East Central Reporter

In the April 2024 Shelby County Board meeting, Shelby County Dive Team Commander Austin Prichard read a statement on trust. He said, “The definition of trust: assures reliance on the character, ability, strength or truth of someone or something, one which confidence is placed.”

However, this article aims to examine the statements made by Prichard during public meetings and their relation to his speech about trust. In one instance, Prichard claimed that "Tomorrow marks nine months that the dive team was stood down." This statement was found to be inaccurate. The dive team was stood down on July 12, 2023, and reinstated on July 18th, 2023. Thus, they were not stood down for nine months as stated by Prichard.

Less than 24 hours after being appointed as the Dive Commander, Prichard contacted the Shelbyville police alleging that records had been stolen from a file cabinet and he wanted to press charges. However, it turned out that nothing was stolen. The files were taken by the County Board Chairman and the Treasurer due to the start of a forensic audit.

Regarding the Dive Team Wex Cards, Prichard claimed that he set up an account where others could access information anytime. Contrary to his claim, Jessica Fox, the Clerk stated: “To my knowledge, I have never had access to the Dive Team Wex cards."

Given these discrepancies in Prichard's statements compared with actual events and other people's accounts, questions arise about his credibility.