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July 23, 2010

Jeffersonville department head fired after arrest for OWI

Report: Michael Drury struck parked car with city truck

JEFFERSONVILLE — A city of Jeffersonville employee has been terminated after being arrested for drunken driving following a wreck Thursday afternoon.

Michael W. Drury Sr., 60, the city maintenance director, was driving a city-owned 2010 Ford F-150 northbound in the 3000 block of Tall Oaks Drive near Charlestown Pike when he struck a parked car at about 3:45 p.m.

Jeffersonville Police Department Detective Todd Hollis said Drury was given a portable Breathalyzer and tested at .156 and later given a chemical test at the jail and tested at .16, twice the legal limit in Indiana.

Drury was transported to the Clark County Jail and booked in on two preliminary counts of operating while intoxicated, one as a class A misdemeanor and one as a class C misdemeanor.

Larry Thomas, communications director for the city, said Drury had been working earlier in the day but was off-duty at the time of the wreck. Drury has been the city maintenance director since July 2, 2001.

Drury was reached by phone Friday morning, but when asked for comment, he hung up the phone.

Drury was initially placed on administrative leave Friday morning pending review by Mayor Tom Galligan, who was at an out-of-town conference until Friday afternoon.

The firing occurred following a recommendation from Safety Director Dominick Mongarella and was based on a drug and alcohol policy adopted by the Board of Public Works and Safety on May 19.

Acknowledgment of the policy was required of each employee as a condition of continued employment, Thomas said.

Under that policy, anyone driving a city-owned vehicle must submit to post-accident drug and alcohol tests following a crash. The policy also indicates that anyone confirmed to have had a blood-alcohol level in excess of .04 while driving a city-owned vehicle or piece of equipment will be terminated.

Police took the truck Drury was driving to the city garage on Renfroe Way.

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Fairmont Elementary kindergartners Dawn Higginbottom, left, and Natalie Smith listen to a story during class last week in New Albany.

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