http://www.thedahloneganugget.com/editorial/ To the editor:
I write in response to the cover story written by Matt Aiken in the Sept. 20 edition of The Dahlonega Nugget, ?Hidden Lake Academy faces class action law suit.?
Mr. Aiken summarizes the allegations of a class-action lawsuit without mentioning some important facts about Hidden Lake Academy that your readers should know, including the fact that Mr. Aiken was once employed by Hidden Lake Academy.
Established in 1994, Hidden Lake Academy treats students struggling with a number of issues, predominantly Oppositional Defiant Disorder (?ODD?). It is located on about 200 acres about 20 minutes from downtown Dahlonega in the mountains. Its facilities are state-of-the-art.
Unlike other schools, it is not a lock-down facility, meaning that the students may come and go as they please. Children with ODD are routinely uncooperative, defiant, and hostile towards authority figures to the extent that parents are at their wits' end as to how to deal with them.
Hidden Lake students also show addictive, compulsive, and self-destructive behaviors, behaviors addressed by the school's teachers and counselors. These students can be the most challenging students to treat and usually come to Hidden Lake Academy when the parents failed to find anything else that could help them.
Not only does Hidden Lake Academy treat these students, it is considered the premier institute in this area and has a high success rate. Part of the reason for this high success rate is the number of dedicated professionals that the school has to treat them. The number of the school's employees approximates the number of students it has.
This level of support provides opportunities for focused attention and has helped countless students.
HLA students have been accepted at some of the best colleges in the country and have become productive members of society.
The school's beautiful surroundings help the students realize that they are special, as does the carefully considered therapeutic program. Countless former students and parents of former students have thanked Hidden Lake Academy for the tremendous benefit of a Hidden Lake Academy education.
While I am not a lawyer, your readers should know that anyone can say practically anything they want in a court filing and that information is privileged under Georgia law, meaning that you cannot sue someone who defames you in a court filing.
Your readers should also know that this is an anonymous lawsuit brought by two students and their parents, meaning that the people making these allegations did not identify themselves in the lawsuit. A number of people on the Internet anonymously defame companies for the same reason, the lack of accountability. The lawsuit also apparently relies on erroneous information provided by disgruntled ex-employees.
Many of you know individuals employed by Hidden Lake and recognize their dedication in helping young people turn their lives around and become solid citizens. The employees of our school are hurt and angry by the allegations in the lawsuit. The lawsuit will be vigorously defended, and the allegations will be more specifically addressed by our defense team. In the meantime, we hope that the public will not judge our school based on the allegations in a court filing of two anonymous students and their parents and The Nugget's front-page summary of the allegations in that lawsuit.
Sincerely,
Charles Cates, PhD
Headmaster
Hidden Lake Academy
Hidden Lake needs community support
To the editor:
The front page attack by Atlanta lawyers on Hidden Lake founder and staff was a real one-sided lambasting, I must say, and it painted a pretty grim picture that might have had some justification if Hidden Lake was a normal school system.
When those lawyers made their blistering attack they conveniently forgot that Hidden Lake is a last chance boarding academy that offers objectively-defined teenagers an alternative to prison. Such a school is inherent with risks and the possibility of violence and retaliation.
Great risk comes with the territory for such a school like this to run successfully requires a staff with vision, compassion and belief in the young people who get sent there.
Students at Hidden Lake are offered a chance to redeem and rehabilitate themselves under the supervision of a compassionate yet heavily disciplined staff that ranges the gamut in educational and awareness expertise, and employs a host of dedicated personnel from educators, local ministers, specialized counselors, and athletic and physical education majors.
I myself am a part-time employee of the spiritual reflections staff and I have been traveling to Hidden Lake at least one Sunday per month to minister to students and help raise awareness by teaching Native American Spirituality and the Science of the Medicine Wheel.
I have taught at multi-cultural studies at NCG and hold a bachelor's degree in ministerial counseling from UBU, so I feel that I am qualified. I have been ministering to the young men and women of Hidden Lake for eight years, and I have become very fond and appreciative of the founder and staff at this facility.
In my eight years there, I have also become friends with many fine students who have graduated from HLA and went on to colleges and universities all over the country.
Without HLA, many of these students who graduated would never have had a chance.
It is true that HLA requires a non-refundable deposit, but this is standard for all boarding and rehab facilities in the U.S. Running such facilities requires great expense and a lot of risk-taking.
Such a facility also requires boot-camp style discipline, but this is so much better than prison, where personal favors, violence, hard labor and hopelessness are the norm.
I have had several conversations with Mr. Buccellato and every one of them has been centered around his consistent desire to find new and innovative ways to reach young men and women who are in trouble and need help.
He strikes me as a man willing to take the risks that most people will not take.
He is willing to reach out to the troubled young teen that for whatever reason finds him- or herself in dire straits. The dedicated core of his staff and the people who have stuck with him feel the same way.
They are a truly compassionate group of people who love what they do and they know from past experience at Hidden Lake that they can make a positive difference in a troubled teenager's life.
It is unfortunate that there are many families who cannot afford to send their troubled teen to Hidden Lake, but it is no different than going to see a doctor in Lumpkin County. There are many poor kids in Lumpkin County who can't afford to get their teeth fixed or see a doctor when they are sick. A visit to the doctor or dentist is no different from Hidden Lake. There are those who can afford it and there are those who can't.
We need to bridge the gap and support not only facilities like HLA but also encourage similar facilities for the poor among us so that financially-unable teens can also have a last chance alternative to prison and the opportunity to better themselves in a socially balanced co-ed atmosphere.
We have a unique and much-needed pioneering school system operating in Lumpkin County. HLA's accreditation is one of the first of its kind, and it fills a void in our educational system. HLA turns failure into success and is much deserving of our community support.
The kids at HLA are a great bunch and I love them all. I always get a good feeling when I see a Hidden Lake bus.
Sincerely,
Rev. Barry Bailey
Dawsonville
The other side of the story: the good HLA does
To the editor:
I am surprised that two disgruntled parents can cause enough havoc for their activities to reach the front page of The Nugget. Let me tell you another side of this story.
Len Buccellato, the president of Hidden Lake Academy (HLA), has been on the Board of United Way for Lumpkin County since its inception four years ago. One hundred percent of the school's employees have contributed every year to the United Way campaign. Is there another business in the community that can claim that record?
Another HLA owner, Ken Spooner, has been an active member of the Community Helping Place (CHP) Board for several years.
Through his efforts, HLA has sponsored the Gold Party-an event that raises considerable funding for food, clothing, and furniture for the poor of Lumpkin County. Income from the Gold Party amounts to about $40,000 a year; our county commission has just designated $5,000 a year for the same population. Is there another business in the community that can claim that record?
I have personally witnessed the daily work of HLA students in the social service agencies of this community. Each student, as a part of her/his learning experience, contributes several hours a week to supplement paid staff and volunteer time. Some of the organizations where you will regularly see HLA students are: NOA, Head Start, PAWS Animal Shelter, Senior Center, one of the nursing homes.
Is there another school in the community that gives its students such enriching opportunities for service?
Students also participate in the churches of this county.
I have personally observed and worshipped with incredibly perceptive students who contribute their own religious experiences.
Is there another school in the community that encourages students to seek answers to life's questions?
I know Clay Erickson as a caring human being who gives students an opportunity to learn that we all have made mistakes in our lives. Is there any parent in this community who would not want her kids to profit by examples from her own errors?
Lumpkin County needs to be proud of Hidden Lake Academy and its contributions to our daily life. I am hoping that each of us will provide support during this unfortunate time for them.
Sincerely,
Diane Stephenson
Dahlonega
