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Former 911 director appeals firing

WARREN — The ex-director of the Trumbull County 911 Center filed notice he is appealing his firing.

Ernie Cook was fired from the position Jan. 21 by Trumbull County commissioners.

He filed a notice that he intends to appeal the firing with the State Personnel Board of Review.

Commissioners were served notice of the appeal.

Because it is an initial filing of the intention to appeal the firing, documents lack specific arguments about Cook’s objection to his firing.

Cook declined to comment further on the points he intends to argue in the appeal process.

Commissioners retained legal counsel Wednesday to handle the appeal. They hired Gallagher Sharp LLP of Cleveland for up to $10,000. They selected outside counsel after reviewing proposals from two different companies, and because the prosecutor’s office has a conflict in handling the case, commissioners said.

Commissioners on Wednesday also approved hiring 911 center employee Patty Goldner as interim 911 director for six months, with a review of her performance following the six-month period. She will be paid $38.13 per hour, approximately what Cook was paid for the job. She was hired in the county in 1999.

The notice commissioners received from the SPBR states the board “may” set the matter for a hearing after “initial correspondence has been completed,” at the board’s discretion. If a hearing is deemed necessary, commissioners will be given a 30-day notice, the letter states.

Commissioners have not publicly outlined the reasons for terminating Cook. The decision came shortly after he pleaded no contest in Trumbull County Eastern District Court to loss of physical control under the influence, a first-degree misdemeanor; and failure to report an accident, a minor misdemeanor.

Cook was given a suspended 180-day jail term; a $1,000 fine, of which $500 was suspended; and placed on probation for six months. On the second charge, Cook was fined $150, plus $45 in court costs. Cook previously was police chief in Brookfield and Vienna townships and chief deputy with the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office. Cook was accused of colliding with a 17-year-old skateboarder on Crestwood Drive and not stopping after the collision, the Ohio State Highway Patrol report states. Cook had been director of the 911 center since 2010 and first was appointed while under the sheriff’s office. He came to work directly for county commissioners in 2017.

Though Cook did not offer comments Thursday, on the day he was fired he told the newspaper he had never been disciplined in the position and that he was not given the chance to defend himself before he was fired.

Commissioner Niki Frenchko said she is confident in the decision to let Cook go, and confident in the law firm’s ability to defend the appeal of the commissioners’ decision.

Commissioners Mauro Cantalamessa and Frank Fuda declined to comment further on the pending issue.

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