Snowplow driver says he’s been fired for good deed
BENNINGTON — The snowplow driver who used state equipment to clear the private driveway of a heart patient says he has been fired by the state Roads Department.
Chuck Odom, who had worked 30-plus years for the state, said he was told Monday that his good deed on March 2 led to his firing.
A call Thursday seeking comment from the Roads Department was not immediately returned.
Department policies bar use of state equipment on private property.
Chuck Odom’s wife, Sharon, said the termination letter her husband received listed several reasons. She said she would not share them because she and her husband wanted to talk to a lawyer first.
Sharon Odom did say the letter mentioned that her husband had talked to a reporter despite his agreement in writing not to discuss the incident during the state investigation.
After the March 1 blizzard, Odom answered a call from rural Bennington resident Alice Howard, whose husband was a heart patient.
Bob Howard was experiencing some pain. The Howards didn’t think it was an emergency, but he was worried about getting to his scheduled doctor’s appointment in Omaha.
Their quarter-mile-long driveway was filled with snow, and drifts kept them from reaching the snow blower in their garage.
The couple’s friends and the private snowplow operators she called March 2 were so busy they couldn’t help either.
So a friend recommended Odom, whom she didn’t know.
Odom soon arrived with a plow. When that plow stuck in a drift, Odom called in another plow, then someone with a loader to finish clearing the driveway.
The Howards arrived late for the doctor’s appointment but in time for Bob Howard to be seen.
Chuck Odom, who had worked 30-plus years for the state, said he was told Monday that his good deed on March 2 led to his firing.
A call Thursday seeking comment from the Roads Department was not immediately returned.
Department policies bar use of state equipment on private property.
Chuck Odom’s wife, Sharon, said the termination letter her husband received listed several reasons. She said she would not share them because she and her husband wanted to talk to a lawyer first.
Sharon Odom did say the letter mentioned that her husband had talked to a reporter despite his agreement in writing not to discuss the incident during the state investigation.
After the March 1 blizzard, Odom answered a call from rural Bennington resident Alice Howard, whose husband was a heart patient.
Bob Howard was experiencing some pain. The Howards didn’t think it was an emergency, but he was worried about getting to his scheduled doctor’s appointment in Omaha.
Their quarter-mile-long driveway was filled with snow, and drifts kept them from reaching the snow blower in their garage.
The couple’s friends and the private snowplow operators she called March 2 were so busy they couldn’t help either.
So a friend recommended Odom, whom she didn’t know.
Odom soon arrived with a plow. When that plow stuck in a drift, Odom called in another plow, then someone with a loader to finish clearing the driveway.
The Howards arrived late for the doctor’s appointment but in time for Bob Howard to be seen.
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