Yesterday morning, two families woke up in Frisco excited for their kids who had UIL Championship Track Meet at Kenkuydall Stadium. Neither family had any clue or saw coming that by the end of the day one family would lose a son, and the other family would have a son facing murder charges. This should not be happening in Frisco, Texas.
Today, it is compounded by the fact that America (yes America, this has gone viral) has an opinion on what happened. Rumors are being crafted, hate is being spread across social media calling this racial because of the colors of the boy’s skin tones, accusations are being hurled. People are digging through these two teenage boy’s social media accounts looking for the “worst of the worst” to post and they will find it – but how does that change this now? The end result is spreading more hate and divide in a time when we should be waiting for answers.
Believe me when I say this is a parent’s worst nightmare come true on both sides. The parents had no clue as their kids went out the door, neither of them would be coming home. The father of Austin Metcalf, the victim who died in his twin brothers’ arms, spoke out and said, “I want to clarify something right off the start because I have already heard some rumors and gossip. This was not a race thing; this is not a political thing …this is a human being thing! This young man made a bad choice, and it affected his family and our family forever. It is a very unfortunate thing.” He went on “I forgive this boy, not for him but for me, as a father to have peace. His life is destroyed, my life is destroyed; it is an unfortunate, tragic event that will affect us for the rest of our lives. I want to get the word out to other parents so they will talk to their children, so this does not happen again. Senseless acts of violence have become more acceptable, and we have become more callous to them. That needs to change.”
He is an incredible father to have faith over fear today! My wife and I would like to follow in his father’s footsteps and send our thoughts, prayers and condolences to both families. We will be lifting them all up in prayer as well as for our community to heal from this. Last night, Austin Metcalf was called home. Last night Karmelo Anthony spent the first of many nights in jail. Nobody Wins!
Part of that healing is asking legitimate questions that we expect investigators to find answers to:
1. Why did a young man bring a knife to a track meet?
2. At what moment, did he loose control and make the decision to stab him in the chest?
3. When did the first call to 911 get logged?
4. What was the dispatch time, enroute time, and arrival time of the first arriving unit, and was the clear time?
5. Were there any medical personnel for the school on-site at this track meet? If no, why not?
6. Did the revitalization construction happening downtown directly affect the response time of EMS units. What was the time frame delay between him being stabbed and receiving life saving measures by police and fire including CPR and the administration of blood?
7. Is the school offering mental health services to the kids involved and around?
8. Is the city offering mental health services to the first responders who had to watch this young adult die?
9. Were there any warning signs in the young adult’s life or history that would have led the school to believe that he could become a dangerous offender or be carrying a weapon?
10. How could this have avoided? What security measures did the school district have in place at this event?
Both families have to live with Karmelo Anthony decision for the rest of their lives. These questions will tell us who dropped the ball and at what level because a kid does not wake up and say Today, I am taking a knife to a track meet. We need to know where, how, and when the failures happened to keep all the students safe in our schools. One young man made a decision that would affect both families’ lives forever yesterday. We need to stop and talk to our kids and make sure they understand that it doesn’t matter if this was over a seat, a cellphone, or a simple exchange of teenage verbal words — none of those reasons, or any reason, is acceptable to take a person’s life. That is the conversation parents should be having today with their kids. The other day, I took my wife to HEB, and she is in a wheelchair. I had a hard time getting it up over the curb. A group of kids laughed and snickered – no one offered to help and that is what is wrong with our country today. It is time to reteach our kids about humanity and being good stewards. We need to ask ourselves, “What is happening to our town, to our community, that this would be how an otherwise normal day ends?”
This should not have happened in Frisco, Texas …. Yet it did!
The other day I was reading an article about the most common 6 phrases people say to gaslight and manipulate you. What is gaslighting? It is a manipulation tactic often wielded by emotional disruptive abusers and is insidious in nature making it hard for a person to recognize the tactic is happening. What happens when someone tries to gaslight you?
Gradually you begin to question your own judgement, memories, feelings and questioning reality. The article quoted therapist Shannon Thomas who stated that “people who cannot authentically argue their point of view or stand behind their words turn to gaslighting as a tool.” She went on to say ’they resort to confusion creating tactics, and that it really is a true sign of character weakness.”
It made me think back to our recent elections and the mixed messaging the city tried to sell to citizens while attacking our Frisco Firefighters relentlessly while also saying they support our first responders and dedicate at least ½ our annual budget to public safety. They also attacked and tried to destroy the reputation of Former Fire Chief, Mark Piland by saying he was the problem and the reason for the low morale. The solution, to make Lee Glover, the new “SAVING GRACE” Fire Chief. Based on the In-Service notes we have reviewed, the city may have failed “BIG TIME” and the leader driving the bus is our very own City Manager, Wes Pierson!
After the election was over there was a large disdain between our Fire Department and the city so they planned a weeklong set of In-Service Meetings, aka “Healing Sessions” to listen to the firefighters’ concerns. We filed a PIR for anything related to those meetings and after reading the 50+ page report of notes one thing became very clear, the city council knowingly and repeatedly lied to citizens during the election.
