Florida Caverns employees given questionable treatment by Marianna newspaper

First Lady Casey Desantis, State
Parks Director Chuck Hatcher
& Park Manager Billy Bailey
at Florida Caverns State Park
during better days.

Newspaper neglects key facts in Florida Caverns story.

Commentary by Dale Cox

Note: This is a commentary that includes quite a few facts about the controversy surrounding the severe punishment of seven employees at Florida Caverns State Park. Please take the time to read it and I think that you will learn much about what has been taking place. You will also learn about some objections I have with last week's coverage of the issue in the Jackson County Times, a local newspaper based in Marianna. By way of disclosure, I have friends on all sides of this issue and am trying to be respectful to all involved. I also believe, however, that there is right and there is wrong.

Two Egg, Florida - The editor of a weekly newspaper in Marianna failed to mention a few things when she published a somewhat disjointed article about the controversy over severe punishments handed down for seven  employees at Florida Caverns State Park last week
. 

No Illegal Acts

For example, Shelia Mader, the editor under whose byline the story appeared, did not mention that all of those employees - three of whom have worked at the beloved Marianna park for a combined sixty-four years - were cleared of any and all criminal violations of Florida law. (1) (Note: References appear at the bottom of this column).

She also did not mention that the Office of the Inspector General of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection recommended not the massive crackdown on employees at Florida Caverns State Park that has taken place in recent weeks, but simply stated:  "Based on the outcome of the investigation, as well as the analysis of archaeological materials confiscated from the park by McFadden and Frederick, we recommend that the Division ensures all Park staff are all properly trained on protecting natural and cultural resources in the Park." And yet that one sentence constitutes the entire "Recommendations" part of the 22-page report from the Inspector General's office. (2)

Perhaps most curious of all, the newspaper failed to explain why - with its own connection to one of the key people involved in the situation at the park - it was writing a supposedly unbiased story about it in the first place. After all, wouldn't a truly balanced and fair media outlet tell its readers that it was connected to people on one side of the story or the other?

A Family Matter?

The Jackson County Times failed to disclose to its readers that it has close personal ties to the Director of Florida State Parks. Chuck Hatcher is the man who made clear to employees at the park that he approved of the harsh punishments handed down against them. His father, Woody Hatcher, is the former county judge of Jackson County judge and the owner and publisher of the Jackson County Times. (3)

I asked Shelia about this:

Question: As editor of the paper and writer of the story in question, why did you not feel it necessary to disclose the relationship between the ownership of the Jackson County Times and one of the key figures (Chuck Hatcher, Director of Florida State Parks) in this matter? (4)

Answer: I received all information quoted in the paper from the State of Florida. None of the documents I received made mention of Chuck Hatcher in any capacity. Therefore, I felt there was no need to include him in the article. (5)

Park Manager Billy Bailey at a
Caverns Cultural Celebration
event enjoys speaking with
noted artist Lillie Clark.

I am not suggesting that a father who owns a newspaper would use his publication's pages to support his son in a controversial issue involving popular local park employees. I am questioning whether a writer not disclosing the connection in this particular story was a serious breach of journalistic ethics. 

This is what the Code of Ethics assembled by the Society of Professional Journalists says about the matter: "Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. Disclose unavoidable conflicts." (6)

The same society recommends for further reading an article by journalism expert Tony Rogers, who included this on his list of recommendations for avoiding conflicts of interest:

Don't Cover Friends or Family Members. If you have a friend or relative who is in the public spotlight....you must recuse yourself from covering that person as a reporter. Readers simply won't believe that you'll be as tough on that person as you are on everyone else — and they'll probably be right. (7)

I asked Shelia if as the editor of a small town newspaper she was familiar with the SPJ's Code of Ethics and whether she believed they represented "best practices" for journalists. This is what she told me:

Answer: I am familiar with the SPJ Code of Ethics. I strive very hard to be fair to everyone involved in any story I write. That is why I waited until the Times had received all information from the state and quoted their findings and standings. (8)

She went on to state: 

 As an added note, the TIMES also published a Letter to the Editor in the same edition from a supporter of the park employees. We, in no way, voiced an opinion one way or the other in reference to the actions taken by the State. (9)

So, if the Jackson County Times was familiar with one of the best known code of ethics for journalists, and if the newspaper was familiar with all with the workings of state government, they surely must have known that this many employees at a premier Northwest Florida state park do not get severely punished without the Director of the state park service knowing about it.

Why not just fess up and admit that your newspaper has an above average family collection to the state park service director?

I do hope that all of the writers at the Jackson County Times will not just familiarize themselves with the SPJ and its Code of Ethics, but follow them. All communities need good sources of strong, independent, and fair local journalism. Newspapers should not be there to smooth things over for those with influence. They should treat everyone the same and tell all stories the same.

