Here's that
letter from Thom Morson's grandfather about Pinehaven, mentioned at the very end of the just above article, "
Last two missing teens found in Montana":
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This is in regards to the 4 missing boys at Pinehaven. I am Tom Morsons grandfather and I would like to give my opinion on Pinehaven and the work that they do for so many kids.
Friday we received a call from the Vigo County Juvenile Detention Center telling us that Tom was there, he had been picked up here in Terre Haute and they had him there. About a 30 minutes before that Pinehaven contacted us and told us that Tom had been found and that he was well and that he had been picked up here in Terre Haute.
I have been watching the news and reading all the facebook comments about the 4 boys and all the negative things that have been said about Pinehaven and the people who run it, people like Bob Larson.
Bob gave Tom a chance to go to Pinehaven and keep him out of trouble and learn to control his temper and stop running away from life. This wasn't the first time that Tom has run away, he ran away from home several times and even ran away from a children's home.
He wasn't happy with staying any where if someone would put a bug in his ear and convince him to run. He had a chance to change things by going to Pinehaven, a chance that he agreed to before he went out there.
We had to fill out an application and submit it and then wait for an opening before he would be considered. We were sent an agreement that Tom had to sign before he was allowed to go there. It was a list of what was done at Pinehaven. He had to agree not to run away, to participate in religious activities, not to steal, use profanity, lie.
That he give Pinehaven staff to examine his possessions, including all mail,giving them the right to discipline him as they think necessary to help guide and protect him.
Privileges were to earned as he gained the respect and trust of Pinehaven staff. It told you about phone calls, the length of the call as well as the amounts of phone calls you were allowed.
They told him about their schooling that he would attend, mail and visits, there wasn't to be any mentioned the length of time any person was to be there, that was determined as the kids progressed towards there goals.
So as you can see there was a lot of information given in this agreement and if you didn't think or want to comply with these rules, you didn't sign the agreement and you would not be accepted to go there. The house parents helped with any questions that might come up over time as well as Bob Larson and the rest of the staff.
Tom told us that he started out slowly getting used to it, but later after learning the way things were run and what was expected of him he said he really liked being there. We visited Tom the last of June and he seemed to be doing well, he was with us for a week visiting various places in Montana before we returned him to Pinehaven and he acted like he was glad to get back.
Three weeks later he ran, and we still don't know why. When the police picked him up and took him to the juvenile facility he said that he and Cody had hitched rides from various people to get back home, we heard that he and Cody were given a bus ticket by one of the parents to get home, that sounds more likely doesn't it.
Jerry Barbour
Terre Haute, IN.