Example 1: The Vote No PAC, funded by Frisco Developers, and run by Mayor Pro Tem Bill Woodard
Councilman Woodard was interviewed by Jack Fink with CBS Texas and when asked why the Fire Fighters were bringing the propositions to the ballot, he specifically said due to the “FORMER LEADERSHIP” of the department, referring to Former Fire Chief Mark Piland. We assumed we would see some of those issues noted in this 50+ page report, however only 2 comments were made, which is one the environment is a little more relaxed now (uniforms) and that Piland may have tended to over communicate to the department.
However, they had a lot to say about the current Fire Chief, Lee Glover. When it comes to budgeting and purchasing new equipment, they feel the Chief Glover is out of touch with today’s firefighting tactics. Firefighters said Glovers’ only tactic since arriving has been cost cutting measures to look good to the City Manager’s Office and council and that means he his neglecting his duty to his command.
Remember the Blood Program, otherwise known as which was carried by the Squad Unit? Refresh your memory by reading our older articles “Another One Bites The Dust” and “Make It Look Pretty.” At the time Councilman Woodard was the “city mouthpiece” across social media supporting Glover’s decision to end the Squad program and transfer the blood program to two battalion chief vehicles. The report talks about Glover’s cost cutting measures and how the firefighters believe removing the Squad Unit and transferring the Blood Program was a huge failure as it took away two extra working people on calls and losing the expertise of the Squad members could be and will be deadly to citizens.
What is the end result of the firefighter’s statement above about their concerns with Glover being out of touch with today’s firefighting tactics? Chief Glover has cut valid programs, training and they believe he is purchasing the wrong equipment. Glover has also de-incentivized training under his command, and today they have less training which is dangerous. Courses and training are required for promotions to the next rank and other departments pay for employees to attend training, but Glover is telling his command to “put stock in your own training.” As for equipment, Glover is buying more Quints -the big bulky fire trucks of the old days, which are hard to get around the neighborhood’s tight and crowded streets. The firefighters prefer more engines and tillers. We are told engines are quicker and shorter in size making them a better choice. We are also told the tillers are an advantageous truck because they can go anywhere, carries more tools and is quicker to vent with 107’ ladder.
Are we done yet? Oh no, we are just getting started! There is so much to go over that we are going to break it up into multiple articles this week. Tonight, we leave you with three questions:
1. Why is the City Council and City Manager gaslighting residents into believing all of these issues are due to Former Fire Chief Piland who was endorsed by the Frisco Firefighters Assocation this year during the election?
2. Why is the City Council and City Manager gaslighting residents into thinking the problem is our Fire Association, who they called Greedy Bastards, power hungry and lazy during the election?
3. Why is the City Council and City Manager dying on a sharp sword for Fire Chief Lee Glover who in all respects to his command his nowhere to be found and neglecting his duty to his command?
We leave you with a strong remark in the In-Service notes which we stated above, “Firefighters believe Glover’s only goal is to look good to the City Manager’s Office and City Council which results in him neglecting his duty to his command.” ….. come back tomorrow for part two
UPDATE: PLEASE NOTE WE HAVE MADE CORRECTIONS TO OUR ARTICLE BASED ON MORE DETAILS RECEIVED. CORRECTIONS CAN BE NOTED IN RED OR WITH A STRIKETHROUGH MARK.
On October 30, 2023, we published our blog Another One Bites The Dust which was about Fire Chief Lee Glover killing the Squad Unit and Blood Program. Generally, Squad which is a 2-person group, responds to all high acuity EMS calls and critical care calls, as well as all structure fires in a city. It is like no other unit in the department and when in trouble if you have a need for the most advanced or technical medical procedures in the field, they are the team you want at your front door. It must have ruffled a few feathers at city hall because Bobblehead Bill was quick to act as the mouthpiece for the city and troll social media to tell us we were wrong.
We took his statements and submitted a PIR the next day for the proof to back up his comments which he spewed all over the North Texas Politics Facebook page. On November 15th we received a letter back from the city with a PIR Invoice for $90 dollars. It is the breakdown that we found interesting of those charges:
Labor: Identify Search Terms / Set Up Search / Download / Export Emails: $3.75
Labor: Compile / Review /Conversion / and Redactions of Emails: $41.25
Labor: Fire / HR Department Records Collections: $30.00
20% Overhead: $15.00 for a GRAND TOTAL OF $90.00
We paid and then waited for our files. Now in a new year, still waiting, we emailed the city on January 12024, asking when we should expect our files. The next day we got an email back from the city that read, “The City of Frisco has reviewed its files and has located documents responsive to your request. HOWEVER, DUE TO CONFIDENTIALITY, the City has chosen to seek a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General regarding the release of a portion of the responsive documents. The remaining responsive documents are available. They also mentioned some figures we asked for were released in a different PIR that we chose not to pay another $100 dollars for.
What did $90 buy us? There was a PDF which contained 15 or so emails, two additional outlook message attachments, copy of the blood contract, two excel spreadsheets that contained the hiring/history breakdown and the call count. That’s it … because the rest (which we don’t know what that is) has been sent to the AG.
Question 1: Did the city charge us for a copy of the blood contract that Bobblehead Bill offered to send out to anyone who emailed him for free without a PIR? Question 2: WHAT IN THE HELL COST $90.00? We have paid $30 for way more information than this in the past.
Woodard’s Statement: The blood transfusion program isn’t going away; in fact it’s expanding. We use data to analyze the best use of resources. Right now, Squad sits almost all the time.