Innocent until proven guilty? Not in Jackson County!

Something struck me as I read the story in the Jackson County Times (or TIMES, as they prefer). I will let them battle out the capitalization and branding issue with that other TIMES in New York some day. 

Without getting too deep in the muck, it bothered me that no where in the article was there a comment, a "no comment," or even so much as a mention as a "The Times has not heard back" from any of the Florida Caverns employees named in the story.  (10)

I spent decades of my life in journalism, working my way up from the bottom (and believe me, it was the bottom) at local radio stations to managing newsrooms for some of the largest national media companies. There was always one true and fast rule above all others: No story ever ran without a serious effort to obtain all sides.

I tried to contact some of the Florida Caverns State Park employees named in the Jackson County Times story. I only heard back from Park Manager Billy Bailey in the time available before the publication of this story. He would not comment on the events of the investigation itself, but did say that he had not been contacted by the Times. (11)

I asked Shelia about this:

Answer: The allegations published were already a matter of public record. I did not contact any of the four employees involved in the issues at the Park. (12)

First, there are actually seven employees involved in the issues at the park, not four - if you do not count the employee who filed truth-challenged allegations in the first place. (13)

Second, just because an allegation is a matter of public record, a newspaper assumes that the accused no longer are entitled to defend themselves in anyway? This is America and these people were not found guilty in a court of law or even charged with a crime - in which case they would still be innocent until proven guilty. These are state employees who have been accused of crossing the lines of administrative rules at an environmental agency. 

There are many state employees in Jackson County. I hope that they all pay attention to the above answer from the Jackson County Times, because the newspaper has made clear exactly how it will treat you should you ever be accused of breaking an administrative rule of any type. It won't  bother to even contact you and give you a chance to defend yourself. A mere accusation in the public record is enough.

By the way, I also contacted Chuck Hatcher, director of Florida's state parks, to give him a chance to comment for this column. I have not heard back from him but should he answer my questions, I will happily add his comments.

Who writes what and when?

Something else also bothered me about the article. I had read and heard parts of it before, specifically on WMBB News 13 in Panama City. I asked Shelia about this:

Question: I noticed that the story published under your byline included, verbatim and unattributed, sentences and phrases from an earlier story by Cortney Evans of WMBB. I do realize that the Jackson County Times has a cooperative arrangement with WMBB, but is it your regular practice to publish under your own byline the work of another local reporter without giving that individual credit?

Answer:  The Times does share a partnership with WMBB.  The full interviews were forwarded to me and those that were published were the ones I opted to use. (14)

Fair enough, as far as it goes, but I was hoping that she would specifically address not the quotes from the recordings that WMBB made during interviews with local supporters of the park employees recently, but actual writing from her story itself. Shelia published under her own name lines lifted from the story written by Cortney Evans of WMBB. Here are a couple of examples:

Cortney Evans, WMBB: "The state completed an investigation at the park about the handling of wildlife and historical artifacts. 

Shelia Mader, Times: "The state completed an investigation at the park about the handling of wildlife and historical artifacts.

Cortney Evans, WMBB: "But, some of those heroes are now being reprimanded by the state. Cox said one of the allegations involves how they handled the rehabilitation of a baby owl.

Shelia Mader, Times: "Some of those employees are now being reprimanded by the state. One of the allegations involves the handling of the rehabilitation of a baby owl. (15)

Note that the Jackson County Times downplayed WMBB's description of the park employees as "heroes." Some of them stayed in the park through Hurricane Michael to protect it from looting. 

What really happened at Florida Caverns?

The situation at Florida Caverns State Park started when a relatively new employee decided that he did not like the way things were being done there. He started keeping notes on things ranging from how many minutes per day each of his fellow employees worked - apparently doing this while on his own work time - to the fact that some employees were rehabilitating injured or unhealthy wildlife or even picking up bottles, cans, and in two cases prehistoric artifacts they thought were endangered in a fire line in the park. He ultimately filed a complaint against several of his fellow employees and managers. (16)

This complaint was turned over to the Office of the Inspector General of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. They started an investigation at the park last fall and concluded it in February of this year.

Because the investigation involved artifacts and archaeological sites, the Office of the Inspector General also involved Dr. Paulette McFadden from the Florida Division of Historical Resources. She is the Archaeologist for State Lands. I have attempted to reach her, but she does not respond to my efforts. I am told by park employees, though, that on her first visit to the Caverns she pointed to a framed collection of what most of us would call "arrowheads" and explained that they provided a good example of why the investigation and her work were so important. She told them the collection was a great example of artifacts from the area and she wanted to assure that information about them was preserved. Park employees subsequently explained to her that it was a collection for display only that had been donated to the park by former visitors and that the artifacts actually came from Indiana. None of them were local. 

