One officer fired, another demoted:
One Marietta police officer was fired and another demoted as a result of an administrative investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior.
Police officer Joe Hilverding was terminated, and Ed Wright's rank was reduced from sergeant to patrolman, according to Marietta safety-service director Chad Presley.
Both men had been implicated in a sex scandal that also cost a city firefighter his job and led a Washington County sheriff's deputy to resign.
The woman at the center of the case today waived her right to a preliminary hearing on three felony drug trafficking charges.
The case against Crystle L. Phillips, 27, of Marietta, will now be presented to a future grand jury for possible indictment.
Hilverding, Wright and Firefighter John Brooks were placed on administrative leave June 5 after allegations of inappropriate conduct against them surfaced in a sheriff's office investigation involving Phillips. Sgt. Robert Eddy, the deputy implicated in the scandal, resigned when questioned about the issue.
Brooks was terminated Friday after a city investigation revealed he took nude photographs of Phillips at the fire station and had sex with her while on duty.
TORNADO, FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT:
Washington and Morgan counties are under tornado and flash flood watches until this evening, according to the National Weather Service.
Marc Pellerito, a meteorologist with the weather service in Charleston, W.Va., said the watches mean conditions could produce tornadoes or flash floods.
"We're kind of waiting and seeing when things are actually going to blow up," he said. "Things are teetering... nothing could happen or everything could happen."
Pellerito said a strong warm front went through the area this morning, followed by a cold front this evening. There is also a lot of shear - wind going in different directions at different elevations - which could lead to the type of rotation that produces tornadoes, he said.
Any flash flooding likely would not be widespread, Pellerito said, only happening in areas where a lot of rain fell.
BANKS REPAYING TARP FUNDS:
WASHINGTON (AP) - Ten large U.S. banks will finish repaying about $68 billion in bailout money Wednesday, marking a new phase for the most visible government effort to relieve the credit crisis, the Treasury Department said.
Treasury said last week the banks could begin repaying money they received last fall under the $700 billion financial system bailout known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. The program was the centerpiece of the government effort to relieve a global credit crunch and teetering financial markets in October.
The banks have since been negotiating with Treasury over the prices of stock warrants they issued as part of the TARP deal. When Treasury made its initial investments, it received the warrants, which give it the opportunity to buy the banks' common shares in the future at a fixed price. The value of the warrants would depend on the shares' future performance.
The pricing of warrants has been a point of contention, slowing the repayment process. Banks want to pay less to tear up the warrants than Treasury says they're worth. But until banks have bought back the warrants, the banks will remain tied to the federal program. Several banks said they had told Treasury they wished to buy the warrants, officially starting the negotiation process.
TARP became a flashpoint for critics of government intervention last fall, when Congress debated whether to commit $700 billion of taxpayer money to the effort.
