The Devil and Kelse Lester

[XLFD]

"The Devil and Daniel Webster" is a short story written in 1936 by Stephen Vincent Benét centering on a farmer who sells his soul to the devil and is defended when his payment is due by famous 19th-century American attorney and statesman Daniel Webster.  In 2021's revised edition, we find that Scottville City Hall has sold its collective soul to the devil, and not even the marginal legal skills of their new city attorney will save them from the continued degeneracy of the city's mercenary officials headlined this time by the City Clerk Kelse Lester and her recent devolution into violence and unapologetic child endangerment.  

On Wednesday, April 21, Clerk Kelse Lester (above) went to her job at Scottville City Hall and did whatever she does there to collect a paycheck until about 2:30 PM.  According to her, she left work at about this time to figure out where her son was.  She had child custody issues with the boy's father at the time, and he apparently had picked his son up, who was allegedly staying at her home from school because he was sick.  

Clerk Kelse Lester (likely still on the clock) verbally sparred with the father on the phone then traveled out to his residence, entered the house without being given consent, according to her account.  When she could find nobody there she went next door to a salon ran by a woman named Amanda who Clerk Kelse Lester suspected was harboring the fugitives.  

In the police report made by Deputy Dave Barnett, the three versions of the story by the two women involved and the salon's client are very similar after this point, with differences occurring only because of their sensory perspectives.  Clerk Kelse Lester looked into the window and saw Amanda on the phone, Amanda was inside with a client and the client's two young children.  Clerk Kelse Lester yelled at Amanda from outside and tried the various doors finding them locked,

Amanda had apparently dealt with Clerk Kelse Lester before and had felt threatened by her and what she might do.  After all, most folks around Scottville understand that city officials are robbing them at will under the unwatchful eyes of Police Chief Matt Murphy who served as acting city manager for 6 months, including the day this happened.  Clerk Kelse Lester is on record as claiming 8 hours of overtime for attending a 3/4 hour meeting and writing the minutes of that meeting.  

Frustrated, Clerk Kelse Lester grabbed a softball-sized rock from the yard and hurled it through the window next to the front door, shattering it.  Some of the broken glass fell onto the two young children present on a chair immediately under this main window.  Thankfully, they were uninjured by the glass and the rock apparently fell outside of the house. 

Not even Clerk Kelse Lester could justify that move, not even 5 days after this event happened, which was the first time she spoke to the law regarding this violent encounter.  It may be hard to understand why county deputies waited on Clerk Kelse Lester to get back with them five days later, when they could have just dropped by the city hall Thursday, Friday, or even Monday morning to get a statement on her potential violent  misdemeanor offenses, if they didn't feel like going all the way out to her home, far away from the city limits.  

In her own words on the phone after she was calmed down five days later, Clerk Kelse Lester remembers telling Amanda that Clerk Kelse Lester does not "give a fuck" about Amanda or her kids, then grabs a big rock and throws it at a window that kids were sitting under.  One would think that if Clerk Kelse Lester had tried the front door, she would have noticed the kids either through the window or by their voices, as it is unlikely they would have been totally quiet throughout this event.

Clerk Kelse Lester, perhaps realizing that her psychotic episode had went too far, then drives off, never to be heard from again until five days later, likely calling the deputy while she was on the clock-- remember this is the same person who claims and receives tons of overtime for work that isn't authorized  as overtime work according to Scottville policy manuals. 

The police chief she served under signs those fraudulent documents, allowing her to break the law and gain money she isn't qualified to get.  Why would he care if she goes a little psycho and breaks a couple of more laws:  malicious destruction of property and reckless endangerment of children?  His former peers at the sheriff's department will give him some added slack to protect Clerk Kelse Lester and preserve the fraudulent idea that there is nothing to see here at Scottville City Hall.  

The end result.  A fearful salon owner who had her window broken declines to press charges of MDOP, a client who saw Clerk Kelse Lester pick up a softball-sized rock and throw it in the direction of her kids, breaking a window and showering them with glass shards, sees Prosecutor Lambrix decline to press any sort of child endangerment charge against Clerk Kelse Lester.  

Clerk Kelse Lester once again sees that she can break the law without suffering any repercussions, just like everybody else serving as an official in Scottville-- except the former city manager, Courtney Magaluk, fired for coming too close for other people's comfort in missing a deadline.  The totally lawless behavior at city hall since her departure shows what side she was on.

See the full police report here

[Willy]

I  don't know what's going on between Kelse Lester and her husband but It doesn't look good to outside observers. I bet there are lots of crazy things going on at Scottville City Hall and it appears that another vacancy may soon appear if the Commissioners follow their own precedent for the way they handle employees. To bad kids are caught in the middle of bad adult behavior. I wonder what the MCP had to say about this incident, if they responded at all.

[XLFD]

I sent the police report and framed the events in a more summarized version for every member of the Scottville City Clowncil, the new city manager, and Kelsi herself last night.  Which means that Clowncilor Rob Alway could have scooped me on this story had he wanted to since he had the basics 13 hours prior to my article's publication.

Rob Alway not only didn't write anything about it, he didn't show up at tonight's two meetings, neither did the normal secretary of the meeting, Clerk Kelse Lester.  That was probably for the best, he was probably f-bombed out from the last meeting.