Sheriff’s office spends thousands on Hawaii trip to check job candidate who turned down job

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office spent thousands of dollars to send a chief deputy to interview a job candidate who ultimately turned down the position. Records obtained by Call 6 Investigates show Chief Deputy Josh Clarke traveled 4,300 miles to Hawaii from January 7 through January 13, staying at the Hilton Garden Inn on Waikiki Beach. Sheriff Paul Harden explained the reason for the trip was to do a background check on a job candidate, one of three finalists for a vacant deputy position.