But this gossip was more than just talk; it was in writing, thousands of words of it sent to the Prime Minister, the Leader of The opposition, the Minister of Energy and filtered through the company in a series of scandal sheets. And when we say scandal, we don't just mean stats about who's hustling the company's assets, or lamping up on the job, we mean sex scandals - allegations of who's doing what to who and where.

Very nasty stuff - and after four such letters, it seems the board had had enough. The CEO, Alvan Haynes was tasked by the Directors to investigate who was behind the letters. We don't know if he ever found out definitively, but last week Thursday, he brought down the axe sending home four persons - including one employee with 31 years of service, another with good UDP credentials, and two union members. Another employee was fired on Friday, while another resigned - and yet another had been made to resign in January.

It's the equivalent of a small corporate purge - and the Board of Directors is convinced that with those believed to be behind the letters gone, company morale and discipline will improve. In a memo to all employees sent last week Thursday, CEO Haynes said, quote, "The terminations were primarily due to issues with confidentiality…or failure to cooperate fully with the investigation, including providing false information and withholding information."