County finance director fired

On a bitterly split vote, Whitman County commissioners Tuesday voted to fire Bev Divine as the county’s finance director.

After more than two hours of intense and heated discussion, some in closed executive session and some in an open public meeting, commissioners Pat O’Neill and Greg Partch voted to dismiss Divine. Commissioner Michael Largent cast an adamant “no” vote.

Partch said Divine’s firing was prompted by a series of missed deadlines, incomplete financial reports and the failure to implement the county’s New World accounting software.

“There’s failure, after failure, after failure,” h...