By JOHN SULLIVAN of the Tribune's staff
Published Tuesday, April 5, 2005
BOONVILLE - The operators of a proposed new school on the Kemper Military School property have plans to turn the facility back into a military academy similar to the one that closed down three years ago.
Randall Hinton, 30, said he plans to seek accreditation and return Kemper to its military school roots, which trace back to 1844. The school closed in 2002, and the city of Boonville purchased the property for about $500,000.
Hinton is a former director of at least two schools and owner of one affiliated with World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, which specializes in behavioral modification programs for difficult teens.
The St. George, Utah-based organization is facing scrutiny from federal and local officials investigating allegations of child abuse.
The founder of the organization, Robert Lichfield, has been in talks with Boonville officials for several months about buying the Kemper property through a holding company, Golden Pond Investments Ltd. of Utah.
The Boonville City Council reviewed the offer at a meeting last night.
A public hearing is planned on Monday.
Hinton appeared at last night's meeting with his brother Russell Hinton and Russell's brother-in-law, Warren Williams.
Randall Hinton said he and his family would operate the school according to the principles in a book called "Positive Peer Culture" by Harry Vorrath and Larry Brendtro.
The authors recommend the use of peer support to teach people to help and care for others, Hinton said.
Randall Hinton said his family belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He said the school will teach "principles and morals" but that students will be allowed to practice their own faith.
The school would teach seventh- through 12th-grade classes, and cadets would wear uniforms and follow behavior codes based on a mixture of Kemper handbook guidelines and positive peer culture, Hinton said. The cost would be $1,000 to $3,000 a month.
The cadets would not be able to go off campus unless authorized and supervised by a staff member, Hinton said. The former Kemper school allowed its students to freely go off campus.
Hinton, who would direct the new school, has worked as an assistant director or director for several World Wide Association schools, including ones in Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Mexico.
At least one of the schools, Dundee Ranch in Costa Rica, was closed down amid allegations of child abuse. Tranquility Bay in Jamaica also faced allegations of abuse, including a charge that school administrators used pepper spray on students.
When asked about the allegations, Hinton said pepper spray was used at Tranquility Bay, where he worked eight years ago, for a two-month period as a "safer" way to control kids who would become violent.
"But it didn't work," he said.
Hinton said the method of education at Kemper would be different from those used by World Wide Association schools. The academy, he said, would be run independent of the association.
Mark Farrell, secretary of the Kemper Military School Alumni Association, said he had a private meeting with Randall and Russell Hinton and found them to be "sincere, honest individuals."
Reach John Sullivan at (573) 815-1731 or jsullivan@tribmail.com.
