LYMO FAILS TO MEET DRUG TEST CONDITIONS

Federal Money May Be At Risk For Noncompliance

The Waccamaw Regional Transportation Authority did not meet the federal
government's minimum requirements for employee drug and alcohol testing in
2003, according to documents obtained by The Sun News.

The authority receives millions of dollars in federal grants that are, in
part, tied to compliance with those requirements. Failure to meet the
requirements "may result in the suspension of federal transit funding,"
according to Federal Transit Administration regulations.

The documents, included among correspondence between the authority and
government officials and obtained through the S.C. Freedom of Information
Act, also said the authority had a driver who tested positive for cocaine
use after an on-duty accident last year.

The authority, which does business as Lymo, was the only mass transit
agency among a dozen receiving federal grants in South Carolina that didn't
meet the drug and alcohol testing requirements.

The federal government requires drug and alcohol testing "to ensure the
safety of the general public whenever they are using mass transit," said
Ketrina Jackson, spokeswoman for the Federal Transit Administration.

The federal government has similar requirements for the nation's airline,
passenger rail and interstate trucking industries.

Stephen Anderson, the authority's interim executive director, said the mass
transit agency has taken several steps to ensure compliance this year. He
said Lymo drivers and supervisors participated in a state training program
last month that included information about drug and alcohol testing, and
the authority met federal testing requirements during the first quarter of
2004.

Anderson said the employee who tested positive for cocaine after a wreck
last year was fired. Anderson said the wreck didn't cause any injuries and
resulted in less than $1,000 in property damage.

Glennith Johnson, deputy director of mass transit for the S.C. Department
of Transportation, did not return telephone calls Thursday and Friday.
Kenny Skenes, a mass transit program manager for the DOT, referred
questions to Johnson.

The authority conducted random alcohol tests on 5.7 percent of 88 drivers,
dispatchers and mechanics last year, according to the report. The federal
government requires a minimum of 10 percent.

The authority also conducted random drug tests on 33 percent of the 88
workers. The federal government requires a minimum of 50 percent.

Jackson said the FTA typically gives mass transit agencies that don't meet
the minimum requirements "a period of time to address those deficiencies"
before grant funding is jeopardized. Jackson did not say how much time
agencies have to begin complying with the requirements.

The DOT ordered the authority in March to increase the number of drug and
alcohol tests it performs on workers in safety-sensitive jobs, such as
drivers and mechanics.

The DOT also told the authority it must submit results to the state every
three months, so state officials can ensure the federal requirements are
being met from now on. Mass transit agencies usually submit their test
results once a year.

In the first three months of 2004, the authority conducted random alcohol
and drug tests on 15 employees - 12 were given drug tests, and 3 were given
drug and alcohol tests. All of those drug and alcohol tests were negative.

Johnson said in a letter to federal officials that the authority's failure
to meet drug and alcohol testing requirements might have been because of "a
change in management" last year at the agency. That change in management,
however, didn't happen until Feb. 26, when the authority's board of
directors fired Chief Executive Officer Benedict Shogaolu.

The board fired Shogaolu after its internal investigation said he spent
$42,484 of public money on personal trips, meals and other expenses,
mistreated employees and possibly violated state and federal laws.

The investigation also showed that the authority submitted potentially
falsified bid documents to the DOT when it bought more than $136,000 of
furniture from Crown & Country Interior Designs Inc. of Conway.

The board's investigation was prompted by stories in The Sun News that
documented financial problems at the authority.