The Georgia Department of Agriculture is losing two of its top administrators after a scandal involving alcohol and partial nudity at a training event.
The two men – former Chief Operating Officer Billy Skaggs and Oscar Garrison, the director of the Food Safety Division – resigned on March 30.
The Gainesville (Ga.) Times broke the story Thursday after getting the results of an internal investigation that found the two men and other agriculture department employees stayed up late, drank alcohol and went night swimming while they were at a seminar at Lake Blackshear near Cordele in September.
Skaggs also tore off one of the mirrors on his state car when he hit a pole that night, according to the investigation, but he reimbursed the department for the expense this week.
Employees said that during the seminar Sept. 17 to 19, 30-40 people gathered at a cabin Skaggs and Garrison shared with another man. All three of the men went swimming in the lake, where a woman removed her top, according to information the Times gathered in the report.
The spokeswoman for the department, Mary Kathryn Yearta, issued this written statement:
“Once we were made aware of the allegations regarding misconduct a review was promptly conducted, and swift action was taken. We are deeply saddened and disappointed in the actions of the individuals involved, however though this situation we working together to move forward in building a stronger and united team.”
Before he was appointed to manage the day-to-day operations of the ag department, Skaggs was a county agent with the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.
Garrison, who had been with the department nearly 20 years, was responsible for food safety operations.
An interim director, Mark Norton, was appointed to fill the role food safety role, while the department realigns other assignments, Yearta said.
