Contractor arrested after not delivering on Kennett Country Club

KENNETT, Mo. -- A Blytheville, Arkansas, businessman suspected of abandoning the renovation of the Kennett Country Club swimming pool was scheduled for an initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon at the Dunklin County Courthouse in downtown Kennett.

Zyndle Leigh Ward, 53, was arrested late last week by the Mississippi County Sheriff's Office on a charge of felony stealing by deceit. Ward waived extradition and was transferred to custody in Kennett by the Dunklin County Sheriff's Office. He was released Friday after posting a $50,000 bond.

Ward, owner of D & W Pool and Spa Repair of Blytheville, was hired by the KCC Board of Directors earlier this year to perform extensive renovations on the club's pools. This included new pump and filtration systems for the wading and main swimming pools, resurfacing and edging, as well as repairs to the pool area deck and fencing.

Ward's project bid totaled $82,000. Once KCC selected the bid, both parties agreed on a three-phase schedule of payments.

Phase One work was to have included leakage repairs, skimmers, a new pump for the wading pool and new brick coping around the pools' edges. Phase Two was to have included new surface plaster for the main pool, as well as installing new pump and filtration equipment. Phase Three was to have included the deck and fencing work.

KCC made two payments to Ward totaling $47,870 for all the equipment required throughout the life of the project.

KCC board member Richard Edgington said all the work included in the Phase One renovation went relatively smoothly. However, as Phase Two approached, when it was time to begin "putting the pool back together," in Edgington's words, KCC officials grew concerned.

Edgington said Ward told the board the equipment he had ordered was scheduled to arrive by Memorial Day. But very few of those materials actually showed up.

In addition, Edgington said, the pace of the work slowed, as workers dwindled to a skeleton crew. The board invited Ward to a May meeting to report on his progress and to provide printed documentation showing he had paid his equipment suppliers. Ward attended that meeting, but was unable to provide the invoices, Edgington said.

He added that KCC then sent Ward two certified letters, in May and June, demanding he either deliver the equipment or reimburse the club for their payments. Edgington said those letters were never picked up, that KCC never received further communication from Ward, and that the board decided to hand the matter over to local law enforcement for further investigation.