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September 17, 2003
State Seeking Accord With
Girls School: Bethel Academy Problems Called Correctable
By Lora Hines
lohines@clarionledger.com
State officials are
negotiating with a church-based home for at-risk girls to allow the
return of 38 teens removed after some alleged they were abused.
Earl Scales, an assistant
state attorney general, said problems at Bethel Girls Academy near
Petal can be corrected, and an agreement to allow the girls back
could be reached as early as next week.
"The school serves a
purpose," Scales said.
Herman Fountain Jr., the
director of the home, denies the allegations of abuse.
"That's all they are,
allegations," he said. "They haven't proved anything."
Fountain, however, said he
doubts he can come to an agreement with the state attorney general's
office.
He said he doesn't want to
stop using exercise as a form of punishment, a concession the state
demands.
"We're not able to
discipline the girls any other way," Fountain said. "We don't use
corporal punishment. (State officials) wanted us not to use
exercise. I didn't agree with that."
In May, the state Department
of Human Services took custody of all girls at the academy as a
result of abuse allegations. Some girls told investigators they were
forced to swim in a sewage pond and exercise until they vomited.
DHS spokesman Rick Whitlow
would not comment and referred calls to the state Health Department.
The Health Department referred calls to the attorney general's
office.
It is the second
investigation at the academy in less than two years. The girls
academy, founded by Fountain's father, opened in 1999.
Parent complaints of abuse
and neglect at the companion Bethel Boys Academy in Lucedale last
year led to a similar investigation by DHS and the attorney
general's office. The boys academy, also founded by Fountain's
father and directed by his brother, John Fountain, agreed to adopt
new policies.
The Fountains didn't admit
to any wrongdoing.
Herman Fountain said the
girls removed from the academy want to return.
Michael Reed, a Hattiesburg
attorney for parents of some of the girls, said his clients had to
find other places to send their children.
"Obviously, the allegations
are of a concern," Reed said. "That's why they are taking a
wait-and-see approach (with the negotiations)."
The children of Reed's
clients didn't complain to investigators, Reed said. He would not
identify his clients.
Melissa Lashuay of Chicago
is hopeful Fountain can correct the academy's problems. Her
daughter, Brittany, 14, was one of the girls removed from the
academy.
Lashuay's oldest daughter,
Stephanie, previously attended the academy.
"It really turned my
daughter around," Lashuay said of Stephanie. "There's been such an
improvement in her."
Five girls now attend the
academy, Fountain said. More are to come.
He said the academy has lost
about $200,000 since the girls were removed. Tuition costs $2,000 a
month per student.
Academy employees have been
working part-time.
Fountain said he has had to
borrow $1,400 to pay the academy electric bill and $1,700 for the
mortgage.
"We've been in worse shape
than this," he said. "This isn't going to stop me from helping
people."
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