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Associated Press Charles Dharapak
GOP presidential candidate Gov. Rick Perry greets at-
tendees Sunday at the Black Hawk County Republican
Party Lincoln Day dinner in Waterloo.
Skeens
methods
as boss
criticized
A county document and
interviews with former tax
office staffers indicate em-
battled McLennan County
Tax Assessor-Collector Buddy
Skeen intimidated some of his
employees.
After conducting an inves-
tigation into a sexual harass-
ment complaint in 2009, the
countys human resources di-
rector, Butch
Kelly, scold-
ed Skeen in a
letter for his
l e a de r s hi p
style.
In the let-
ter, obtained
through a
Public Infor-
mation Act
request, Kelly specifically sin-
gled out group hugs in the tax
office as an area of concern
after several employees told
him theyd been asked or felt
pressure to participate in the
office hugs.
Basing his findings in part
on interviews with seven tax
office employees in 2009, Kel-
ly said in the letter that he
was unable to prove sexual
harassment occurred. But he
said Skeen exercises very
poor judgment in his person-
nel management, including
By Michael W. Shapiro
Tribune-Herald staff writer
Letter says assessor
used poor judgment
in running office
See SKEEN, Page 3A
Skeen
Attack rattles quiet Afghan province
CHARIKAR, Afghanistan
The governor of Parwan prov-
ince, Abdul Basir Salangi, con-
vened a meeting Sunday morn-
ing with his top aides to find
out why security had not been
improved around his offices,
10 days after reports that a
group of suicide bombers was
planning an attack.
A former jihadi commander
from the war against the Sovi-
ets, Salangi is an imposing fig-
ure, and his anger was evident
as he dressed down the aides,
including the provincial po-
lice chief. The intelligence was
very specific, he told his aides:
The bombers might arrive in a
Toyota Corolla.
Just then, as he later recalled
the moment, there were two ex-
plosions as a group of six sui-
cide bombers blew their way
into the governors compound.
In the three-hour firefight
that followed, the attackers
killed 22 people, including six
police officers, and the rest a
mixture of government staff
and civilian visitors, before
they were subdued.
Afterward, Salangi, who was
unhurt, said, with evident as-
perity, I believe the security
forces in Parwan fell short in
preventing this thing.
The episode in Parwan prov-
ince, in central Afghanistan
By Abdul Waheed Wafa
and Rod Nordland
The New York Times
Suicide bombers raid
governors compound,
killing 22 people
The New York Times Kuni Takahashi
Afghan security forces Sunday secure the entrance to the gover-
nors compound after a suicide attack in Charikar, in the central
Afghanistan province of Parwan. See AFGHAN, Page 3A
Perry, Bachmann talk jobs
WATERLOO, Iowa The two fast-
est-rising stars in the race for the 2012
Republican presidential nomination
worked to broaden their appeal Sun-
day in Iowa.
Michele Bachmann, fresh off her
win in a closely watched test vote, por-
trayed herself as a mainstream Mid-
westerner. Newcomer Rick Perry in-
troduced himself as a common-sense
executive focused on jobs.
Both candidates attended the same
county GOP dinner in northern Iowa
one day after the race was upended by
Bachmanns victory in the Iowa straw
poll and Perrys announcement of his
candidacy.
And while both candidates have
strong ties to the influential evangeli-
cal wing of the party and are popular
with upstart tea party supporters, they
told activists at the Black Hawk Coun-
ty GOPs Lincoln Day dinner in Water-
loo that they have credibility on the
partys leading priority: jobs.
I happen to think the biggest issue
facing this country is that we are fac-
ing economic turmoil, and if we dont
have a president that doesnt get this
country working, were in trouble,
Perry told about 300 Republicans in
Waterloos Electric Park Ballroom.
And Ive got a track record.
Bachmann touted her experience
running her familys small business in
Minnesota.
We started our own successful
small company, she told reporters.
We know how to build from scratch,
putting capital together and starting
a business from scratch and building
it up so that we can actually offer jobs
to people.
