Gun fired in Neversink town hall costs two officials their jobs

Two employees of the Sullivan County town of Neversink resigned this week in the wake of an incident on Monday in which a handgun was allegedly fired in the town hall.

According to several sources that declined to give their names on the record, town code enforcement officer Dave Sparling was showing his handgun to colleague Susan Kitson, the deputy town clerk, when Kitson accidentally fired the gun.

No one was hurt in the incident, and no police report was filed. But both Sparling and Kitson resigned earlier this week.

Last night, the town board of Neversink met to appoint an interim code enforcement officer to replace Sparling until a permanent replacement can be found. John Perrella, who held the job before Sparling, was appointed to the position.

The town board also passed a motion prohibiting any town employees from bringing firearms into a building owned or leased by the town, until further notice.