Two reports were produced by these investigations, one by Dr. McFadden and the other by Inspector General Candie Fowler.

The reports revealed that the original complaint was less than accurate. Animals had not been removed from the park, as he had stated, nor were artifacts being as routinely collected as alleged. 

In fact, a baby owl and baby opossum had been rehabilitated by Park Manager Billy Bailey and returned to the wild in the park. Apparently, this is against the rules of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Two grass snakes had been used by park employees in interpretive programs with park visitors. This was also against state environmental rules. No laws were broken. No criminal acts were committed. 

A few park employees picked up old bottles and cans from trash piles around the closed Florida Caverns Golf Course (which the state plans to bulldoze and replace with a new RV park type campground). It appears that bulldozing the historic golf course is not an issue, but picking up old bottles and cans from trash piles near it is a violation of rules regarding historic artifacts. None of these artifacts ever left the park. Nothing was sold. No digging was done. No laws were broken. No criminal acts were committed.

Finally, new fire lines were plowed by the Division of Forestry when a prescribed burn got out of control in the park. While inspecting the fire lines after the fire, Park Manager Bailey and other employees noticed chert (flint) chips and a few other artifacts on the surface of the ground. Concerned that these might be damaged when the fire line was plowed again, they collected them and placed them in storage in the park. They were required to notify the Florida Division of Historical Resources of the newly discovered sites, which they failed to do. No artifacts were sold. No artifacts left the park. No digging was done. No laws were broken. No criminal acts were committed. (17)

While at the park, investigators seized multiple boxes of artifacts. The Jackson County Times showed a couple of these by reprinting photographs from the Inspector General's report. In fact, there have been boxes of artifacts in storage at Florida Caverns State Park for decades. A letter in my collection from Dr. A.R. Kelly of the National Park Service to Lewis G. Scoggins, Director of the Florida Park Service, written in 1946 shows that boxes of artifacts were sent to the park for storage that year:

Reference is made to your letter of inquiry to the Region One Office, National Park Service, concerning Florida Caverns archeological collections stored at Ocmulgee National Monument. Regional Director Allen, on March 19, has advised that this material has not been restored.

On March 14 to 17, consecutively, we sent the material by parcel post to Florida Caverns. There are four boxes containing the pottery which should be received by now. 

We regret that restoration of the pottery for purposes of exhibit was not completed due to the cessation of laboratory work during wartime [i.e., World War II]. (18)

These boxes of artifacts included material excavated at the park between 1930 and 1940 by archaeologists from the National Park Service. All of those artifacts have been carefully protected without issue by park employees for more than 75-years. They were never taken out of the park by anyone until the State of Florida seized them and took them to Tallahassee as part of this investigation.

These important cultural materials came from the caves and surrounding archaeological sites at Florida Caverns. Nothing wrong took place regarding them. They are now in Tallahassee and will likely never be returned to the community where they belong. Instead they will be placed in a basement in the capital city and forgotten. At Florida Caverns, they were perfectly safe and well-protected by a dedicated and conscientious team of employees that for three-quarters of a century made sure that nothing happened to them.

The Reports

I requested copies of the archaeological investigation from Dr. McFadden and the inspector general's investigation from Parks Director Hatcher under the provisions of Florida's Open Records laws. Neither of them responded to me. 

I subsequently contacted Inspector General Fuller directly and received an immediate response and within three hours a copy of the requested report. I repeated my request to Dr. McFadden for a copy of the archaeological report one week after my original, this time copying it to her boss as well, and immediately received a copy from the the Division of Historical Resources. (19)

 I still have heard nothing from Dr. McFadden or Chuck Hatcher themselves. I am also still waiting for the state to comply with public records requests for emails surrounding the investigation.

Park Manager Billy Bailey

So what happened to the seven employees at Florida Caverns State Park? I want to be a little careful here because these are good people who are trying to make the best of a bad situation. None of them have opted to go public about their situation. They are voiceless because speaking out could cost them their jobs, benefits, and more.

I will say this about park manager Billy Bailey, since the media and State of Florida press person Brian Miller chose to name him. He is a good person, a Christian, a good father to his daughters, and a gentleman. He has worked at Florida Caverns State Park for 18-years, starting off as a volunteer, and working his way up to park manager. I have known him for most of that time, am proud to call him my friend, and stand by him in this very difficult time. 

If you know me, then you know how much I care about our cultural resources. I am as familiar with the cultural resources of Florida Caverns State Park as anyone alive, more so than Dr. McFadden or anyone from Tallahassee. No one on that park staff, especially Billy Bailey, has intentionally done any significant damage to major archaeological sites at the park. In fact, removing them from the park will do more damage to the really important archaeological sites of the caves than any other single thing that could be done short of demolishing the park itself.

