A member of the Poteau City Council is facing accusations that he stole signed petitions from a convenience store counter before a recent council vote on a controversial youth program tied into a local golf course.
Winford ‘Wimpy’ Webb, who is one of two Ward 4 councilmen for the City of Poteau, was captured on videotape taking petitions from a Toke-A-Poke in Poteau shortly before the town council voted on a $2,500 stipend to Wolf Ridge Country Club of Wister to fund discounted golf for area youth.
The program was designed to allow area children and teens the opportunity to purchase discounted daily or monthly passes to the club’s golf course.with the country club providing equipment if needed.
The plan was approved in June by a 5-3 council vote. Opponents on the council and in the community objected to using public funds to pay the country club, a private business.
Locals had attended the meetings at which the decision was made and expressed concerns that he money could be better spent on repairing he city’s swimming pool.
That 5-3 vote fueled a petition drive, and security cameras at he Tote-A-Poke captured Webb entering the store and placing a magazine or newspaper over petitions while the clerk was distracted and then leaving the store with them.
Webb’s attorney, Douglas Sanders, released the following statement to the press on Thursday:
“Any removal of the petition concerning the City of Poteau and the Wolf Ridge Country Golf Course by Mr. Webb from the Tote-A-Poke Convenience Store in Poteau, Ok, is purely accidental, unintentional occurrence. Mr. Webb has not seen the alleged video tape and has no personal knowledge or recollection of him leaving the Tote-A-Poke with the petition.
For many, many years Mr. Webb has picked up the complimentary Shopper Guide, Real Estate magazines and purchased other periodicals and placed them on the coffee table in his Barber Shop for his customers to read while waiting to get their hair cut. The only thing that Mr. Webb can come up with is that he accidentally and without and intention what so ever, got the petition caught up in the other periodicals he laid on the counter where the Petition was also located when he was paying at check out. Mr. Webb never saw and never knew he had the petition mixed in with the periodical. The periodicals were put on the coffee table and them trashed at expiration. Mr. Webb never saw and never knew he had the petition.
Mr. Webb is a highly ethical, well thought of and respected member of this community and a dedicated public servant to the Poteau citizenry who would never even think of engaging in the chicanery being asserted against him. I would stand to reason that IF Mr. Webb were truly trying to affect the petitions that he would have removed the other numerous petitions from the other Convenience Stores in Poteau, which of course did not happen.
Mr. Webb’s only position on the Wolf Ridge Golf Course issue and all other City Council issues has always been “whatever is best for the citizens of Poteau” and he has never allowed city business to become personal. Finally, it should be noted that the petitions were arguably successful in that the Poteau City Council rescinded the Wolf Ridge Golf Course agreement at the City Council Meeting earlier this week.”
The Poteau Police Department has conducted an investigation into the matter and the findings were turned over to the local District Attorney for a determination on possible prosecution.