A segment of the GOP establishment
By Thomas Beaumont
Associated Press
Rivals for nomination address
potential caucus voters at
Iowa Republican dinner
See IOWA, Page 3A
Staff photo Jerry Larson
Waco firefighters battle a large fire Sunday afternoon at the Goodwill Industries location in the
1000 block of East Waco Drive. No one was injured but it took hours to contain the blaze.
Fire hits Goodwill donations
Waco firefighters battled a
large fire that destroyed an out-
door loading dock and donated
materials at the Goodwill Indus-
tries buildings in East Waco on
Sunday.
The fire started about 1:15 p.m.
in the 1000 block of East Waco
Drive behind the Goodwill ware-
house. Witnesses said they saw
flames coming out of a trash bin
by the loading docks.
Firefighters still were at the
scene late Sunday. By 8 p.m., the
blaze was about 80 percent con-
tained, Waco assistant fire chief
Patrick Kerwin said.
All on-duty firefighters re-
sponded to the blaze at some
point Sunday, in addition to
six off-duty firefighters. In all,
72 personnel and four fire offi-
cials rotated at the scene.
Waco fire marshals still are in-
vestigating the cause of the fire.
You didnt even see it at first
but it went up so quick, Waco
resident Ken Swindall said.
Swindall got to the Goodwill re-
tail store just as flames emerged
from the trash bin.
We ran out with fire extin-
guishers but it was too late. . . .
The whole side started catching
on fire.
When the first firetrucks ar-
rived on the scene, they saw
heavy smoke and flames coming
from the back building area, Ker-
win said.
Billowing black smoke was vis-
ible for miles, according to wit-
nesses.
It was a tough fire to fight due
to the heat and the heavy fire,
Kerwin said. Bystanders and
By Chelsea Quackenbush
Tribune-Herald staff writer
More than 70 personnel
fight East Waco blaze;
buildings largely spared
See FIRE, Page 3A
MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2011 WACO TRIBUNE-HERALD 3A
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Results
socializing with employees
outside of the workplace,
and called him arrogant and
often intimidating to the em-
ployees in the Tax Office.
Skeen declined comment
for this story. But he was
interviewed in 2009 during
Kellys investigation and de-
nied or claimed not to recall
the incidents described in the
complaint.
Two former employees told
the Tribune-Herald that Kel-
lys criticisms of Skeen were
accurate.
Karen Cannard-Curtis, the
offices former executive di-
rector, said that when she
worked in the tax office in
the 1990s, Skeen would make
comments to his employees
stressing how dependent
their families were on their
paychecks.
Those were the kinds of
intimidating remarks youd
hear, Cannard-Curtis said,
adding that such statements
were fairly common.
Cannard-Curtis, whose sur-
name used to be Gaidusek,
complained to other county
officials about Skeen in 1995.
The complaint sparked a
grand jury investigation into
Skeens conduct, though no
action was taken against him.
Cannard-Curtis ran against
Skeen in a 1996 primary, and
was fired after Skeen won
re-election that same year.
Another former employee
who left the tax office more
recently, and declined to have
her name published for fear
of repercussions, said Skeen
routinely bullied his staff.
When he noticed an em-
ployee showed a weakness,
he would always get in their
face, she said. A lot of peo-
ple got pushed around.
Kelly said in his letter he
couldnt confirm Skeen had
made improper advances to-
ward his female employee,
who was less than half his
age.
Kelly explained that most
of the accusations against
Skeen involved comments
he made either in a whis-
per when (Skeen and the em-
ployee) were alone for a few
minutes or that were audible
but couldnt be confirmed by
other staffers.
Group hugs
But Kelly also looked into
the claim that Skeen initiated
group hugs at the office where
the young female staffer was
sandwiched in the middle,
facing Skeen.
Kelly ultimately recom-
mended Skeen stop group
hugs immediately and limit
after-hours get-togethers with
staff.
For instance, Kelly wrote
that Skeen said he did not
initiate hugs, though he did
accept them , and said he
didnt remember any group
hug with the female employ-
ee in the middle but said
the group may have hugged
him.
Skeen said at the time he
was careful to avoid compro-
mising positions and avoided
one-on-one encounters with
employees.
