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November 24, 2004Antrim County chief denies doing favorsBuilding official has never done an inspectionByRecord-Eagle staff writer BELLAIRE - Former Antrim County building official Arlen Turner took the stand in his own defense and denied allegations he concocted building code violations to help a friend in a dispute with a heating contractor. Turner, 67, is charged with a felony count of corruption by a public official, and five misdemeanor building code violations. Turner, though calling William Kitchen of Elmira "a good friend," on Tuesday denied doing any special favors for him. Turner admitted to supplying Kitchen with an inspection report citing a state mechanical code violation against Great Lakes Plumbing and Heating in May 2002, while Kitchen was involved in a dispute with the company over the performance of a heater the company installed in Kitchen's home. "Writing a letter for him wasn't any different than I have done for others in the past," Turner said. State Construction Code enforcement officials and Great Lakes company representatives said Turner's report was never shared with them. Turner told Kalkaska County Prosecutor Brian Donnelly, who is handling the prosecution, that he had never done a mechanical, plumbing or electrical inspection in his more than 10 years as Antrim's building official. He said he did not have the training or expertise for such inspections. Turner, however, admitted that the document citing Great Lakes with a code violation at the Kitchen house lists him as the heater's inspector. Turner also denied failing to follow state construction code in not supplying code violation citations to contractors in writing. "I agree there were some things that slipped through the cracks," he said. "With the workload we had, we did the best we could." The state Bureau of Construction Codes took over administration of Antrim's building, plumbing and mechanical permits on July 15, after earlier finding that numerous instances exist where the department failed to comply with the state Construction Code Act. Turner was fired by the county board of commissioners shortly after the state's findings. Closing arguments in Turner's trial are expected today, with the case then going to the jury. Donnelly said if a verdict cannot be reached by noon, he expects the trial will break for the Thanksgiving holiday until next week.
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