Thursday, August 22, 2013

Why did Scott Ott resign his job in April of 1995?

  On April 4 of 1995, Scott Ott resigned his job as a Part time School bus driver in the North Kansas City School district. On April 14th, at an executive session of the school board, he was given his job back. At the time, Scott Ott was the "Pastor" of the Siloam Springs Baptist Church in  Excelsior Springs Missouri, located in the 400 block of Benton Avenue in Excelsior Springs.
    According to transcripts at the Midwest Bible College in Kansas City, Scott Ott only accumulated 57 0f the 81 credits needed to earn a degree in Divinity. I spoke to a gentleman by the name of Earl McElwee, who is presently the pastor of that church. He told me that Scott Ott was well liked by the parishioners, and that they were sorry to see him go. I interviewed three people who were working as Employees at the North Kansas City School district at the time  of his resignation/reinstatement, and what they told me about him and his attitude at the time gave me pause. So before I write something that could be, for all intents and purposes, taken out of context, I would like to give Mr. Ott a chance to give his side of the story. Why did he resign, and under what circumstances did he ask for reinstatement? What really happened? Mr Ott has not even mentioned on his resume that he was a pastor of a church. Mr. McElwee explained to me that you don't need to be an ordained minister to be a pastor as a Baptist, if the congregation accepts you.
       Mr. McElwee also told me that Scott told them the reason he was leaving was that he was homesick.
   
   This is relevant because Mr Ott wants to run Lehigh County. In my opinion he bailed out on a church in a dying small town, and acts like it never happened. It isn't even on his resume. So what were the circumstances? I ask this because he moved from Excelsior Springs with his wife to an address in Independence Missouri after leaving Excelsior Springs, and for the first time, registered to vote in 2000. He didn't go back to Pennsylvania, he just moved to another county. A check of state voter records shows that Scott Ott lived in Missouri from 1993 to 2001, but only registered to vote once, in the 2000 November election. That vote was cast as being registered from an address in the 9500 block of Winner Street in Independence MO. I asked the Election office in Liberty Missouri to check his name against all records statewide, and that is all they had. Once again, much like Mr. Ott's many addresses in PA, the Winner Street address appears to be a short term rental.
     Who is Scott Ott, and why doesn't he want to own property? These are fair questions. maybe Mr. Ott has a good explanation. Here is a chance to give it.
   And before anyone starts ranting incoherently, let it be known that I spent three days IN the KC area interviewing former coworkers of Scott Ott and checking his employment records. I even visited the offices of the Excelsior Springs Standard, and talked to a 80 something young women who has worked and lived in Excelsior Springs all her life, including more than 60 years at the newspaper.
   She pointed me to several people in town to Interview concerning Mr. Ott's time there, including Mr. McElwee. I believe my sources are telling me the truth, but before I post their version, I want Mr. Ott's side. Excelsior Springs is a beautiful little   town, but it is on the decline.  I just want to know why he stopped trying to achieve his Divinity degree, and why he bailed on Siloam Springs Baptist Church. If he bailed on them because things got to tough, how can we be sure he won't bail on Lehigh County when it gets rough here? People gave Don Cunningham hell for walking away, will they be just as tough on Scott Ott?
    







7 comments:

  1. chris, congratulations on your improved eyesight, but i have to question your insight on this post. why someone resigned from a job 18 years ago has no current relevance. if this is the best that opposition research can come up with against ott, they had better tried another tactic.

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  2. Mike, honestly, if the topic was Ed Pawlowski, you would be all over it. Mr. Ott has a habit of cutting and running when things don't go all that well, As you will soon learn.

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  3. chris, in all respect, there's something wrong about an eighteen year old story. and, i wouldn't be "all over something" about pawlowski. although i'm critical of numerous city policies that he implemented, i never have criticized his character or integrity. on the contrary, i have defended him against such accusations, or at least made clear that my criticism is limited to policies. back to ott, it is not my mission to defend him. if others want to probe a resignation almost 20 years ago, you have provided a starting point.

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  4. Your vision may be clearer but your writing is as myopic as ever.

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  5. Great article. Enjoyed it very much. Was 0-bama still riding around in the Choom Wagon back in 1995?

    PRE-PROGRAMMED RETHUGLICAN ROBOT

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  6. Mike I think you're reaching a conclusion without hearing the story. I'm curious.

    And this is a conservative talking.

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I welcome comments from real people, not robots. (Though I admit that with some extremists who have been programmed, you can't tell)