He said the woman who
filed the 2009 sexual harass-
ment claim had a crush on
him.
Skeen drew an analogy to
his previous job at Midway
ISD, telling Kelly that if he
were teaching school, this
would be what he would call
a schoolgirl crush.
The womans name was re-
dacted throughout the docu-
ment, but former employees
identified the woman.
Attempts to reach her by
phone and at her home were
unsuccessful and her for-
mer lawyer, Jon Ker, said he
didnt have her current con-
tact information .
Other allegations
Kelly was able to confirm
some of the womans allega-
tions and parts of others, in-
cluding that group hugs were
part of the tax office culture.
One employee said group
hugs happened frequently,
and you felt like you had to
participate in them, accord-
ing to Kellys letter.
Kellys letter also states
that several tax office employ-
ees confirmed that Skeen told
a group of employees that as
long as he held his office you
have to think of me as God.
Several employees in-
terviewed by Kelly also
noted that collections were
taken annually at the end
of the year in the office to
buy Skeen a combination
birthday-Christmas present,
according to the letter.
One employee told Kelly
that while the $10 donations
were voluntary, there was
pressure to give money.
Cannard-Curtis said the col-
lections were an office practice
when she worked for Skeen.
At one point, we started
just giving him cash, she
said, because Skeen didnt
like and returned a bomber
jacket the staff bought him.
On one Skeen birthday, in
November 2007, the former
tax office employee said there
was a more dramatic celebra-
tion for, or of, the boss.
On the morning of his 65th
birthday, Skeen closed his
Waco offices and, along with
staff members, watched a
PowerPoint presentation
chronicling his life.
It was a weird thing, she
said. He shut the doors for
about an hour for a eulogy on
himself.
Ongoing investigation
Skeen is under investiga-
tion by the Texas Rangers,
and a court document filed
by the law enforcement agen-
cy said the tax assessor-col-
lector admitted he avoided
paying $1,375 in sales taxes
on a truck purchased earlier
this year.
Rangers searched Skeens
office in mid-July, carting
out 31 boxes containing doc-
uments related to the collec-
tion of inventory taxes on car
dealers as well as real estate
records, personal checks and
love letters.
As of Friday, no one was
charged with a crime stem-
ming from the investigation.
Tribune-Herald staff writer
Tommy Witherspoon contrib-
uted to this story.
mshapiro@wacotrib.com
757-5707
SKEEN
From Page 1A
traffic were also a problem
initially.
Traffic stalled as the first
responders arrived on scene.
Eventually, Waco Drive from
Dallas to Clifton streets was
shut down.
The dock, which housed
clothing, seasonal items and
other donations, was a com-
plete loss.
The warehouse suffered mi-
nor fire damage and moder-
ate to major smoke and water
damage, Kerwin said.
Three trucks parked in
the back lot sustained minor
damage.
Stored propane tanks near
the loading dock were un-
harmed.
Employees unhurt
Goodwill employees and
shoppers escaped without in-
jury. One person was work-
ing in the warehouse at the
time of the fire.
Three firefighters were tak-
en to a local hospital for heat
exhaustion but are expected
to be OK, Kerwin said.
The Red Cross brought food
and drinks to firefighters
throughout the day. A city
bus provided an air-condi-
tioned break.
Kerwin said it was possible
that crews would remain at
the scene overnight.
The fire was 75 percent con-
tained at 3:30 p.m., Kerwin
said.
The East Waco location no
longer has the majority of the
donations, said Daniel Nisley,
president and chief executive
officer of the Heart of Texas
Goodwill Industries.
He was unsure what the
next steps would be to repair
the damages.
Goodwill personnel are
waiting to hear the fire mar-
shals report before making
any decisions, Nisley said.
Im just glad everyones
OK, thats the main thing, he
said. If thats all thats lost,
then were still OK.
cquackenbush@wacotrib.com
757-5745
FIRE
From Page 1A
35 miles north of the capital, was the
latest in a series of insurgent attacks
in what had been the quiet provinces
neighboring the capital.
It comes as U.S. military officials are
weighing where to withdraw the first of
10,000 troops that had been part of last
years surge.