Fact or Fiction: We asked for the study or data they used to make their decision and the response we received was, “There are no records responsive to a “Study.” Then they said it was the number break-down for blood products administered and the number of squad responses that the department reviews for decision-making.
The breakdown for the “Blood Administration” since 2018 is as follows: 1 in 2018, 5 in 2019, 12 in 2020, 5 in 2021, 10 in 2022 and 13 in 2023 (through 11/1/23). Initially looking at the blood administration program the numbers are going up each year. While it is not tons of patients it is showing a trend that is going up, not down.
As for the Squad response breakdown the numbers provided to us by the city are 1502 in 2021, then 1103 in 2022, and 538 in 2023 through 11/1/23. Initially looking at the numbers it would appear Squad calls are going down just like Woodard stated, but we were curious what happened that resulted in 565 fewer calls on one of the busiest apparatuses in a growing city.
We of course went digging for the answer and we learned there are several call types for example, unresponsive, unconscious patient, medical emergency 1 and 2 calls. The call type determines which apparatus responds. Several whistleblowers sent us information on an email by Fire Chief, Lee Glover’s where he gives direction shortly after being named Fire Chief to start taking Squad off certain types of calls to reduce the numbers which makes them look EXPENDABLE. If you look at the call history SQUAD was removed from all ME 1 and ME 2 calls in district 4 and then they were removed from all unconscious and unresponsive calls for the entire city. WELL, WELL, WELL now that explains how calls for SQUAD dropped over 565 calls in less than a year. Maybe that is what Glover’s email meant when he said “Make It Look Pretty”
Woodards Statement: In 2024 we expect to add this program to every ambulance we have, further expanding the program.
Fact or Fiction: We asked about the costs and how they planned to fund the personnel training and the cost for every ambulance to be outfitted to carry the blood products. The response from the city was, “Paramedics will be trained in blood administration in an on-duty rotation at no added cost to the city and that blood will be carried on two vehicles with trained personnel every day.” We were not provided with any details on the cost to retrofit any apparatuses to carry blood.
Woodards Statement: We have been working with our medical director (as well as any other required parties) to ensure the program is run appropriately and has all the proper staffing. He also posted a picture of section 2.2 of a blood contract acting as if that was the guarantee they had.
Fact or Fiction: We asked for any communications between the city, blood bank, and medical director discussing the EXPANSION of the blood program. We were provided no communications between the city and their Medical Director where they discuss expanding the program and discussions to ensure the “program runs appropriately” as Bobblehead Bill stated.
We also asked for a copy of the approval letter from the blood bank and/or hospital where they guarantee to give more blood to more vehicles. The city provided us a signed 2018 Blood Contract and the signed 2023 Amendment. The 2018 Contact clearly states in the “SCOPE OF THE AGREEMENT” the city is to store a certain amount of blood and plasma in AN AMBULANCE UNIT in a continuously monitored refrigerator. In the section he posted “SUPPLY OF BLOOD PRODUCTS” it states it will provide what the city needs, however due to the unpredictable nature of the demands for blood products, the hospital can NOT GUARANTEE the city availability for ALL OR ANY PORTION of the blood products to be supplied. Hey Bill, it says an ambo unit meaning singular (aka 1) and did you read “No Guarantee.”
As for the 2023 Amendment, it is simply an updated FEE SCHEDULE meaning the cost the city has to pay for the blood and plasma product. Then it states the remaining terms and conditions of the contract from 2018 will continue in full force and effect, unchanged. Well, Well, Well Bobblehead Bill… there is NO GUARANTEE THEY WILL SUPPLY BLOOD FOR EVERY AMBO. Did we read that right? Prices for blood and plasma have gone up considerably and now we are talking about carrying it on every ambo instead of 1 or 2 specialized Squad Teams. In a nutshell it means more taxpayer money, more taxpayer money, and more taxpayer money. Besides the cost increasing for carrying the product that has a shelf life which means it has to be switched out, we also now have to retrofit ambos/vehicles and train more personnel. It sounds like we are wasting money when what we have currently is working.
In closing, it looks like Bobblehead Bill needs to do more research! There is no guarantee in writing that the hospital will agree to expansion or that they will guarantee you any product. Why would we retrofit any apparatus or vehicle on a “WHAT IF THEY GIVE US BLOOD MENTALITY.” The DRASTIC DROP in the Squad response numbers can be related to Glover removing them from certain calls. Why would he do that? According to insiders he has hated this program since its inception back in 2018. The city wants to sell you on that this is a good decision, however if you ask a firefighter, what might they say? Let’s just say it is your life on the line, are you willing to give up a dedicated team to critical care that literally could mean life or death?
Russian Roulette is the practice of loading a bullet into one chamber of a revolver, spinning the cylinder, and then pulling the trigger while pointing the gun at one’s own head. It is basically a game of chance! When it comes to filing a PIR with the City of Frisco, it too is like a game of Russian Roulette. Will they provide the documents or won’t they? Will they do it in a timely manner or delay it by sending it to the Texas Attorney General for an “opinion.”
Since Whistleblowers’ inception back in February of last year we have continually addressed the issues of PIR GATE. In our April 2023 blog we talked about a PIR that FWB filed for Universal Theme Park / Project P117. An email came back from the city that the cost of the documents would be $72.36 and payment was made. Imagine FWB surprise when the city came back asking them to clarify what information they are seeking?
