It's about to open soon. And it will be called "Pillars of Hope" this time.
U.S. newspaper profiles youth who was at Dundee
By Joe Medici
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Milwaukee, Wisc., Journal Sentinel this week published a three-part series documenting the struggles of Joel Snider, a troubled youth who was sent to the Dundee Ranch in Orotina, Costa Rica.
The series reports on Snider?s early struggle with drugs and depression and how his parents eventually sent him to the Dundee Ranch. The ranch?s pamphlets and brochures promised a disciplined environment for troubled teens. Snider?s parents, who live in Wisconsin, hoped that the ranch?s focus on discipline could help their 280-pound teenage son.
During his time at the ranch, Snider and other students were routinely treated sternly. The complaints from many of these children eventually were evaluated by Costa Rican authorities who started to monitor the ranch.
Finally, on May 20, 2003, Fernando Vargas, a Costa Rican prosecutor, led 50 police officers into the facility for a legal search. The warrant had been issued in response to a situation regarding Nicole Flowers, one of the students at the ranch. She was being held against her will and her mother, who did not have custody of her daughter, wanted her to be released.
During the raid, the prosecutor informed the youths that they could not be held against their will under Costa Rican law. The raid failed to produce any solid evidence, however, and soon the prosecutor was forced to leave without any of the students. After the raid chaos ensued in the ranch and youngsters escaped.
Snider?s parents withdrew him from the academy a few days after the raid. Since that time, the program has shut down. This fall, however, a new program called Pillars of Hope is attempting to open on the same property.
Harold Dabel is the new administrator of Pillars of Hope. He was listed as part of the managing team at the Dundee Ranch and his new team is leasing the property from Narvin Lichfield, the original owner of the ranch who briefly was detained by officials after the raid. Lichfield was associated with the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools.
A Pillars of Hope official said the group plans to begin admitting students soon. The Costa Rican government, however, has said that the group does not yet have permission to open its doors.
The Milwaukee Journal series mainly is a profile of Snider and his family under stress. The stories even report on how Snider smuggled cocaine into the ranch. The newspaper said the youth was scarred by his experiences. His parents spent in excess of $25,000 to send him here.
