Knighton named acting Grants fire chief

By Jim Maniaci
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — The acting chief of the city's Fire-Rescue Department, Elliott Knighton, said Friday he plans to keep things "basically as is."

"We just want to continue to do our job effectively," he said.

An intermediate emergency medical technician and a firefighter, he added "Things have been running smoothly for a while" and he would like that to continue.

On Thursday City Manager Bob Horacek appointed Knighton, 25, to head up the department until a new chief is hired. A native of Albuquerque, Knighton will have been with the department seven years in May.

Andrew Valencia was ousted under a resignation agreement effective Tuesday. He signed Monday and the city council unanimously approved the deal after an executive session of about a half-hour that night. But copies were not available until Thursday. It was the latest in a series of closed door personnel sessions by the council.

Valencia was hired as the chief starting July 1, 1999.

The termination contract calls for the city to pay him $20,000, plus half of his accumulated sick leave up to 30 days, minus taxes and withholdings, as well as pay his health insurance for two more months.

Another critical part of the 3-page pact is that both sides release each other from any claims from the state's Human Rights Act, the federal Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act and the National Labor Relations Act, plus all other similar laws"dealing with discrimination in employment, all rights to compensation... should any federal state or local agency or commission pursue any claims..."

That paragraph is followed by one saying the deal shall not "be deemed, construed or referred to as an admission of liability or as establishing fault or blame" on either party.

The agreement also states that "there are no other agreements, representations, inducements or other promises of any kind except those contained" in the one document.

— To contact reporter Jim Maniaci in Grants, telephone 285-6184 or (505) 870-7775 (cellular).