Problem 1: How did the city determine a price of $72.36 for the documents requested if they needed clarification of what was being requested?
THE CONCLUSION: Then on April 18th FWB receives an email saying they have released a few documents, and the rest has been sent to the Attorney General for an opinion. Well, 8 months after initially filing for the PIR the documents were finally released. Why did it take so long? What was it the city didn’t want us to find out about the Universal Kids project?
Now, let’s talk about the PIR we filed for any communications between John Keating or Angelia Pelham and Venton Krasniqi. When the city responded with no responsive records, we were curious, who is Venton Krasniqi? He is a mystery man who donated $10,000 to John Keating and $5000 to Angelia Pelham yet neither of them has shared a text or email with him? That sure seems strange since those are not small donations. Furthermore, we are now curious is this the same man listed in several lawsuits in Collin County regarding debts?
Then we talked about the PIR we filed in May 2023 in regards to the “Public Safety Study regarding the Police Department Staffing” that was funded by federal grants. The response was we could view the document only by coming to city hall because it was copyrighted. However, the organization who did this study has done many other similar studies and they are all published on the web. Why is Frisco’s copyrighted? What made Frisco’s study so special? We never went to view the report because we were contacted by an internal PD source who supplied us with a full copy of the study after seeing our blog. What did we learn after reading it? The city probably didn’t want the residents/public to know the city they claim to be one of the safest cities in Americas has a staffing deficiency in the PD department.
A few months later in October 2023, on a tip from a resident, we filed a PIR that reads, “We would like any emails regarding the flooding that took place on 7/3/23 near 2447 Sleepy Hollow Trail. Emails from PD, streets department, city management and city council. We would like any pictures taken by the streets department at the scene since they were called out by PD. We would like to know what caused the flood?” On October 23, we were surprised to see the status change to: Sent to AG for a Ruling.
WAIT A DAMN MINUTE, you are going to tell me a simple PIR about a street flood must be sent to the Texas Attorney General? The Conclusion: As of today, this still has a status of Sent to the AG for Ruling which means it has been open for over 2 months (about to be 3 months). Something smells like SHIT in Frisco.
If you remember in our Day 6 Breaking The Law blog, we explained how we filed a PIR on Fire Chief Lee Glover and were told no responsive records. In the case of this PIR, who is responsible for releasing those records? Well, that would be the Human Resources Director, Sassy Lauren Safranek, that’s who! Interesting how Sassy came up with the responsive records the second time around, AFTER WE TOLD HER WE ALREADY HAD A COPY OF THE LETTER AND A VIDEO CLIP.
We decided to file another PIR to broaden our search on November 22, 2023, that reads “Copy of all emails and documents related to Lee Glover over his career span with the City of Frisco relating to any job complaints both formal or informal (confidential) by equals, superiors, and subordinates. Any complaints received informal or formal even if confidential via the Frisco Fire Department Complaint Form, relating to his breaking the Frisco Fire Department Policies or City of Frisco Code of Conduct or policies. Any Administrative Warning Letter issued to Lee Glover over his career with the Frisco Fire Department. Any Notice of Investigation issued to Lee Glover over his career span with the Frisco Fire Department. Any emails between Lauren Safranek, Henry Hill, George Purefoy, Mack Borchard, Wes Peirson or Lee Glover regarding the hiring of Lee Glover going back to 1/1/2022 to Present. Feel free to redact personal numbers, birthdays, contact info, etc., allowed by Texas State Law.”
The Response: On December 14, we received a letter in which they located the responsive records and that they re-released at no charge the records because they had already been provided to us. However, that is not exactly true. What we asked for above is very clear so imagine our surprise when we find in the documents they sent back one titled Case 64. The Problem: Case 64 is related to a previous PIR request regarding HR Director Safranek falsifying documents which this document should have been included in, but it wasn’t which is more proof they are withholding documents. Why did we accidentally get the document in the current request, we have no idea. Secondly, it has the Fire Chiefs Candidate Binder that we didn’t ask for. Third it has the pay scale for the Fire Chiefs, which we didn’t ask for. It has the Appleton Complaint which we already know about and was in the previous PIR request. That’s it!
The city wants you and I to believe that Lee Glover has never had any other complaints, write-ups, warning letters, or has broken policies or procedures which he has been cited for over his entire career. Do you believe that? Well, you shouldn’t because we have evidence to the contrary. It leaves us asking, why has the city not released the information related to this PIR that we requested? Again, something smells like SHIT in Frisco.
The Conclusion: You may have guessed it; we filed ANOTHER PIR that said we want to follow up to clarify that Appleton and Mayday are the only two items in his HR file over the span of his career? We asked for anything starting from the beginning of his career in 1991 to the present: 1. Any job complaints, write-ups, or reprimands, both formal or informal (confidential) by equals, superiors, and subordinates. 2. Any complaints, write-ups, or reprimands received via the Frisco Fire Department Complaint Form that includes informal or formal even confidential 3. Any complaints, write-ups or reprimands relating to his breaking the Frisco Fire Department Policies or City of Frisco Code of Conduct or policies. 4. Any Administrative Warning Letters issued to Lee Glover during his time at Frisco FD. 5. Any Notice of Investigation issued to Lee Glover during his time at Frisco FD Are we to believe that since 1991 there have been only 2? We paid $30 plus dollars and want the full PIR as we already know of some that have not been included in the original PIR response.” It is currently in processing!
