By Adam
Ghassemi
CLARKSVILLE,
Tenn. –
Walter Slonopas became a devout Christian years ago when both of his sons went
off to war. Ever since then he says part of a Bible verse just keeps
showing up.
"His number is 666,"
Slonopas read Thursday.
The 52-year-old started
working as a maintenance technician for Contech Castings in 2011. He was their 668th
hire, but company leaders say an HR manager mistakenly assigned him the dreaded
numbers 666 to clock in and out.
"I say I cannot
accept this number because it's the number of Satan," the Russian native said.
At first, they told him it couldn't be
changed. So he decided he couldn't work there.
"I said ok if you
cannot do this. It's my last day in the factory," he recalled.
The problem got fixed
before the end of that day. Just a few months later the company got a new
clock-in system with plastic cards and 6-6-6 was on his.
"I said unbelievable.
Unbelievable," he said.
So Walter quit again.
Two days later he had a
completely new number and was asked to come back to work.
It all just seemed like
a coincidence until last week when his W2 showed up from a completely separate,
third system. His employee ID number was 6-6-6.
"Hard to believe.
Hard to believe," he said.
Bob LaCourciere is Vice
President of Sales and Marketing for Revstone Corporation, which owns Contech
Castings, said he understands why Walter is horrified. He says the odds of this happening again are
probably better to win the lottery twice in one day.
He said Walter
is welcome to come back.
LaCourciere says their
HR and IT departments have now banned sets of numbers, like 6-6-6, from ever
being assigned to employees again. He says a new W2 with a different employee number
is in the mail right now.
For now Slonopas says no
matter how bad he needs to work his faith won't let him.
"It's hard to go
back," he said.
Believe it or not, Slonopas
says this happened to him before years ago when he got a license plate with 6-6-6
in Ohio, but demanded a new one.
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Walter Slonopas
