Haynes absent again, new contempt findings

The owner of a condemned downtown Seneca building missed another court hearing today.  His absence could cost him dearly.  Municipal Judge Danny Singleton once again found the Rev. Efford Haynes in contempt.  This time Singleton slapped Haynes with a fine exceeding $500 thousand.  And that fine will escalate with every day that passes without the large building between N. 1st and Main streets and bordered by Depot being brought up to city standards.  At the request of Lane Davis, an attorney for Seneca, the judge issued criminal and civil contempt findings and noted that, since 2010, Haynes had violated four other orders.  The case has stretched into its fifth year and was delayed, in part, when the city allowed time for the Haynes family to pursue an insurance settlement.  Davis said a settlement, approved by a federal court, awarded $411 thousand, but he added, “The money went somewhere, but it didn’t go into repairs to the building.”  Two members of Haynes’ family were present for the hearing.  One was denied the chance to speak when Singleton ruled she was not an official party to the proceeding.