Lastly, we can’t forget Bobblehead Bill Woodard who went off halfcocked on Facebook defending the city’s decision to cut a lifesaving blood program that just a few years before the council praised from the top of the city council meeting pulpit. While Bobblehead Bill said folks could just email him and he would share the documents we decided to handle it the proper way by filing a PIR on 11/1/23. We uploaded images of his statements in the PIR and asked for the items he referenced. The PIR said,
1. On November 1st Bill Woodard posted on North Texas Politics page a response that talked about a 12-page report and posted a picture of a Section 2.2 Supply of Blood Products. He offers to email the 12-page report to anyone who emails him so we are requesting it formally and since he is willing to send it out freely to anyone who emails him we assume there will be no cost for it.
2. He also posted the following comment below: The blood transfusion program isn’t going away, in fact it’s expanding. We use data to analyze the best use of resources and right now the squad sits idle almost all the time. So that staffing is being divided up and assigned to the BC vehicles, along with the blood transfusion program. This will double (from one to two) the availability of this program on every shift, and better utilize personnel and equipment. In 2024 we expect to add this program to every ambulance we have further expanding the program, which necessitates the training of everyone on those pieces of equipment. We will also be doubling (from one to two) the number of safety officers on shift. This will allow for additional training and promotional opportunities. We would like a copy of the study and data used to analyze the best use of resources that reflect how this decision was made. We would like a copy of the new contract/agreement that the hospital and blood banks will supply the blood for all ambos now and going into 2024. We would also like to know the cost and how it will be funded to train everyone (as he states) on those pieces of equipment.
3. Bill Woodard also stated “We are putting the blood transfusion program on multiple vehicles. So yes it is expanding. And we have been working with our medical director (as well as any other required parties) to ensure the program is run appropriately and has all the proper staffing.” We would like to know how many vehicles the blood program will be on with trained personnel. We would like any emails between the city management, fire department and council with the medical director and required parties he mentions.
4. Steve Cone of P&Z also chimed in so we would like to see the numbers of how the proposed changes to Squad / Blood Program is better than the status quo arrangement. We would like to know the # of blood transfusions teams available per shift, before and after the changes to the program.
The Conclusion: Because Bobblehead Bill offered to send this to folk we assumed there would be no charge but guess what, the city charged us $90.00 which we paid, and we are STILL WAITING FOR THE INFORMATION. Now, they have updated the status to read “Sent to Attorney.” We are not holding our breath we will get the information back before the end of 2023.
In closing, we have a very important question for you to consider. How can the city get a request or for an item, then go to a council meeting, have a discussion in executive session, come out and vote to release confidential HR documents on a retired employee who is under a gag order and is actively running as a political opponent against Mayor Cheney? Please note while Cheney recused himself from the vote 4 of the city council members who participated in the vote had already publicly endorsed Mayor Jeff Cheney which means they probably should have recused themselves. The CHERRY ON TOP is a DMN Reporter had an article in the paper 12 hours later which in our opinion was a political hit piece! If all that can be done in a simple council vote how come they cannot do that for other PIR’s?
Why did the city not send the request from the media to the Attorney General like they do all other requests? Well because they have 30 to 60 days to respond with an opinion which means the election would have been over. At the time Mark Piland was gaining momentum on Mayor Cheney. Cheney and his big developer friends who have BIG INTERESTS in Frisco needed Cheney to win so they just did not have that kind of time. They needed a push in the polls so hence the vote to release the records. It is even more questionable that they didn’t release the full report only a subsequent report that was done related to the political candidate. Being that the vote had HUGE RED FLAGS pertaining to CONFLICT OF INTERESTS which is a great reason to SEND IT TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.
This is our public plea to the City of Frisco and the City Council Members, IF YOU HAVE THAT KIND OF POWER THEN WE ASK YOU TO BRING OUR PIRs UP FOR A VOTE. Then VOTE YES unanimously, JUST LIKE in April 2023 to release the following: 1. Universal Kids Documents 2. Documents related to Bobble Head Bills rant on Facebook regarding the Blood Program. 3. The entire HR file for Fire Chief Lee Glove and Mack Borchardt 4. Documents related to a simple street flood 5. All of Lauren Safranek emails for the last two years and 6. Any other open PIRs currently just for the purposes of being FAIR and TRANSPARENT
They would never vote to do that because it does not help them, but it possibly hurts them. The City of Frisco withholds documents, delays the process and flat out lies as to what they have and don’t have. Kristy Morrow is the City Secretary but we don’t think it is her decision on what is released. She sends the requests to the departments or individuals named in the PIR and they respond with the appropriate documents. So, if Sassy Lauran Safranek is colluding with Lee Glover do you think she is going to release the documents requested, probably not. It is a game of RUSSIAN ROULETTE, A GAME OF CHANCE OR TRUST. We DO NOT TRUST the City of Frisco – not one bit! We have proof they have lied and withheld information and that should make residents very wary and angry. This is our city, not their city. It is our tax-dollars!
Bill starts off by saying let’s get some facts straight and WE AGREE Bill – let’s get some facts straight!
Woodard claims: The blood transfusion program isn’t going away. In fact, it’s expanding with properly trained personnel. First, are you saying the personnel you have today are not properly trained? As of right now, the Squad Program is a highly technical advanced EMS critical care program and also provides additional manpower to critical incidents and structure fires and is also capable of doing blood transfusions.
