Differences remain in the description of events that led to the December 26 firing of former Alna Town Clerk Donna Wallace.

On December 20 Wallace plead guilty to the charge of Negotiating a Worthless Instrument and plead no contest to the more serious charge of Theft by Deception. The court deferred sentencing on that charge to December 18, 2008, but set the condition that Wallace give the Lincoln County District Attorney's Office proof of payment of her vehicle registration.

In a telephone interview with the newspaper on December 21, Wallace said, "I plead guilty to writing a bad check, but I was not guilty of theft." She said she had paid to register her car in February of 2007 and the check bounced. She said she had forgotten to write a new check, and the next time she was reminded of it was three months later when the state police confronted her.

District Attorney Geoffrey A. Rushlau prosecuted the case and denied a request by the newspaper for release of the police report. However, he was willing to comment on Wallace's characterization of the incident to the newspaper, saying, "The case was much more complicated than that."

The newspaper was able to obtain a copy of the state police report from the police, although certain parts of it were crossed out. The report, released by the state police Investigative Records Department, fleshes out some of the complexities but adds a touch of confusion.

The report said that, in May, the state police asked Wallace if she remembered registering her Dodge Caravan on December 4, 2006. The trooper writes, "She put both hands on her face and shook her head from side to side and said she had forgot to pay it," referring to the December payment. According to Wallace's statements to the newspaper on December 20, her oversight regarding payment occurred in February.

He then asked Wallace if she was told on February 22 that she had failed to pay her excise tax. She told the trooper that she was approached and "she wrote out a check from her personal checking account. . . and put it in the deposit bag and put the payable amount and check information into the town ledger."

The trooper questioned her about why the amount did not appear on the ledger; his report says, "She told me when she wrote the check she knew it was going to bounce… so she removed the check from the deposit bag," never allowing the check to be processed.

However, Rushlau told the newspaper that he believes Wallace lied about taking the check back before it could be processed. He said that defense Attorney William Avantaggio, who represented Wallace, provided a copy of bank records that showed Wallace had submitted the check - a check that she knew would not be honored by the bank.

The police report includes the following: "Donna told me … she could not afford to pay the excise tax on her vehicle so she did not pay it."

The trooper ends his report by writing that Wallace "deceived the town initially and did not pay her excise tax at the time her vehicle was registered (in December), and again deceived the town on February 22, 2007 into thinking she had paid her excise tax in full with a check" (a check that she admitted in court she did not have sufficient funds to cover.)

Wallace worked for the town of Alna for nine years and held four positions: Town Clerk, Tax Collector, Treasurer and Registrar of Voters

On January 2, after voting to separate some of these duties, Selectmen appointed Deputy Town Clerk David Feigers to serve as interim Town Clerk and Tax Collector.

Cindy Averill was also named interim Treasurer for the town. Both have agreed to fill these roles until the annual town meeting on March 29.

First Selectman Billie Willard said that they have a candidate in mind for the registrar's position who may be named within the next week.

The Alna Town Hall was closed after Wallace's termination to allow the town's accountants, William H. Brewer and Co., to complete an audit. While audits are regularly conducted yearly, Willard explained that it was necessary to review all of the town's financial records to ensure a clean transition for incoming staff. State officials also audited all auto registration records

The town office opened its doors again on January 7.

"We plan to have the office open at least 20 hours per week," Willard said. The new hours will be: Mondays 8 a.m. to noon; Tuesdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Wednesdays 2 to 6 p.m.; Thursdays 8 a.m. to noon; and Fridays noon to 4 p.m.

Willard said that this has been one of the toughest times that she has seen in Alna town government.

"I was extremely saddened by this event. This is a small town, and Donna worked for us for many years. But I hope we can move forward and get back on track," she said.