Angry. Shocked. Violated. Glad.

Drumore Township residents used those words as they reacted to the latest scandal to rock the largely rural township.

They are not surprised at the allegations of wrongdoing. They are shocked, however, at how many dollars are apparently involved.

Several said they hope the ordeal has delivered township leaders and employees a much-needed wake-up call.

"I'm angry and I'm hurt," said township resident Judy O'Brien.

"We trusted they were looking out for our best interest and doing what was right for the township. That trust has been violated."

Independent audit findings recently made public allege six unnamed former Drumore Township employees benefited from the misappropriation of funds from 2000 to 2006 that ultimately cost the township over $466,000.

One of the employees allegedly orchestrated the scheme, according to Mark Morgan of Zelenkofske Axelrod LLC, which performed the audit.

Over $303,000 of public money was used to pay personal credit-card debt, give relatives money, invest in a personal retirement account and purchase clothing, a printer, computer, software and a Palm Pilot, said township solicitor Kim Carter Paterson.

The allegedly misappropriated funds were also used to buy more than 100 gallons of bottled water a month and to install and maintain a security system at an unknown site, she said.

The audit cost Drumore Township $90,000 and the municipality lost over $73,000 in potential interest, Paterson said.

Some residents think they know the main person fingered by the audit. But they are surprised by the huge sum of dollars allegedly taken.

"I'm very shocked," said Jim Wingler, who ran unsuccessfully for Drumore supervisor in 2005. "It is a wake-up call the township needed."

The 10th largest township in Lancaster County, totaling 25.5 square miles, the municipality has only about 2,300 residents. Just one township, Eden, has fewer.

But Drumore has had more than its share of scandal.

The latest allegations involve the years 2000 to 2006 but do not include results of a state road funds audit for the years 2003-2005, which Paterson said are not yet available.

A former supervisor, Harold "Greg" Long, is in prison because of a misappropriation of $196,000 of state road funds from 2000 to 2002.

Residents Tom Consylman and April Ennis-Pierson were among the candidates to replace Long as supervisor after his resignation in 2004.

Consylman blasted former township leaders as "good 'ole boys" who allowed questionable activity to go on for years.

One example: O'Brien and resident Frank Weigand said former supervisors signed blank checks at a public meeting and gave them to former township secretary/treasurer Anna Morris to later fill in the amounts.

One resident protested but was ignored, O'Brien said.

"I hope this shows people we need to do things the proper way so this doesn't happen again," she said.

"I'm glad it is finally getting exposed," Consylman added.

He and Ennis-Pierson wonder how the township will recover financially.

"There is not a lot of money in our municipality, so it does put a strain on our community," Ennis-Pierson said.

She suggested that when authorities hand out punishment, they "should make an example" of the alleged wrongdoer.

O'Brien said that "everybody knows everybody" in Drumore Township and that worsens the situation, since those allegedly involved are residents' friends and acquaintances. But that shouldn't trump accountability, she added.

"I can hold someone accountable and still care about them," she said.

Rep. Bryan Cutler (R-Peach Bottom), a former member of the Drumore Township Planning Commission, applauded the current board of supervisors for turning over the investigation of alleged criminal misappropriations to the district attorney's office.

The alleged perpetrators have "taken right from the pockets of every single taxpayer in Drumore Township," he said in a press release.

In adjoining East Drumore Township, supervisor Merrill Carter said he was "shocked beyond words" at the audit findings.

He attacked the notion small governments in rural townships don't work well, saying East Drumore handles funds much better than county or state government.

Supervisors should know about all checks that come before them for approval and if they don't, they should raise questions, Carter said.

Drumore Township's alleged misappropriation of funds personally upset state Sen. Gibson E. Armstrong.

In 2002, he helped foster a deal between PennDOT and Drumore regarding a bridge the township had apparently replaced improperly.

The agreement saved Drumore tens of thousands of dollars at the same time larger sums were allegedly being taken.

"I am upset," Armstrong said. "I went to bat for (Drumore)."

Weigand said his "complete loss of faith in the township" fits his general mistrust of all elected officials after the 2005 pay raise vote by state legislators.

He hopes the new Drumore supervisors, with time, will regain his trust.

"It will have to be earned," Weigand said.

CONTACT US: rrobinson@LNPnews.com or 481-6032