Woodard claims: We use data to analyze the best use of resources. Right now, the squad sits almost all the time. We would love to see the metrics Bobblehead Bill is relying on to show its idol “almost all of the time.” We reached out to our sources, and they have in fact said that Squad is one of the busiest apparatuses in the FD. So, show us your data and metrics that you analyzed please to prove Squad sits idle. Yes as of today we filed a PIR for those metrics so we will soon have data from the city unless they again try to send it to the AG in hopes of delaying us more open records.
Woodard claims: Staffing is being divided up and assigned to the BC (Battalion Chief) vehicles, along with the blood transfusion program. This will double (from one to two) the availability of this program on every shift, and better utilize personnel and equipment. However, Bill, our sources have also confirmed that they will not be in service because the lieutenant on the squad is being turned into a captain / safety / FIT / drone pilot / chauffer for the BC’s. The squad vehicles will not be in service, and no personnel will be assigned to them. I wonder when the taxpayers paid for those specialized vehicles for us to not use them now. Well, we know the city doesn’t care what taxpayers are floating for things just look at all the trips they take! More importantly, according to the department policies an officer cannot be the acting paramedic on a fire apparatus. Is Bobblehead Bill trying to say that an officer or Battalion Chief is going to be better than a highly trained medic at giving blood?
Woodard claims: In 2024 we expect to add this program to every ambulance we have further expanding the program, which necessitates the training of everyone on those pieces of equipment. Hold up Bobblehead…do you have a written agreement with a blood bank/hospital that they are going to guarantee enough blood for us to put on every ambo at a minute’s notice? Also, how much will the training of everyone cost on those pieces of equipment and is that best use of tax dollars versus having a highly specialized Squad? We would love for Bill, Chief Lee Glover, or the city to show us the proof that this will be rolled out in every ambo in 2024. We would also love for them to show us how they plan to fund the expansion, the additional training of personnel, etc. According to our sources every Ambo will have warmers but not blood! Mr. Woodard said there was 13 calls for blood in 2023. It seems the FD Squad units did their job then just fine, so does 13 mean we should expand it to every single ambo? HERE IS THE QUESTION FOR RESIDENTS: Do you want the medic who maybe does the procedure once or twice every 3 years doing your blood transfusion? Do you want a highly skilled team who does it up to 13 times in one year to do the procedure? As Homer Simpson would say, DUH!
Woodard claims: There is a 12-page contract that he is happy to share with anyone who emails him (so we will be doing that as well as we already placed a PIR request 15 min ago for it). He then posted the “RELEVANT SECTION OF THE AGREEMENT” that he claims stands as proof that the Hospital will supply blood for the expansion. We just filed a PIR for the contract unless he wants to email it to us for free as he said he would. Our email Mr. Woodard is FriscoWhistleBlower@protonmail.com but we won’t get our hopes up you would send it.
The image reads, “Upon request by the City. Hospital shall supply to the City the Blood Products from time to time. in such quantities and types as maybe requested by the City; provided. however that due to the unpredictable nature of the demands for the Blood Products, Hospital cannot and will not guarantee the City the availability of all or any portion of the Blood Products to be supplied hereunder. Hospital does agree. however. that it will use its best efforts to supply all Blood Products ordered by the City in an expeditious fashion to the extent the Blood Products are available to the Hospital. Hospital has no reason to believe that in the absence of special circumstances it will be unable to provide any and all Blood Products required by the City during an emergency.
Well, we have a few questions about the image and wording of Woodard’s so-called proof he published. Let’s take a moment to point out the incorrect punctuation throughout the paragraph and the incorrect written sentences. For example, Upon request by the City. Hospital shall supply to the City the Blood Products from time to time. in such quantities and types as maybe requested by the City; If that is proof who the heck wrote it? Also, what does “TIME TO TIME” mean Mr. Woodard? Is it all the time? Is time to time on every ambo? What does it mean when it says, in quantities and types, “AS MAYBE REQUESTED BY THE CITY? You can say you’re expanding it but just not request the blood to actually have it on hand? It mentions the hospital CAN NOT GUARANTEE AVAILABILITY DUE TO THE UNPREDICTABLE NATURE OF THE DEMANDS FOR THE BLOOD BUT IT WILL USE BEST EFFORTS. That does not sound like a guarantee Bobblehead Bill that you will have this on every ambo in 2024 and why pay for additional training if we may not be able to get it? Lastly, it reads the hospital has no reason to believe that in the ABSENCE OF SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES it will be unable to provide any and all Blood Products required by the city during an emergency. Was COVID special circumstances? No one expected the world to shut down the last few years, but it did, is that a special circumstance? Mr. Woodard, this so-called image you posted first looks fake, second is not a guarantee as you said in your statements that it will be available for every ambo, and it is not dated so how do we know if this is a current or previous agreement signed by the city? You really expect citizens to be stupid don’t you?
