Lavonia Housing Authority Moving Forward, Says Whitworth

Lavonia Housing Authority Executive Director Rick Whitworth is thanking residents for their patience and cooperation in the wake of the arrest of the Authority’s office manager last week.

Former Housing Authority office manager Sabrina Weaver was arrested October 3 and charged with one count of theft by taking from the Housing Authority’s central office, but according to Lavonia Assistant Police Chief Matt London the extent of the alleged theft is not yet known and the investigation is ongoing.

Whitworth said Weaver had worked in the front office of the Housing Authority for 11 years; eight of those as the office manager.

Whitworth says he has been impressed with how cooperative all of the residents in the Lavonia Housing Authority have been since the alleged theft came to light.

“I just want to thank all of our tenents for being as patient with us as they have been,” Whitworth said. “We actually didn’t post September’s rent until the middle of this month to make sure that they were correct. We talked to all 180 residents face-to-face and went over their files to make sure everything was correct and corrected what wasn’t. They’ve given us a lot of room to work this out.”

The thought of residents at the Lavonia Housing Authority not being treated fairly is distressing to Whitworth and he said he has been grateful for the way those residents have been willing to work with him to everything out.

“I’ve always said the blessing of this job is the residents and people we work with and to think that somebody is not being treated fairly is not only not acceptable, it breaks your heart,” Whitworth said. “The fact is, they’re good people and they want to do the best they can for their families.”

Additionally, Whitworth said since the arrest, his office has been working with their auditors to make sure the books and resident files are correct.

And he says his office continues to move forward with business as usual.

“We’ve been working hard since we found out about this to correct the files and bring them current,” Whitworth said. “It’s important that everybody knows that the housing authority is operating correctly like we should have all along. The rest of it will take place during the investigation.”

Whitworth said he cannot comment on the details of the investigation, but London confirms officials with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have been called in to go over the books.

Meantime, Whitworth said he is advertising for a new office manager.