Scene from Worthington Town Council meeting on Tuesday evening, November 10.

Greene County Sheriff’s Det. Sgt. James O’Malley was appointed to the position of Worthington Town Marshal during the regular monthly meeting of the Worthington Town Council Tuesday evening, December 10.

O’Malley is expected to be sworn in tomorrow, Wednesday, December 11.

Council President Tom Franklin said O’Malley is able to step into the job immediately since he is currently on vacation at the sheriff’s department from now until the end of the year.

O’Malley will take over the reins of the Worthington Police Department with clear support of the town council. All five councilmembers were present during the meeting and O’Malley was selected with a unanimous vote.

Council President Tom Franklin said O’Malley has served at the sheriff’s department for a number of years and has an abundance of experience including experience in police work and investigations and experience in administration and budgeting.

“He’s done it all,” said Franklin, “and I think he’ll be a good choice.”

Franklin shared that he and other councilmembers had talked to numerous other officers and people in the law enforcement community and said the feedback they received about O’Malley was that he was the best officer in the county.

The position of town marshal has been the subject of some controversy since the former town marshal, Randy Raney, was suspended with pay by the council president a couple of weeks prior to the October 8 meeting of the council. Following an executive session for the purpose of considering a personnel matter involving Raney, the full council then supported Franklin’s decision and voted unanimously to confirm the suspension.

The matter was turned over to the Indiana State Police for investigation. No additional details regarding the investigation have been released.

On Tuesday, November 12, it was announced that Raney had officially resigned from his post, effective on Friday at midnight, November 16.

Deputy Marshal Russell Walls was then appointed to serve as interim marshal.

Since Raney’s suspension, in addition to Walls and four WPD reserve officers, personnel from the Greene County Sheriff’s Department have stepped up to help patrol Worthington and be on call to respond and assist the WPD while they were shorthanded.

The council announced that applications for the position of town marshal were being accepted and the council appointed Franklin and Councilmember Gerren Cullison to the task of initially screening applicants.

Applications were accepted up until the deadline of 4 p.m. on Monday, December 2.

As required by law, the position was advertised in legal ads placed in the Greene County Daily World on November 22, 25 and 27. And, also as required by law, a notice was posted on both front doors of the Municipal Building, one on the door to Town Hall and one on the door to the Clerk-Treasurer’s Office.

Franklin said they received 10 applications, two for the position of town marshal and the others for the position of deputy marshal.

According to Franklin and other members of the council, Deputy Marshal Walls did not submit an application for the position before the deadline.

Two applicants were interviewed by the full council last week, on Wednesday evening, December 4, with all five councilmembers participating in the interviews. Franklin said the council has been making an effort to improve things for the police department and recently voted for a pay increase to make WPD pay more competitive with other departments in the county. He said when interviewing, they were looking for someone with police experience, investigatory experience, administrative and supervisory experience and both of the two candidates interviewed well.

After explaining the interview process, a motion was made to appoint O’Malley, seconded and vote taken with all five councilmembers voting in the affirmative.

The meeting was well attended by a combination of townspeople and others who reside outside the town. Many were regular attendees, others came in support of Deputy Marshal Walls or one of the candidates. So, when the public was allowed to comment, several expressed their opinion.

To those who seemed dismayed that Walls did not get the job, Councilmember Terressa Sparks said “Russ should have been the first person to apply,” if he wanted the job and Franklin said if there was any blame to place, “Look no further than Russell Walls,” referring to the fact that Walls did not turn the application in by the deadline.

When asked about the hiring process, Town Attorney Marilyn Hartman confirmed she had counseled the council as to the requirements of the law and they had followed the rules.

One attendee turned in a letter to the council and another said they had sent in a letter of support for Walls signed by several.

Walls also turned in a letter to the council and spoke about the reason he decided to become an officer in Worthington. And then he resigned, effective immediately, and placed the letter and some other items on the Council table. As he made his way toward the door, Franklin asked him about the keys to the police department. Walls said the law states the key should be turned over to the next marshal or the prosecutor and he would turn the key into the prosecutor. And he walked out the door.

Questions were raised about the rate of pay Walls has received for working additional hours since Raney was suspended and since Raney resigned and Walls was appointed as interim marshal. Walls may have additional pay coming – the matter will be looked into to make sure he’s compensated correctly.

Franklin also expressed the council’s thanks to Walls for how much he’s done to serve the town.

There are now two positions of deputy marshal open and applications are being accepted. Franklin earlier said the slot would not be filled until after a town marshal was appointed to allow the new marshal to participate in the hiring process.

For anyone interested in the position of Worthington Deputy Marshal, applications and resumes should be submitted to the Clerk-Treasurer’s Office in the Worthington Municipal Building. The deadline is unknown at this time. For more information, contact the Clerk-Treasurer’s Office at 812-875-2641.

More news from the meeting will be covered later in a separate story.