Last week, a former employee for the Selma-Dallas County Centre for Commerce was indicted on charges of pilfering $50,000 from the organization.

She will face up to 20 years if convicted of her actions.

Those actions included going on shopping sprees and reimbursing herself from the Economic Development Authority’s account for the purchases, according to information from the Dallas County district attorney’s office.

To the credit of the Centre for Commerce, an audit was ordered as soon as discrepancies were found.

The audit was then handed over to the district attorney’s office.

Jim Hodo, chairman of the board of directors for the Centre, said they have taken steps to make sure this will never happen again. It’s essential that these safeguards are put into place.

The Centre for Commerce is an organization that receives its funding from local businesses and individuals – those businesses trust the organization to use the money wisely and for the betterment of the community.

Those who take criminal advantage of that trust should be prosecuted.