Councilman files restraining order against city clerk
by Kootenai Valley Record
November 20, 2009
Libby City Councilman D.C. Orr has filed a restraining order against City Clerk Glena Hook, alleging "harassment and intimidation" that is interfering with his ability to discharge his official duties.
A temporary order of protection was issued in justice court last Thursday and will remain in effect pending a hearing scheduled for Dec. 2. The order requires Hook to remain at least 1,500 feet from Orr.
In his application for the order, Orr said Hook’s "erratic behavior" began at a Wednesday morning council meeting last March, when she was "loud and abusive" toward him regarding his response to an e-mail from an applicant for a city council vacancy who had been rejected for missing a deadline. Mayor Doug Roll was not present at the meeting but gave Hook "implicit permission" to confront Orr on the issue, Orr claims.
Orr alleges that Hook has become increasingly "unstable and volatile" toward him in recent weeks. He said she has an "irrational fear" of him, which she discussed in a meeting with members of the council’s personnel committee and which led her to ask Roll to seat her farther away from Orr at council meetings.
"The recent escalation in frequency and force compel me to protect myself," Orr wrote in his application for the restraining order.
Roll – called "a coward who refuses to deal with this situation" in Orr’s application – said it’s Hook who has been harassed and intimidated by Orr.
"He’s turned it around," Roll said.
The difficulties between Orr and Hook have been an issue "for five or six months," Roll said.
Roll said he is consulting with the city attorney on how to deal with the matter.
Orr was appointed to the council last December to fill a vacancy and earlier this month was elected to serve the two years remaining on that term.
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Editor’s Note: See the November 17, 2009 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Tuesdays, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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