Reporters have been circling Circuit Judge Willard Proctor’s court today in response to hot rumors that developments were imminent in investigations related to the judge’s operation of a highly criticized probation program he set up apart from the state probation system. His fee collection was criticized by state auditors and unorthodox requirements for probationers — health screenings, for example — have been cited by others. He fired one employee who claimed health prevented her from attending a required out-of-state retreat he scheduled for staff in Texas, using public money.
Nobody is answering the phone at Proctor’s office. So far, no public agency has surfaced with news of any action. The smoke surrounding the subject has been thick for days, however.