Council says NO to Kemper proposal

[Anonymous]

Childrens' rights advocate Lesli Rackers (left) and husband Jonathan, (right) stood outside Boonville City Hall Monday night before the council meeting. The two held signs protesting a proposal to put a boarding school for troubled youths in the Kemper campus. Rackers also addressed the council, urging them to reject the offer from the Hintons, citing abuse allegations.

Council says 'no' to Kemper proposal

By Karen Ratay Green--The Record Editor

 After several weeks of heavy debate, the Boonville City Council rejected a proposal by Golden Pond LLC to operate a boarding school for troubled teens on the Kemper property and refunded the $100,000 in earnest money. The decision drew audible cheers and applause from the audience.

Randall and Russell Hinton, who planned to operate the school, were waiting outside at the time of the vote. The council had scheduled a closed session to discuss the proposed contract, but when the time came, no motion was made to go into closed session.

Instead, Councilman Morris Carter made a motion to reject the proposal from Golden Pond LLC and refund the money. There was no discussion and the council quickly agreed with a 7-0 vote. (Councilman Einspahr was absent for a family emergency.)

A number of citizens addressed the council in a public hearing held a week ago, and again last night during public comments. The public hearing drew the largest crowd in recent memory to council chambers, about 75 citizens.

 
Boonville resident Pat Hanna said he had done a lot of "soul searching" over the proposal. He urged the city to maintain ownership and "control" of the property. He concluded by repeatedly hammering the phrase, "If we sell it, it's gone forever!"

Boonville resident and Kemper neighbor Ron Schmitz, who resides in the "Hitch House" with his wife and young daughters, shared his own research with the council.

Schmitz, who is also superintendent of the Boonville Correctional Center, explained the proposed boarding school would be a "very lucrative business."

Schmitz explained with 500 students at $3,500 per student, the school could collect $21,000,000 per year.

Schmitz suggested with that kind of profit, the city should consider operating the school themselves, if they saw a boot camp as a legitimate industry for Boonville.

Candy Iverson, a representative for "Citizens for Missouri's Children" explained how boot camp schools like Thayer Learning Center in Kidder, Missouri, can operate in Missouri more easily because of lack of regulation.

Thayer owners, John and Willa Bundy, are currently involved in litigation over the death of a student when he did not receive proper medical attention for a spider bite.

"We believe all children placed outside the home deserve protection under the law for their health and safety," said Iverson.

The issue of regulation and the news of the Kemper proposal spurred boot camp survivor Lesli Rackers into activism. Rackers and husband Jonathan protested the meeting and the public hearing with signs and public comments.

Now that the matter is settled in Boonville, Rackers said she will continue working to raise awareness about the brainwashing and torture that Rackers said may occur in these programs.

"As for myself, I will continue what I'm doing. Fighting for the rights of all of these children without voices or rights, and their parents who have been innocently caught in this sticky WWASPS' web. I hope to play a hand in educating parents of other options for their teen's safety. "

But not everyone who addressed the council opposed the deal.

Mark Farrell, secretary of Kemper Alumni Association, endorsed the proposed sale, suggesting the council was overlooking a golden opportunity.

"These gentleman and their financier are willing to invest $15 million in the next nine months...How many other feasible offers are out there?

Russell Hinton followed Farrell's remarks saying "I am hoping each of you has done your homework, as you should."

Hinton pointed out the group would not be asking for any abatements and that he and brother Randall were "here to help youth" and to bring economic growth to Boonville.

Hinton balked at the criticism and allegations of abuse reported by several different papers. "I'll just do what my faith teaches me, to show kindness and love to everybody."

Following the council's vote, Randall Hinton was reported as saying, "I'm sad for the city. Who doesn't want to help kids?"

[Anonymous]

On 2005-04-19 14:31:00, Anonymous wrote:

"Following the council's vote, Randall Hinton was reported as saying, "I'm sad for the city. Who doesn't want to help kids?"

Ahahahaha, he's kidding right?

See ya later WWASP!! :rofl:

[Antigen]

Sadly, I don't think he is kidding. We all know WWASP program use restraint and force or even pepper spray and long term isolation for stupid things like standing w/o permission or just not saying or doing what they say. And then they turn around and lie that they only use restraint as a last resort to prevent kids from hurting themselves or others. Seems like no one could possably know both sides and believe both versions, doesn't it. But I've seen it and it goes something like this.

How many times have you heard "the Program saved my/my kid's life! I/they would have been dead w/o it!"? I think you can take it as a given that, for the most part, WWASP supporters believe it.

So if a kid is not going along w/ the program, they're hurting themselves, even risking their very lives. And if they don't enforce compliance, then that would undermine other kids going along, thereby risking their lives as well. Therefore, refusing to give the solicited answer to a question, talking w/o permission, standing up to stretch or leave the room (within a lock-down facility) or any other deviance is, in their minds, a danger to the kid and others. So pepper spray or hog tying or prone restraint and torture are necessary to prevent the kid from harming themselves and others.

I know it seems impossible for anyone w/ an IQ greater than that of a cocker spaniel puppy to swollow that. But I did. Well, I never saw pepper spray or hog tying. But restraint and physical torture (limb twisting, hitting, etc.) was the common response to someone who, say, hummed a song or talked to the person next to them or, god forbid, tried to stand up w/o permission. I didn't really believe the program was life saving. But it was easy enough to blame the victim because, after all, there I was smart enough to do the math and conclude that resistance was futile. So they should do the same.

The Synanon method is neither therapeutic nor conducive to community building. It is, however, very effective!

