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April 4, 2005
City Received
Offer From Accused School Operator:
Boonville Eyes Selling Former Kemper Military School Property
By JOHN SULLIVAN
of the Tribune’s staff
A potential
buyer of Boonville’s former Kemper Military School property founded
an organization accused of having affiliations with schools where
child abuse allegedly occurred.
Boonville
officials will discuss in closed session tonight a purchase offer
from Robert Lichfield, the founder of World Wide Association of
Specialty Programs, said Ned Beach, president of Boonville’s
Industrial Development Authority.
St. George,
Utah-based World Wide Association provides behavioral-modification
programs for wayward teens.
Boonville
purchased the Kemper property in April 2003 for about $500,000, and
the Boonville development authority has a contract with the city to
review the proposals for the property.
Lichfield made
the purchase offer through Golden Pond LTD, an investment holding
company based in Utah.
Beach declined
to provide details about Lichfield’s offer, saying only that he was
approached about the school two to three months ago by Randall
Hinton, a former Utah resident who had moved to Boonville. Hinton
later introduced Beach to Lichfield, Beach said.
If the proposal
receives approval, Hinton will become the director of a new school
on the property. Details about the school were unclear, and Hinton
did not return calls from the Tribune.
City officials
said that the meeting tonight will only review the contract and that
a vote on the proposal in an open session is highly unlikely.
Several schools
affiliated with World Wide Association have been shut down over
allegations of child abuse. One investigation of an affiliate
school, Majestic Ranch in Utah, resulted in a misdemeanor assault
conviction, The Kansas City Star reported.
The allegations
prompted U.S. Rep. George Miller of California to request an
investigation into the organization by the U.S. Attorney General’s
Office in 2003. The allegations include statements by former
students of torture and brainwashing.
Ken Kay,
president of World Wide Association, said in an e-mail to the
Tribune that Lichfield’s business relationship with Hinton has
nothing to do with the association. Kay said he has met Hinton, who
formerly worked at several World Wide-affiliated schools, but said
he does not have formal business relations with him.
"I am not
involved, or is WWASPS, in any way with Mr. Hinton," Kay said. "For
any information regarding" Hinton and Lichfield’s "relationship,
contact Mr. Hinton or Mr. Lichfield."
Beach, of
Boonville’s development authority, said a police review of Hinton’s
background found nothing wrong.
Beach said he
will be presenting Lichfield’s offer for the property to the city
council at 7 tonight during the body’s regular meeting at City Hall.
Reach John
Sullivan at (573) 815-1731 or
jsullivan@tribmail.com
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