The claim by the state that Billy "chose" to resign is laughable. His choice was simple, resign or be fired. He "chose" to resign so that he could try to find employment with a different state agency in hopes of supporting his family. It is funny how far some people will take things when they don't want you around anymore. Billy deserves a good job even if those of us, his friends, fail in our effort to find mercy for him and the other employees from the leaders of the all powerful state.

Because park managers are "at will" employees, Billy cannot appeal his situation. He is literally without a way to defend himself even though he committed no criminal acts and the only recommendation suggested by the investigators was that he and other park employees receive additional training.

The Florida Caverns Seven and State Employees

In addition to Bailey, there are six other employees of the park caught up in this situation. I will not name them because they have chosen not to name themselves. The Jackson County Times printed parts of the Inspector General's report naming some of them while, at the same time, restricting information about the park itself and leaving out other parts of the report. I regret this because the employees themselves are trapped in a situation where they are forced to remain silent and voiceless in order to protect what remains of their careers. It strikes me as unfair to name them if they can't defend themselves.

The Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics agrees in more than one of its rules:

• Balance the public's need for information against potential harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance or undue intrusiveness.
• Show compassion for those who may be affected by news coverage. Use heightened sensitivity when dealing with. . . subjects who are inexperience or unable to give consent.
• Recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than public figures and others who seek power, influence, or attention. Weigh the consequences of publishing or broadcasting personal information. (20)

In this case we have a situation where a media outlet has printed allegations of broken administrative rules in an environmental agency against state employees who cannot speak up to defend themselves.

 

Conclusion - Five Questions

I know that I have written long, but this is important, especially for these seven park employees and all other state workers in Jackson County. My dad was a state employee. Here are the key questions that I hope you - and the staff and owners of the Jackson County Times - will consider:

1. Have our friends and neighbors at Florida Caverns State Park been treated fairly by all of us, by the State of Florida, and by the local newspaper?
2. Do all seven of the park employees deserve a second chance? I've been wrong more than I've been right in life and without second chances, I don't know where I would be today.
3. Should 18 or 28 years on a job at one place count for something, especially if you work for the state or county? Should dedication still mean anything?
4. Should a local newspaper be honest when it has connections to people of power on one side of a story? Should it do its best to be balanced and fair about the local news. Does everyone that it covers deserve a fair shake, regardless of how much money they have or political power they might wield?
5. When an investigation says that someone is cleared of a crime, should a news story include that fact? When the recommendation of an inspector general is for more training, is that an indictment of the employees themselves, or of their supervisors in Tallahassee?

Thank you.

References:

(1) Jackson County Times, April 4, 2024.

(2) Final Report of Investigation, II-01-07-2023-221Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Inspector General, Internal Investigation, February 16, 2024.

(3) Jackson County Times, April 4, 2024.

(4) Dale Cox to Shelia Mader, April 6, 2024.

(5) Shelia Mader to Dale Cox, April 7, 2024.

(6) SPJ Code of Ethics - Society of Professional Journalists.

(7) Tony Rogers article

(8) Shelia Mader to Dale Cox, April 7, 2024.

(9) Shelia Mader to Dale Cox, April 7, 2024.

(10) Jackson County Times, April 4, 2024.

(11) Billy Bailey, verbal confirmation to Dale Cox, April 5, 2024.

(12) Shelia Mader to Dale Cox, April 7, 2024.

(13) Confidential Source at Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Tallahassee, Florida.

(14) Shelia Mader to Dale Cox, April 7, 2024.

(15) Jackson County Times, April 4, 2024; Cortney Evans, "Community upset after employees from Florida Caverns reprimanded," WMBB, March 28, 2024. 

(16) Confidential Source at Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Tallahassee, Florida.

(17) Final Report of Investigation, II-01-07-2023-221Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Inspector General, Internal Investigation, February 16, 2024; McFadden, Dr. Paulette, and Cassandra Freeman, "Florida Caverns State Park: Analysis of Archaeological Materials Confiscated from the Park," Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, Bureau of Archaeological Resources, Public Lands Archaeology, January 10, 2024.

(18) Dr. A.R. Kelly to Lewis G. Scoggins, March 22, 1946, Park Archives, Florida Caverns State Park, Marianna, Florida (Copy in writer's personal archives).

(19) Final Report of Investigation, II-01-07-2023-221Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Inspector General, Internal Investigation, February 16, 2024; McFadden, Dr. Paulette, and Cassandra Freeman, "Florida Caverns State Park: Analysis of Archaeological Materials Confiscated from the Park," Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, Bureau of Archaeological Resources, Public Lands Archaeology, January 10, 2024.

(20) SPJ Code of Ethics - Society of Professional Journalists.