MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In Monday’s Ransom Note: government doing its job.
We don't hesitate to be critical of governments when they deserve it, and I'm okay with that. We're supposed to be the government's watchdog. But when government does the right thing --with full transparency-- that also deserves to be called out. Monday, that's the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT).
Late last week, when we first asked ARDOT if pictures we obtained of the I-40 bridge showing the crack was there for at least two annual inspections without being reported, the agency quickly verified the pictures were legit and promised to look into it. Monday, that employee was fired, no excuses. ARDOT Director Lorie Tudor went before the cameras to call it a total failure.
“We are not stopping right here at this one employee, we are making sure it's not any kind of systemic or there is some other negligence involved. We are in the process of referring this matter to the proper federal authorities for their determination if further investigation, criminal or otherwise, is warranted,” said Tudor.
So there you go. We screwed up. We fired the worker responsible and are looking into whether more might be. We're handing this over to the feds to investigate. You can't ask for more than that.
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