Published on: Thursday, September 3, 2009 3:48 PM CDTFormer Thayer Learning Center closes doorsBy Andrew Bottrell, editor
Mycameronnews.com has been informed that the former Thayer Learning Center, now the Teen Life Skills Center, has closed. A spokesperson for the Center had no comment. (photo by Jamey Honeycutt)An anonymous source has told mycameronnews.com that the former Thayer Learning Center, now known as Teen Life Skills Center, in Kidder, has closed.
According to papers filed in a court ruling on Aug. 1, Thayer Learning Center, L.L.C., has been dissolved. It is unclear at this time if ownership and management of Thayer Learning Center and Teen Life Skills Center are the same. An unidentified spokesperson with the Center refused to comment. There were two vehicles in the parking lot Thursday, but there appeared to be little activity at the Center, and no students were visible.
A number for Thayer owner Willa Bundy has apparently been disconnected, and attempts to reach Kirby Brelsford, who had been director at Thayer, resulted in a wrong number. The spokesperson at the Center would not comment about Brelsford.
Two students tied up a guard and escaped in July of 2008. They were apprehended at McDonald's in Cameron later that night and sent back to the Center.
The Center had fallen under some other scrutiny, and in researching the story, mycameronnews.com found
http://www.closethayerlearningcenter.com, which documents a current lawsuit against Bundy. According to the web site, on Aug. 1, a Missouri judge ruled that the lawsuit will continue after a motion to dismiss was filed by the Center. The lawsuit, filed by five former employees, accuses the program and Bundy of malicious prosecution.
The web site also documents the death of 15-year-old student Roberto Reyes on Nov. 3, 2004. And according to the web site, Reyes' parents settled a wrongful death lawsuit out of court and signed a confidentiality agreement.
Mycameronnews.com has been informed that the former Thayer Learning Center, now the Teen Life Skills Center, has closed. Only two cars were in the parking lot and no students were visible on Thursday. (photo by Jamey Honeycutt)Copyright © 2009 Citizen-Observer Newspaper
