Fund misuse alleged at Cole County Courthouse

A Cole County Commissioner may now be at the center of a Highway Patrol investigation. Sheriff John Wheeler contacted the Patrol’s investigative division last fall after he learned Western Commissioner’s Kris Scheperle’s company, Wee Bee Hauling, was used as a sub-contractor on a landscaping project at the Courthouse. By state statute county commissioners are barred from contracting with the county for any work. Wheeler says, because he works so closely with Scheperle, that he has recused himself from the investigation. Scheperle is up for re-election.

This case is separate from an FBI investigation into threats allegedly tied to ambulance purchases by the Cole County Commission.