Lastly Mr. Woodard claims if additional personnel are needed for a fire, we can send more apparatuses as necessary. I am quite certain we have the personnel and equipment to do that. Fires at this point represent less than 2% of total calls. He goes on to say this is not a shortage of personnel (okay sure). Any good organization will evaluate its operations and make changes when it makes sense. QUESTION FOR THE FRISCO FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION: In response to Bobblehead Bill’s statement do you agree we have enough personnel to call out for more apparatuses and still provide the same level of service? Mr. Woodard did you read the firefighters’ survey that says they have no confidence in Chief Glover? Did you still think it made sense after your evaluation of operations to make him Fire Chief? Bad leadership has bad consequences and in this case sir it can be deadly! Robert Townsend once said, “A leader is not an administrator who loves to run others, but someone who carries water for his people so they can get on with their jobs.”
Mr. Woodard likes to talk and hear himself talk, which is why he just can’t stop responding to us once he gets started. We are going to return the accusation and call Mr. Bill Woodard, Place 4 for the Frisco City Council a liar and if he is not a liar then he is misguided by facts! He asks us for proof but what proof has he published that contradicts our last blog Another One Bites The Dust? The fact is the City Manager and Council are going to double down to protect Fire Chief Lee Glover, they can’t stop now. They also are in a pissing match with the Fire Fighters Association and don’t want to give in or admit they may have been wrong so again the city will double down over and over. God forbid they just do the right thing!
The city FD is understaffed, and the Fire Fighters Association has repeatedly requested the need to hire more staff. Hell, the FFA went as far as to go to the city council meeting during citizens input and beg for them to hire more staff. The response, nothing you could hear a cricket if it chirped. While Mayor Cheney likes to break the rules of citizens input and respond to concerns when it comes to development or to defend his reputation, he can’t even crack a smile for the firefighters. Mr. Veteran John Keating won’t even fight for them! He should be ashamed of himself because if there is anyone on that council who knows what it means to serve it is Mr. Veteran Cheating Keating who sits there like a dumb puppet!
Mr. Woodard, if we are not hiring more personnel then how are we expanding the program? Can you honestly say it makes sense to consolidate Squad and the Safety Program? If you can then I hope your family never needs them and they don’t have the personnel to get to you because they have called out more apparatuses to other scenes.
Shout, Shout, let it all out. These are things I can do without
Come on, I’m talking to you …. Come on
Shout, Shout, Let it all out
If the words sound familiar but you have not yet figured it out yet, then let me help you. In 1984, Tears for Fears released their second album. Shout was a song on the album, but it did not hit the Billboard Top 100 until August of 1985. Today it remains one of their most recognizable songs. It was rumored the song was about pain, but the truth is it was a call to action, a rebellion against the established norms of the times, a call to be different.
Frisco has always prided itself on doing things better “than other cities” along with being different and being ground breakers. Being different is “The Frisco Way!” In Frisco our leaders believe we must build the best, develop the best, and offer the best services to our citizens as a standout community. With development and construction in full gear over the last 10 years you can imagine things happened along the way that helped carve out better practices and procedures for the city.
An example of that is back in February of 2018 when Francisco Palmas pant leg was caught in a trencher causing him to be dangled upside down at a local commercial construction site. The result was it nearly severed his leg and you might think he died. Frisco Firefighters reached the victim in just under five minutes, but they couldn’t free him which meant his leg would need to be amputated right there amid the dust, dirt and rocks. (Photo from Frisco Lifestyle – The Edge of Chaos)
According to a Dallas Morning News article, Frisco Deputy Fire Chief, Scott Vetterick said that the department had already started putting a plan in place for this under then Fire Chief, Mark Piland. Vetterick knew with all the development and construction, it was not about if something would happen but rather when it would happen and that made it a priority to have a plan in place. On the way to the scene, Frisco FD reached out to Dr. Gamber, an emergency room doctor at Medical City Plano. Gamber summoned trauma surgeon Al West who would arrive via a helicopter 41 minutes later with his small black medical kit and blood.
While Dr. West performed the amputation just above the right knee, Frisco Firefighters had to hold Palma’s body so he would not fall and proceeded to give him blood replacement. Along with the blood replacement they administered medications, fluids and monitored Palmas’ vital signs along with watching his airway. At the same time other teams worked to disassemble the machine. Palma survived because of the fast actions of the Frisco FD, Trauma Surgeon Al West and the replacement blood brought in that day. At the time there was a 75% chance that with a prosthetic he would walk again one day. Most importantly this man lived to see his kids grow up. In a Frisco Lifestyle article, Vetterick shares, “We had a lot of people working backchannels in order to make it happen that day. I was calling Medical City Plano’s radio room, Assistant Chief Kramer was calling Dr. Gamber, the battalion chief was coordinating the actual rescue and the disassembly of the machine, and then our medics were immediately tending to the patient.”
Deputy Chief Vetterick said at the time he believed that the response protocol put in place is the perfect example of collaborative efforts that help save lives. His hope was it would benefit more people and save more lives as Frisco continued to grow.
The official announcement of the blood replacement being carried on board with the Squad teams came in December of 2018 in a Frisco Fire Department press release. Frisco Fire Chief Mark Piland said, “Frisco Firefighters are committed to providing the highest level of care possible. This program is definitely a team effort, and I would like to thank Dr. Gamber and Medical City Plano for the hard work and assistance to get this program started.”
Dr. Mark Gamber, Frisco Fire Departments Medical Director said, “Prior to today, patients who needed blood were completely dependent on how fast we could get them to a hospital. Now, with early transfusion for severe blood loss, Frisco Fire will give critically ill patients a better chance of survival.”
The news of the new program went far and wide across the state and it was believed that it showed innovation and how Frisco was to lead the way with cutting edge services that help serve the citizens of Frisco.
