HASTINGS - Hastings Mayor Corey Stutte has confirmed he has talked with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services about bringing a new Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center to town. The new center would close the current facility in Geneva and open a new one for girls at the former Hastings Regional Center campus. Mayor Stutte is not happy those details were released.

Mayor Stutte wrote a letter to DHHS CEO Dannette Smith, which said:

"Dannette, I was under the impression that our phone call today was supposed to be confidential and that any announcement would come later after we had a chance to evaluate it. You requested my discretion last night, but that is now off the table. This is after all a net-neutral employment move for our community and not an addition to our community workforce. This also raises questions for our local law enforcement that needs to be addressed. Doing “what’s in the best interest of the youth” is something that needs a deeper conversation than a one sided explanation from your office. You said you’ll be happy to meet in person in the next couple of weeks—what happened to this statement? I am a former intelligence officer in the Navy and I had clearer lines of communication to our Five Eyes partner nations than I did with your office. This is unacceptable. I don’t appreciate reading this in the Omaha World Herald and this is not the first time DHHS did this (see the layoffs from 2017 at the cottages in Hastings). I expect better from our state agencies that we all pay taxes for and I look forward to your explanation. I have cc’d our local media on this and I’ll direct any questions to your office. Thank you and I hope you have a good rest of your week. Corey"

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