Kemper proposal draws a crowd
Gathering gives plan a mixed response.
By JOHN SULLIVAN of the Tribune?s staff
Published Tuesday, April 12, 2005
BOONVILLE - The would-be operators of a proposed military-style school in Boonville responded to questions, statements of support and pointed accusations about child abuse at a public meeting last night.
Randall Hinton, who would head the school that seeks to take over the former Kemper Military School campus, has said repeatedly that his school would have no affiliation with an international organization founded by Robert Lichfield, the wealthy businessman whose Golden Pond Investments Ltd. of Utah has proposed buying the Kemper campus from Boonville. Hinton would sublease the property from Golden Pond.
Lichfield founded World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, or WWASPS, a group of boarding schools that has received widespread attention in news reports and from government officials for allegations of child abuse.
WWASPS President Ken Kay said Lichfield is one of three board members of the St. George, Utah-based organization, which has seven schools in the United States and two abroad.
At least eight of the group?s schools and programs have closed within the last decade.
Boonville has been trying to sell the Kemper property since the city acquired it for $500,000 in 2003, a year after the school closed. A contract by Lichfield to buy Kemper already sits before the Boonville City Council, although Boonville police are advising the city hold off on a decision until authorities investigate Lichfield?s organization.
Lichfield did not appear at last night?s meeting at Boonville City Hall. Mason Gardner, chief financial officer of Golden Pond.
Gardner repeated claims by Hinton that Kemper, if reopened, would have no affiliation to WWASPS, despite the fact that Boonville city officials confirmed last week that they received a $100,000 check signed by Lichfield as an intent of offer for the property.
Gardner said Golden Pond would front the full cost of the purchase price for Kemper.
The asserted lack of connection between Hinton, Golden Pond and WWASPS riled one speaker at the public meeting, attended by about 70 people.
"Someone who is affiliated with Golden Pond, who is affiliated with WWASPS, who is affiliated with the Hintons: Is that not an affiliation?" asked Jonathan Wilcox of Columbia, who spoke to oppose the sale.
Mark Farrell, secretary of the Kemper Military School Alumni Association, supported Hinton?s proposed school and lashed out at detractors.
"If I thought there was any merit to these accusations, I would be the first one to say ?no,? " said Farrell.
Concerns about Hinton included his credentials. He does not have a college degree, and none of his family members who would help run the school is a licensed educator or mental health professional. Missouri law does not require licensing credentials for teachers in privately owned schools.
Hinton said he would hire a qualified administrator to run the school. He said he would seek accreditation through the Boise, Idaho-based Northwest Association of Accredited Schools & Colleges.
As for the allegations, Hinton said: "I have never been charged for a crime."
Tom Maxwell, a 1955 Kemper alumni and Boonville resident, said he wants to see the school reopened,
"But I see no credentials for" the Hintons "to open Kemper," he said.
Columbia resident Lesli Rackers told Hinton she was a friend of a parent who tried to file a criminal complaint against him. She said the woman was told by the FBI that she would have to file her complaint in Jamaica, where the alleged abuse occurred.
Rackers read aloud from what she said was a notarized affidavit from a woman recounting alleged abuse of her son by Hinton and others eight years ago at a WWASPS facility in Jamaica. Hinton declined comment.
http://www.columbiatribune.com/2005/Apr ... ews005.asp __________________________________________________
Posted on Tue, Apr. 12, 2005
Skeptical crowd hears plan for school
By STEVE ROCK
The Kansas City Star
BOONVILLE, Mo. ? Before a standing-room-only crowd of 75 or more persons, the prospective new operators of Kemper Military School found themselves on the defensive Monday night.
The setting was a public hearing at City Hall at which residents were invited to show support or voice concerns about a recent bid to purchase Kemper. The school, which closed in 2002, has been owned by the city since April 2003.
A group led by Robert Lichfield, the founder of a controversial association of boarding schools, submitted a formal offer in March to purchase the seven buildings and adjacent property. Lichfield's group would lease the facility to brothers Randall and Russell Hinton, who would operate it.
Lichfield was not at Monday's meeting, but Randall and Russell Hinton have moved to Boonville and attended.
Outside City Hall, protesters holding signs met the Hintons.
?Our plan,? Randall Hinton told the crowd inside, ?is to open the Kemper campus as Kemper.?
The secretary of the Kemper alumni association expressed support, saying the Hinton brothers should get the chance ?to do what's right for Kemper.? Another graduate reiterated that position.
However, Tom Maxwell, who attended Kemper from 1950-55 and has lived in Boonville for 12 years, said he had nothing against the Hintons, ?but I see absolutely no credibility whatsoever to reopen Kemper.?
After speaking, Maxwell received a round of applause.
?These guys are not qualified to run a military school,? Maxwell said after the meeting, which lasted nearly two hours. ?If they want to run a boys' school, that's one thing. But that's not Kemper.?
There were questions about Lichfield's organization, called the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools. The organization has been the subject of abuse allegations, which an official has denied.
Randall Hinton said after the meeting that the questions raised were fair and the concerns were valid.
He countered those who said he and his brother are too young and don't have the credentials to run a military school ? Randall is 30, Russell is 26 ? by stressing that both had a long history of working with troubled teens.
?That's where our experience is going to come into play,? he said.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascit ... 370876.htm