and Animal Warden Ann Clark of Arkansas. Clark describes appalling condi- tions under the "leadership" of Laura Walters. Having ignored this, you should certainly now consider the public statements enclosed and others presented to the Orange County Board of Com- missioners. Based on these, it certainly appears that Ms. Walt- ers has lied to Board members and to others on numerous occa- sions. Bonnie Norwood reports that Ms Walters was asked by Clau- dia Shepherd in the presence of others "Are there ever any adopt- ed animals returned"? Ms Walters replied "No, there aren't any returns". This was false and she must have know it was false. There were in fact 15 and 17 returned in two months. Last month Ms. Walters reported to you that four animals were returned in September. It is inconceivable that she could have known this, given the sloppy record keeping and grossly incorrect County reports APS has submitted. Ms. Walter's attitude towards record keeping is documented in a letter from Melanie Blankenship who was in charge of data entry and statistical reports. She says "During April and May of 2002, it became clear that the new management had no interest in shelt- er reports and statistics. ... Earlier when I had pointed out missing log sheets or other discrepancies to Laura, she simply dismissed it." My own statement to Orange County documents that about 100 animals are misaccounted for in each of the last three monthly reports. Mr. Sauls will confirm this. It is in the public record that, after being informed by the NC Veterinary Board that APS "cannot legally own a veterinary prac- tice facility and employ a veterinarian to provide services to the public," the Director illegally allowed 71 surgeries to be performed between June 28 and July 25. Cari Clifford writes of numerous "violations of the operating policies and procedures of the APS by it's Executive Director." A formal second warning regarding a whipporwill was issued to the Nick's Road staff, based on false information as documented by Toni Constant. Obviously this was a ploy to discharge the staff despite a "non- retaliation policy stated by Ann Petersen. Stacy Hughes writes of Manager Melanie Piazza calling "US Fish and Wildlife to find out exactly what was and was not acceptable". Board member Ann Peterson then told Hughes and Piazza that "it was only illegal because we called to ask Fish and Wildlife and had we just left it alone, it would have worked out fine". This would appear to be unethical behavior in a Board member, let alone a member of the State Bar. In view of the above, I believe that you should dismiss your Executive Director and remove members of the Board who have acted inappropriately and irresponsibly. You should immediately re- scind your Bylaw change and adopt a policy of openness and trans- parency as Dr. Halkiotis has advised. I would like your to provide nominees access to all of the APS facilities this week. -------------------------------------------------------- Some highlights of statements The "longtime current and former APS volunteers and staff" state to the Orange County BOC "we understand that Pat Sanford, Bobby Schopler, and Jude Reitman have banded together to overthrow the current APS management and leadership of the Board and staff and take over the Orange County contract so that they can satisfy their own personal goals. My name is Melanie Blankenship. I was in charge of preparing statistical reports and entering data on all animals housed at the APS Shelter from MONTH, YEAR to April 2002. ... During April and May of 2002, it became clear that the new management had no interest in shelter reports and statistics. ... A short time before I was let go from the shelter, Linda Schmoldt informed me that Laura no longer needed me to do a monthly report. ... She told me they would not be turned in until they were asked for. ... Earlier when I had pointed out missing log sheets or other discrepancies to Laura, she simply dismissed it. Cramer to Link Considering the disorganized nature of the packets of animal records APS sends to Mr Sauls, it is not surprising that the APS statistical reports to the County are so flawed. I hope that you or Dr. Summers will look into this. Cramer to Summers The statistical errors will be of particular interest to you. These errors cannot be corrected by manipulation of numbers in the report itself. The Reports state that "In shelter is based on physical count of animals", and I presume that APS can do that correctly. It seems clear that there are fundamental errors in record keeping. Cramer to BOC 10/28 The required monthly Shelter Report given to you for August (p56- 57 Oct 1 Agenda) is clearly incorrect. The simple arithmetic is shown on my copy of the August report which you have. 317 ani- mals in the shelter on July 31 plus 379 admitted in August minus 224 still there at the end of the month gives 317+379-224 = 472 animals disposed during August. APS accounts for only 370. What happened to the other 102 animals??? This is not an isolated example. In July APS reports 85 too many animals and 93 too many in September. These reports to the Health Department are re- quired by contract and their accuracy is the responsibility of the Executive Director. If you cannot trust these statistics, why should you trust any that come from APS? ________________________________________________________________ --- CLICK ON 'BACK' TO RETURN