Boswell, Cobler dispute bubbles up at work session

By By Steve Gillespie / staff writer
Feb. 13, 2004
Lauderdale County Coroner Clayton Cobler and District 5 Supervisor Ray Boswell clashed at the supervisor's work session on Thursday after Cobler told the board he wanted to appoint two deputies.
Cobler wants Johnny Williamson and Dale Stampley to serve as deputy medical examiner investigators for Lauderdale County.
The coroner receives $85 for each call. Cobler said he wants the deputies to relieve him on weekends.
Cobler said Williamson and Stampley have both completed a 40-hour death investigation course and are certified by the State Medical Examiner's Office.
Both Williamson and Stampley are employees of Metro Ambulance, of which Cobler is director, and Boswell has said in the past that he considers Cobler's role as coroner and director of Metro Ambulance a conflict of interest.
Although Boswell said his criticism was not personal, he said he considers holding both positions unethical.
Metro Ambulance is a self-supported service governed by an ambulance district originally made up of Lauderdale County and the city of Meridian, but Meridian is no longer part of the ambulance district. Metro Ambulance has an advisory board and is run by its director.
Cobler said he sought an opinion from Rick Barry, board of supervisors attorney, as to whether he thought there would be a conflict of interest between the two positions before he ran for the office. Cobler, who was elected last year, also served as deputy coroner for many years while working with Metro Ambulance.
Opinions on the issue also have been obtained by the state attorney general's office and state ethics commission, and Cobler explained to Boswell in a previous work session that he is not paid for his Metro Ambulance work when he is in service as coroner. He said the same would apply to Williamson and Stampley.