The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.
--John Adams, U.S. President

[tlcrescue]

uh, uh, uh....another one bites the dust!  :grin:  :grin:  :grin:  :grin:  :grin:  :grin:  :grin:  :grin:

[Anonymous]

http://www.columbiatribune.com/2005/Apr ... omm004.asp

Delinquents need tough treatment to mend ways

Published Thursday, April 21, 2005

Editor, the Tribune: I live right across the street from the ghostly, dilapidated grounds of Kemper Military School. I am a 1997 graduate of Kemper Military College. The possible sale of Kemper has come under controversy because of alleged abuses in other schools by the staff that wanted to buy the grounds. Anyone who says there weren?t violent students at the old Kemper is a liar. They had students they called "drive-bys" - kids who were so violent they were drugged at night by their parents and psychiatrists and awoke at Kemper.

I witnessed children and adult cadets who were "abused." Students so exhausted they couldn?t concentrate in class because of vigorous exercise, senior cadets "encouraging" good behavior.

I question the extremes of discipline, but I see no former Kemper students complaining. Many will say Kemper saved them from a life in prison.

Drive down Main Street any summer night in Boonville, and you will see delinquents. You can witness drugs being sold in open view at the corner of Center and Main - 300 yards from Kemper?s door.

Where are the parents of these children? They don?t care. Golden Pond wanted to do something about these kids. Severe discipline is what they need. Boonville would benefit from dumping a property that is of no use to the city except a yearly fair - Heritage Days - that results in more trouble for neighbors than closely supervised delinquents.

And at least we could threaten misbehaving children, "Straighten up, or I?ll send you to Kemper."

 :flame:

[Anonymous]

What a selfish way to think. I truly pity her.  :cry:

[Antigen]

Not to mention totally irrational. Ever wonder why Kemper shut down in the first place? And how would having a WWASP program in town for out of town rich kids have any effect at all on the local street kids? Unless, of course, the Hintons would have been true to their word in not making it a locked facility. In that case, at least some of the kids might turn a buck smuggling stuff in.  

Madness takes its toll.  Please have exact change.
--Anonymous

[001010]

Don't forget about those scholarships they were so generously willing to offer.

What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult.
-- Sigmund Freud

_________________
EST 1983
Salesmanship Club '84-'86
Straight, Inc. '86-'88

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. ~ Edmund Burke

[Nihilanthic]

"toughness" will "change their ways!"

Wait, wait, think! stop just assuming shit that people say whilst smiling and nodding! (like the mm hmms you get on talk shows about how you need to break children like recalcitrant animals) HOW is "toughness" going to fix them, exactly?

No answer for that, huh? Well, I do know if you torture people enough, and they dont have the option of escape, they'll tow the line if it means they wont have to suffer anymore. Also, torture makes brainwashing easier.

Wasn't what you wanted to hear, was it?

It only takes a little prescience to understand that we're all fair game for the deeds we condone.

--Antigen

[Anonymous]

I ran into a friend recently who went to Kemper. Apparently the program abuse existed long before Randall Hinton came along with Lichfield's money trying to play teen torture in Boonville, MO.

[Anonymous]

Damn, these guys get around don't they?

Randall Hinton, Justin Neilson, Brian Lemmons

http://www.teenhelponline.com/staff.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous-
  And at least we could threaten misbehaving children, "Straighten up, or I?ll send you to Kemper."



The fact that a human being can write that they must threaten their child is the WORST parent i have evern heard of, why not love your child and respect them, Ive been tho the program, and i have my beliefs about it....definilty not all positive....but to resort to threatening your own children, i hope you dont have kids...and if you do, ill pray for their saqnity, and their well being, because it obviously wont come from you!!!

[Anonymous]

that quote struck me the same way.  How dare a parent try to threaten their children with placement.  It's funny, ever since I can remember, my parents always used to say "behave or we'll bring you to the orphanage, stop acting crazy or we'll commit you to the mental hospital, shape up or we'll send you to boot camp"  Mind you, I was a child, I'm talkin like 5 at the time... I heard it so often I just assumed they were bluffing... They weren't =P

[BuzzKill]

I don't see this as a short cut - From my point of view - it is more a matter of last ditch efforts to get a dangerously wayward teen under control.
Most of the program parents I know (myself included) tried one ineffective thing after another, in an attempt to parent their child.
If the teen is in open rebellion, then nothing done at home by the family is going to do a bit of good.  From the parent's perspective - they (I) feel/felt that they are responsible for the teen's safety. If they find nothing else is effecting a change in the dangerous behavior of their teen, they are prime candidates for these programs - because they do become desperate; and very afraid of what the future might bring if they don't intervene.
IMO - the common behavior of running away is what sends parents looking for lock down, or remote situations. You are looking for a situation the kid can't run away from.
And once again I feel the need to point out - the parents have no idea that these programs are what they are. They are lied to an manipulated by these programs in a very effective manner. Andin the case of many, the parent programming is also very real and effective.
People like to argue parents are at fault for not "doing their homework". OK. But I know in my case, I thought I had. I still don't know what more I could've done. And too, if you have no idea that such abuses ever take place, you don't know what to look for or what to be suspicious of. I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined OP, or even the no talking rules.
I will go on to say tho - that the situation has improved greatly, as far as information readily available on the net. Googling now, will bring up sites with information that was just not available a couple or three years ago.
For this I am very grateful - and its why I am so supportive of the work ISAC has done. They are an absolutely invaluable resource.
But back to the subject at hand - For the most part, the parents are not and looking for short cuts. Sure, some are no count, and just want to get the kid out of the way - but most really do love their kids and want desperately to see them healthy and happy and safe and sound. The programs are their last "best" effort.
Its really sad that their love for their kids is so effectively exploited by the evil of these programs.

[BuzzKill]

Why do they threaten the kid with a program?
I'd guess in most cases in the futile hope that the treat alone will effect enough change that they won't have to worry so much.