Former lottery director hit a kind of jackpot

In reading the AP story, I visualized a beautiful woman on television pulling balls out of a tube. First a "K," then an "e" followed by an "l-l-e-r." Then multi-colored flashing lights and loud bells with a voice yelling "winner, winner, winner, winner." Are w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Bismarck tribune
Main Author Irby, John
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Bismarck, ND Bismarck Tribune 22.06.2008
Subjects
Keller, Chuck
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Summary:In reading the AP story, I visualized a beautiful woman on television pulling balls out of a tube. First a "K," then an "e" followed by an "l-l-e-r." Then multi-colored flashing lights and loud bells with a voice yelling "winner, winner, winner, winner." Are we expected to believe that from Day 1 until April 2008 [Chuck Keller] was so busy "building" the lottery and meeting deadlines that he couldn't take vacation time, only comp time? How does a person get credit for overtime when they don't qualify for overtime? How does unauthorized overtime translate into unused vacation time? Did anyone other than Keller keep track of the extra time worked year over year, and sign off on it at the end of each year as OK to carry over? Or did Keller receive the payout through a negotiated settlement when he retired after informing the state he had several months of vacation coming? There are many questions surrounding last week's revelation - and some things don't seem right. A review with change seems appropriate. But it probably won't happen. It will be explained as a blip that won't likely appear on the screen again, even though it's not a new blip. And all government divisions like to keep their options open for "extraordinary situations," however they are defined.