Military commanders are thought to
be reluctant to withdraw troops from
more active battlefields like Kandahar
and Helmand provinces in the south,
for fear of losing some of the gains made
there, so quieter areas may see big troop
reductions, with the risk that the insur-
gents will take advantage of that, some
analysts worry.
In addition, Parwan is among the pos-
sible candidates for the second stage of
the transition from NATO to Afghan
control, scheduled for next month.
This will have no effect on transi-
tion, the governor insisted. All these
suicide attacks show the weakness of
the Taliban because they cannot fight
with us; this is the only way they have.
Parwan is still considered a peaceful
province.
Sundays attack involved six suicide
bombers, the first in a vehicle a Toy-
ota Corolla, as Salangi had predicted
that exploded outside the gates of the
governors compound.
Then, according to the account from
the governor and from local police offi-
cials, one of the attackers fired a rocket-
propelled grenade at the police post in
front of the gates, and the five surviving
attackers stormed into the compound.
They used automatic weapons, gre-
nade launchers and rockets to press
their attack, setting off their explosive-
filled vests when unable to fight fur-
ther.
Witnesses said the attackers managed
to reach the governors office in the sec-
ond building they came to, killing most
of their victims there.
But the governor was holding his
meeting in a third building, because it
had the only room large enough, and
they never reached that one.
It was at least the third assassination
attempt on Salangi by the insurgents.
The Parwan deputy police chief, Zia-
u-Rahman Sayedkhili, was in the sec-
ond building when the blast knocked
him down, but he survived the attack-
ers because tables had been blown on
top of him, protecting him, he said.
AFGHAN
From Page 1A
and economic conservatives
have sat on the sidelines in
the early months of the race,
waiting for an alternative to
former Massachusetts Gov.
Mitt Romney. Support for
Romney, positioning himself
as the Republican most asso-
ciated with job creation, has
been muted in some parts of
the GOP primary electorate.
Perry was mobbed by doz-
ens of reporters for his first
appearance as a candidate in
the leadoff caucus state.
It was a sharp contrast to
another part of the room,
where presidential hope-
ful Rick Santorum, a former
Pennsylvania senator, moved
through the crowd with less
commotion.
Perry struggled to move
from table to table.
Its going to be a big time,
Perry told Cedar Falls Repub-
lican Jeanie Balthazor.
In the 24 hours between
Perrys announcement in
Charleston, S.C., and his ar-
rival in Iowa, the ground had
shifted profoundly.
Bachmann, a Minnesota
congresswoman, beat her
home-state rival Tim Pawlen-
ty by more than 2-to-1 in the
Iowa straw poll, an early test
of caucus campaign strength.
Pawlenty, a former two-term
Minnesota governor, had
put all his chips on a strong
showing in the poll.
But his distant third-
place finish, behind Texas
Rep. Ron Paul, prompted
Pawlenty to quit the race
Sunday morning.
Bachmann, on the other
hand, rose sharply to the top
of Iowa polls since launching
her campaign in June, and
made an aggressive push for
straw poll support with evan-
gelical pastors and Christian
home-school backers.
Bachmann waited on her
campaign bus in the ball-
room parking lot while Perry
spoke at the fundraiser, and
entered the hall to her trade-
mark introduction theme,
Elvis Presleys version of
Promised Land.
A vocal opponent of the
deal reached in Congress to
raise the national debt ceil-
ing, Bachmann sought to
broaden her appeal to include
budget hawks, and noted her
tea party backing to proj-
ect herself as appealing to a
range of voters.
Its a movement coming
together. Its a movement of
social conservatives, a move-
ment of fiscal conservatives,
particularly on the debt ceil-
ing issue, she said.
IOWA
From Page 1A
Dad showed me how to be the man I am today. Now I am showing him how
much I appreciate it. Tats why he is moving to Stoney Brook of Hewitt.
Joe, son of a resident

My frst baseball glove, a day
at Baylor Stadium and showing
me how to hit it out of the
park. You took me by the hand
and were a great father.
You are the heroes in our lives.
151 Royal Lane
Hewitt, TX 76643
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introduction to Stoney Brook.
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