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April 12, 2005
Kemper
Proposal Draws a Crowd:
Gathering Gives Plan a Mixed Response
By JOHN SULLIVAN
of the Tribune’s staff
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.
Reach John
Sullivan at (573) 815-1731 or jsullivan@tribmail.com.
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