Murdered man's stepmother reports 'unprofessional conduct'
At recreation department
By Diana Royal True Citizen Staff Writer

Daisy Harley, the stepmother of Steven Harley of Jenkins County, met with the Burke County Recreation Commission Wednesday, June 13, to report "unprofessional conduct" by a Burke County Recreation Department employee.

Steven Harley was murdered in April 2006. During the trial of one of his accused murderers, recreation department employee Corey Dent was called as a witness and testified under oath to having had sexual relations with Mr. Harley's wife, Tracy. Tracy Harley pleaded guilty to the murder in March of this year, and her lover Ricardo Orlando Walker was found guilty of the murder last month.

The commission voted immediately to go into closed session with Daisy Harley and emerged 25 minutes later only to continue with its meeting, making no public comments about the discussion. Present during that meeting were commissioners Alphonso Andrews, Wayne Crockett and Henry Tinley, Burke County Recreation Department Director Rolene Rowell, Daisy Harley and two other members of the Harley family.

While he could not discuss the specifics of the meeting, county administrator Merv Waldrop did say Daisy Harley wanted the commissioners to be aware of the employee's actions. He said the commissioners are "concerned" and want to look into the matter further but want all commissioners, including the new one from District 1, to be involved.

While Daisy Harley did not wish to comment on the nature of her meeting with the commissioners, Waldrop said she did not ask the commission to fire Dent and merely wanted them to "know what was going on."

Rowell also said she did not wish to comment at the present time, as the commissioners have made no decisions on the matter nor had they heard both sides. She did say, however, that Daisy Harley was "nice" during the meeting, which she felt was conducted "professionally."