I 2nd that!! Wow, way to go everyone. Keep it up, don't let up. Hinton has his followers out there in Boonville.
Word has it that Randall Hinton and this two side-kicks have been going to civic groups in Boonville, promising them the world. Word has it he got a standing ovation the other night. So remember, this is not over yet.
An article from today's Boonville paper:
Posted on Sat, Apr. 09, 2005
POLICE OPPOSE PLAN FOR SCHOOL
Kemper proposal questioned
By STEVE ROCK
The Kansas City Star
In a pointed and critical letter to key city administrators, the Boonville, Mo., Police Department expressed opposition to the potential sale of Kemper Military School.
The letter, obtained through state open-records laws, was written March 24 after a police captain and a lieutenant conducted what they called a ?background investigation? of the people hoping to buy and operate the school.
?It is our recommendation,? the letter says, ?that the risks far outweigh any benefits of the sale of this property.?
Both the Industrial Development Authority and the City Council in Boonville have met to discuss an offer from a group led by Robert Lichfield to purchase Kemper. The school, which closed in 2002, has been owned by the city since April 2003.
Supporters and opponents of the potential sale can voice their opinions at a 7 p.m. public hearing Monday at Boonville City Hall.
Lichfield is the founder of the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, a controversial association of boarding schools based in Utah. Some schools in that network have been the subject of abuse allegations, and a congressman asked the Justice Department to investigate.
An official with the association has denied the allegations.
Lichfield would not be involved in the day-to-day operations of Kemper but would sublease it to Randall Hinton, Hinton has said. Hinton has stressed that Kemper would not be a part of the boarding schools network and would have no affiliation with the programs.
The letter from the Police Department notes that Hinton has a long history of working at schools in the network. Because Lichfield signed the deposit check given to the city, the letter says, ?Our assumption is there will be some connection to (WWASPS).?
The letter goes on to say that ?it appears to us there are some concerns about the treatment given to children in these institutions.?
The letter from the Police Department also notes that Hinton would focus on ?troubled? teens and points out the proximity of Kemper to the city-owned YMCA facilities.
?It is clear this would be a huge public safety issue,? the letter says. ?As we have stated, there will be many troubled teens at this campus, and some could even be violent offenders. It would be a public disaster if a student on this campus hurt one of our children.?
A business plan presented by Hinton to city officials said the school would enroll teenagers who ?need help in the areas of discipline, responsibility and leadership skills? as well as those who have had problems with minor drug or alcohol experimentation.
But Hinton said Friday that the school would market itself as a military school and not as a school for troubled teens.
The officers stress in their report that the background investigation ?should be considered preliminary.?
?To conduct a proper background investigation would mean sending people to visit some of these institutions and to interview children within,? the letter says. ?It should also include speaking to people who have made accusations.?
When asked whether he was aware of the contents of the letter, Hinton said he had not read it. He welcomed a complete background check and said the students wouldn't be a threat to the community.
Ned Beach, president of the Industrial Development Authority, said Friday that the authority must stay neutral.
Beach, a Boonville businessman, owns the rental home where Hinton is living with his wife and three children. When asked whether that presented a conflict of interest, Beach and Hinton said it did not.
Before moving to Boonville more than a month ago, Hinton helped establish White River Adventure in Puerto Rico, which he said is not affiliated with the school network.
Hinton, 30, said he started working with troubled children shortly after high school and was ?too busy helping kids? to complete a college education. He told The Kansas City Star he attended Dixie State College in St. George, Utah, and studied psychology.
An official at the Dixie State registrar's office said Hinton completed 10 hours of credit in 1996, majored in computer information systems and withdrew from his only psychology class.
Hinton said he took additional classes at the college in 1998 and was surprised that the registrar's office had no record of that.
Lichfield has been invited, but Randall Hinton said Lichfield would not attend.
Earlier this week, the chairman of the Friends of Kemper Foundation Trust issued a statement to The Star that stressed his group's opposition to the sale. The Boonville Daily News recently ran an editorial that said, ?We do not want their program, we do not want their ideas and we do not want their practices anywhere in our city, our county or our state.?
To reach reporter Steve Rock, call (816) 234-4338 or send e-mail to
srock@kcstar.com.
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First glance
? Supporters and opponents of the potential sale of the former Kemper Military School can voice their opinions at a 7 p.m. public hearing Monday at Boonville City Hall.
