What's up in Wheaton? We're wondering, too

Perhaps there's a logical reason for the lack of information from some of our leaders in Wheaton, but for now tongues are a-wagging all over town.

People are abuzz over the whereabouts of Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 Superintendent Richard Drury. More than a week ago, we got an anonymous heads up - and numerous follow-up contacts - that something was going on with Drury, strongly hinting that he had left or was leaving the district. Drury has been superintendent for the past two years, and was granted a one-year contract extension in August, through 2012.

As we always do when we hear such rumors of significance, we begin trying to see if they have any veracity. Usually, asking the people in charge is the best way to go. So, last Friday, editors Robert Sanchez and Bob Smith, who have taken on some reporting duties, began making calls to Drury's office and school board members.

We were told he was "on vacation." OK, but when is he returning? That's when people began to clam up. An e-mail to Drury went unreturned as well.

As recently as Thursday, school board President Andy Johnson repeated the mantra about Drury's status to Sanchez. "Right now, Dr. Drury is still our superintendent," Johnson said. "He's still our superintendent, so that's where I am going to leave things for that."

He added that Drury, who has "somewhere in the area of 30 to 50 days" of vacation remaining, is expected back on Monday, but he could ask for an extension.

Maybe there's a simple explanation for all the secrecy. And let's certainly hope Drury is well. Also, it's not unprecedented for a superintendent to leave before his or her contract expires, sometimes willingly, sometimes not. And, those exit negotiations can be sensitive. We just don't know at this point.

But we'll keep asking.

Meanwhile, we've reached the first-week anniversary of a Wheaton patrol officer crashing her squad car into a house on Brighton Drive. Early indications are she fell asleep while on patrol during her late-night shift. The investigation continues, we were told on Thursday. No tickets were issued at the scene of the crash, and that comes at the discretion of the attending officer, Chief Mark Field told Sanchez last week.

There are some things we may never hear about. For example, the police union contract guarantees officers' privacy rights. It's also stipulated that if the punishment is a suspension of five days or less, the matter is handled internally. If Field chooses to seek a stronger action, such as a suspension of more than five days or firing, it calls for a hearing before the city's police and fire board. In those instances, the officer's name does become public, as is the hearing.

The online commentary on this topic is, to put it mildly, animated. It's tough to characterize all of it, but one recurring theme seems to be: Cops protect their own, and if you or I crashed our car into a house, we'd have a ticket so fast it'd make your head swim. On the other side of the coin, the argument goes something like: Writing the cop a ticket would have been the easy way out, putting the matter in the hands of a traffic court judge. A thorough investigation will determine where the fault lies and how mitigating were the circumstances. Some opined that the officer has suffered enough from the sheer embarrassment of what happened.

You can read the story and the comment thread online at www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=324197.

jdavis@dailyherald.com