Public Health Director Asante Shipp-Hilts Sumbits Resignation, Effective in New Year

Following weeks of Board scrutiny over her role in now-suspended Personnel Director Cassandra Ethington's "reign of terror" in county government, the Schoharie News has learned that Public Health Director Asante Shipp-Hilts has submitted her resignation to the Board of Supervisors, effective January 2nd, 2014.

According to numerous sources within county government, both on and off the record, Ms. Shipp-Hilts submitted her resignation via email Tuesday night to members of the Board and Supervisors and asked that they refrain from dispersing the information until she had an opportunity to address members of the Health Department last Thursday.

Ms. Shipp-Hilts, who is highly regarded as an intelligent young professional, was first hired into the county Health Department in May of 2011 by Mrs. Ethington as the Epidemiology Coordinator and would serve under the suspended Personnel Director as her supervisor in the department until early 2012. 

She assumed the role of Public Health Director only after lawsuits were initialized against Mrs. Ethington for the then questionable layoffs of department employees Penny Grimes and Eva Gigandet, which the Fitzmaurice Report found to be personally motivated on Ethington's part and the Board has since received a motion to reinstate the two employees.

Board of Health President Betsy Bernocco recently addressed the Board of Supervisors in reading a resolution signed by a majority of the Board of Health in support of Ms. Shipp-Hilts, stating that they had "total confidence... in the abilities of our Public Health Director," but the sentiment of numerous Supervisors was expressed when Schoharie Supervisor Gene Milone simply asked if Bernocco had read the contents of the recently finished report.

There is no immediate front-runner to assume her position atop the embattled Health Department, which she will be spend her last month out of the office by using saved vacation and personal time, but if the Board's decision to appoint Charity Bender to temporarily oversee the Personnel Department is any indication, they may start their search for the county's next Public Health Director by looking outside of the department.