What is Squad? Generally, the Squad responds to all high acuity EMS calls, and it also responds to all structure fires in a city. It is a 2-person group whose capabilities are like no other unit in the department. If you have a need for the most advanced or technical medical procedures in the field they are the team you want at your front door. For example, Squad assisted doctors with Palma’s amputation, they can give blood transfusions to trapped victims, and they perform out of the box lifesaving methods during emergency medical situations. It is the definition of the city’s motto Progress In Motion.
Safety, education, and training were a big push by Piland who lead the department at the time. It probably came from his experience serving with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a Task Force Leader with Virginia Task Force 2 a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Team whose job was to provide search and rescue for victims of disaster. Shortly after Piland became Chief in 2013 he implemented the Safety Officer Program that focused on the health and wellness of the fire fighters. The Captain of Safety oversaw all fire fighter injuries, the safety on scene at calls, structural concerns during fires, identified concerns such as pools that could affect how they fight a fire and more. In 2016, a request was made for two Fire Safety Incident Officers in the city’s annual budget. The goal was to implement two full-time shift personnel to staff the positions around the clock. The program made overall safety a top priority.
Fast forward to today, Frisco is a city of 225,000+ people and we have a New Fire Chief, Lee Glover. Programs like those mentioned above have major implications in saving lives. On October 27, 2023, the Frisco Fire Department released a video about the history of the program in a series called Frisco Fire Facts which was also share to the city Facebook page yesterday. It starts with Deputy Fire Chief Jake Owen of the Frisco Fire Department talking about how the program got started in 2018. It discusses the highlights of the Squad Program and the onboarding of blood replacement.
Ready for the WHOPPER of TEA? It was confirmed to us last week in an off-the-record conversation with a city employee at city hall, that FIRE CHIEF GROGGY LEE GLOVER announced the END OF THE SQUAD PROGRAM! Wait…What? It was also announced that the Safety Program was ending. People are being reassigned to drive Battalion Chiefs! Firefighters will be reassigned most likely depending on staff levels. What will be the result of losing the Squad Program, it will create the loss of two functioning paramedics for high priority EMS calls and a loss of two tactical level firefighters on structure fires. As for the Safety Program what does that mean for the safety of our firefighters? Should we be surprised, I mean the decision to name Groggy Glover the new Fire Chief was not supported by the ranks within the department.
Glover was not kidding when he said in June of 2023, “We’re going to continue to do what we’ve been doing since the day I WALKED INTO THIS FIRE DEPARTMENT.” He DISMANTLED a CRITICAL LIFE SAVING program that was highly regarded, and we are curious why? Is it because that is how modern-day fire departments operate which he probably does not understand since it doesn’t fit the antiquated days of his upbringing in the department. Did he not like the programs simply because they were instituted under the previous Fire Chief, Mark Piland?
According to yesforfrisco.org in the recent MAY 2023 BOND ELECTION – Proposition A, the city asked citizens to approve the following equipment & apparatus items: Vehicles to replace with proposed bond package: 2 Squads, 4 Engines, 8 Medics, 1 Truck, and 1 Hazmat. WHY DID THE CITY ASK CITIZENS TO PAY FOR 2 SQUAD REPLACEMENTS? With all the development of the PGA which will bring golf celebrities from around the world and a new theme park for kids would you end lifesaving programs that protect citizens, visitors, and firefighters? What about citizens of Frisco Lakes? Did the council who rely on their votes to get elected ask Frisco Lakes residents how they feel about getting rid of a blood replacement program that could save their lives? With the traffic getting worse and horrific car accidents happening more often, did anyone think about how the blood replacement program could save the lives of those in the accidents. I mean those are citizens or visitors who spend tax dollars in our city? No – they just want to build and build and claim to be about exceptional service.
On the front page, of the Frisco Fire Department the Mission Statement reads: Committed to your Health and Safety through Exceptional Service. Right under that it reads, “Public safety is among the highest priorities for city leaders, past and present.” Yeah we have heard that repeated over from city leaders. Now act like it!
We just keep asking why, why would Glover think these are good decisions? Based on the 2011/12 Climate Survey it said in order for the issues in the department to be resolved some SIGNIFICANT changes must occur. The culture of the department needs to change from a negative, hostile, retaliatory environment to one that is positive. Guess what, it was trending in the right direction but now Groggy Glover is dismantling the department bit by bit and they hope no one is paying attention. Well, maybe it is just his way of being retaliatory to those speaking out against him as that is how it has worked since he walked into the department all those years ago.
Slowly but surely our Fire Department turns back time and honestly it should scare the hell of citizens! We have heard it scares the hell out of those who put on the FD uniform on the front line every day. It leads us to our last question, the most important question, who is the “King Ding A Ling” of bad decisions? Well, that might be a tie between Groggy Lee Glover and City Manager, Pungent Wes Pierson.
We saw John Keating today with Mr Nadeem Crook Zaman holding signs supporting Gopal. Gopal has actively funded church burning…
Classic cabal. They so badly want to be modern day mafia. Shame of Jeff Cheney and his cheerleaders.
Ahhhh NO
Doge most all of Denton & Collin county mayors quickly! Help Elon!!!
Not a chance voting for this! The current council, save Brian, are SO OUT OF TOUCH with the normal citizen…