PETA, You've Been Lied To—Animal Shelter Manager Fired For Exposing Harmful Shelter Conditions

Note: Please watch this accurate and moving Youtube video a volunteer created about Courtney's work at the PCAS and her love for the animals there. It will inspire you!

My daughter was fired from her job as manager of the Preston County Animal Shelter tonight, after commissioners got into a tizzy over her use of social media to find homes for abused and abandoned animals. And even with 20 years of journalism experience behind me, I could only sit there and watch it happen. I was powerless to stop it.

I began covering Preston County Commission meetings in 1988, when I was a cub reporter. In all those years, I've never seen someone so blatantly lie to the public as happened tonight. Of course, it was never personal for me before tonight. And rarely have I been in possession of so many of the facts I have now, that back up a county employee's accusations against a corrupt county commission.
There is simply no way around it, so I'm going to be blunt. Commission President Craig Jennings—speaking for all three commissioners and, no doubt, the commission administrator—lied to PETA and Preston County residents tonight. He did this when he said the commission never asked Courtney Austin to turn over her Facebook passwords to the commission.
 
Courtney is a county employee who also happens to be my daughter. Jennings accused Courtney of lying. So I'm sure you can understand why, as a mother, I'm incensed.
 
Jennings also lied to a representative from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who called to inquire about Courtney's claims. He told us so tonight, while saying he told the PETA person it wasn't true the shelter had no heat or water.
 

Because I'm angry and saddened at the incredible corruption I observed firsthand, I'm hoping you'll help me help the video about Courtney's amazing work to go viral. (Since there's no better revenge than the truth!) It's a homemade video, but my hat's off to whoever made it. Not only does it pack a big punch, it will truly inspire you.
 

I know Jennings lied tonight, because I've seen the evidence, proving the commission did demand she turn over her passwords. It's the same evidence Courtney's sister, Cassandra Harvey, has seen and which she referred to in a WBOY piece earlier yesterday.

The commission did just that after Courtney—seeking public support for more than 100 animals housed at the shelter—took to social media to find the help "her" animals needed. (Courtney, true animal lover that she is, thinks all the animals there are hers.)
 

"We feel that we . . . have had a fraud perpetrated on us, that knowingly and willingly Ms. Austin has allowed false accusations against other county employees, that friends and family have been misled to believe that there were no water or heat at the shelter, and that we were trying to get personal information at no time we ever wanted that . . ." thus began the long statement Jennings issued to a room packed full of people who showed up to support Courtney. (Yes, those are his words, verbatim.)
 

People who braved bad roads and waited outside in heavy snowfall or inside, squeezed together tighter than a pair of Spanx, heard Jennings' lies for themselves. Many of them spoke up as he spoke, voicing comments that indicated they were animal volunteers who had seen the shelter conditions firsthand.
 

Others, like Carol Krusey, who traveled more than two hours from Pittsburgh to support Courtney, directly disputed Jennings' comments. Krusey said she had transported animals just recently for the PCAS and "there was no heat. It was so cold in there I could see my breath." Krusey's calm yet determined comments caused Jennings to interrupt her. Yet Krusey stood her ground, maintaining that Courtney has not lied about the heat and water problems.
 

If you have any doubt of that, all you need to do is watch Krista Baker's great piece on the shelter. WBOY aired it on Jan. 27, and in that segment, Baker herself lends fuel to Courtney's claim when Baker says it's quite cold outside, and barely any warmer inside—where "the temperature doesn't go up by much."
 

I'm not going to go into much more about the commission meeting here—but since it was a public meeting, that means that every word spoken there tonight is on record and anyone can hear it for themselves, simply by getting a copy of the recording or the minutes. (Many of Courtney's supporters, like me, also taped it.)

What I will say is that I'm very disappointed in the commission. I've known Commissioner Dave Price and County Administrator Kathy Mace since 1988, when we all worked together in the media. I've known Commissioner Vicki Cole almost as long. Jennings, I've only met recently. But I've heard enough to make me wary. Very wary!
 

So after commenting myself, and listening to all the comments of other people at the meeting, I can only say that it felt like they had their minds made up before the sun rose today. Because after hearing what every single person said about Courtney's miraculous efforts at the shelter, turning it in one year from a kill shelter to one that hasn't killed any adoptable animals, the only logical thing the commission could have done was apologized and immediately rescinded their action. The public in attendance tonight gave them every opportunity to do so. But apparently, the commissioners don't care one whit what the taxpaying public wants.
 

And I'm not sure, but it's also certainly possible the commissioners' decision to fire Courtney tonight was illegal. I objected twice, asking why the commission wasn't listening to the public's comments before they took a vote. (Nor did they advertise the fact they were meeting with Courtney prior to the meeting. Jennings noted at one point that it was "an emergency meeting." However, in my reporting experience, emergency meetings aren't those planned three days in advance—like this one was.) Regardless, Jennings told me they didn't have to listen to the comments before they voted.
 

Personally, I think the commission just did my daughter a big favor. Now she has time to come and join me for that matinee we've been trying to take in for the last year. And she can spend time with her husband and his son, and catch up on the newest John Grisham books she's sure to have missed while working 65-75 hours a week since she began in Sept. 2010.
 

But this is wrong on so many levels. And not just in the sense that Courtney was wrongfully terminated. Many people have posted publicly on the "Help Support Courtney Austin" Facebook page, saying this sounds like a whistleblower case, if they've ever heard one. They've also shared links to articles from the New York Times, citing laws and recent legal cases involving an employee's use of social media in the workplace. Those cases sound identical to this one.
 

And since Courtney now has an attorney by her side, along with a growing list of supporters from around the world, we should know whether they are soon enough.
 

In the meantime, you might learn a little more from Baker's interview with me tonight. Here's hoping WBOY-TV posts that video soon. Because there's nothing to boost ratings like hearing from a mother whose child has been wronged.

 
Editor’s note: Berry would love it if you would please support Courtney and her efforts to save more than 100 animals still housed at the shelter during what's turning into a very bad winter here. You can sign the petition asking for her reinstatement, send her a friend request or give her a high five, or like the "Help Support Courtney Austin" page, along with a growing number of people around the world.

 
Berry is the executive director of Samantha's Sanctuary, Inc., a new 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to helping empower abused women and their children. She invites you to join her when she takes to the stage in “Knowing Who We Are,” part of Penn State’s University’s Cultural Conversations 2013. Berry will present a soliloquy of her memoir about rape, Sister of Silence, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2013, at The Penn State Downtown Theater Center on Allen Street.

Berry is the first recipient of the Pearl Buck Award in Writing for Social Change. Berry speaks about overcoming abuse through awareness, empowerment and goal attainment at conferences around the country.

Her memoir (paperback and as an e-book) can be found at bookstores everywhere, or ordered online. To read the first chapter free, please go to Goodreads. Check out the five-star review from ForeWord Reviews. Or find out why Kirkus Reviews called Berry “an engaging writer, her style fluid and easy to read, with welcome touches of humor and sustained tension throughout.” To read her award-winning memoir, Sister of Silence, in e-book format (or any other e-book), download a free app from Amazon for your phone, tablet or computer.

If you want to read more than 100 reviews, go to Amazon. To view the Sister of Silence book trailer, go to her VintageBerryWine Youtube channel.