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What is the most important youth rights issue?
Voting Age
Drinking Age
Youth Curfews
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Censorship
Parenting
Contract Rights
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Votes: 371 | Comments: 24
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Front Page

Wednesday February 18th
· Girl expelled over Advil (0 comments)
· Autistic boy's death at church ruled homicide (1 comments)
· Kids tied up, stripped at state training schools, U.S. report says (1 comments)
· Training school shake-up reported (3 comments)
· Lawsuit: School forced pregnancy, STD tests (0 comments)

Wednesday November 12th
· Florida Teen's Business Shutdown by Homeowners Association (1 comments)

Wednesday May 28th
· U.S. Youths Rebel at Harsh School (10 comments)

Monday May 26th
· ACLU:student sent home for wearing anti-war t-shirt. (0 comments)
· School bans the word "gun" from spelling tests (1 comments)
· The Wrong Way to Legalize Marijuana (1 comments)

Older Stories...

Eagle Point Christian Academy aka Bethel Boys Academy Lucedale

By Anonymous Hero, Section News
Posted on Mon Jan 9th, 2006 at 08:11:31 AM PST
April 11, 2005
Riot rocks Lucedale academy

1 cadet missing, 9 arrested, 7 hurt after violent weekend

By Camille C. Spencer
caspencer@jackson.gannett.com

A manhunt for a missing student continued late Sunday in the wake of a weekend melee that left a dormitory building ravaged, seven cadets injured and nine cadets arrested at Eagle Point Christian Academy, a private school for troubled teen boys in Lucedale.

Four students, or cadets, ran away from the school Sunday afternoon. Three were caught less than a mile from the rural campus, but a fourth remained at large, George County Sheriff Garry Welford said Sunday night.

The sheriff said it's unknown if the school, directed by John Fountain of Lucedale, will be in session today.
The situation began at 10:57 p.m. Friday, when the Sheriff's Department received a 911 call from the school, formerly known as the Bethel Boys Academy, Welford said.

Deputies found a dormitory with shattered windows and overturned beds. Students told Welford that a rumor had been circulating that state investigators might arrive at the school over the weekend.

Students told him that caused some cadets to riot, Welford said.

The dormitory has been shut down because it's so badly damaged, Welford said, and until cleanup is completed, the school building is being used as sleeping quarters.

Efforts to reach Fountain on Sunday were unsuccessful. He took over Bethel Boys Academy from his father, Herman Fountain, nearly two years ago.

All 122 cadets were back in bed by 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, Welford said. "They (students) wanted to make it seem like there was a real problem there," he said. "None of those kids like it down there."

But the chaos continued throughout the weekend, he said. Students did additional damage to the school Saturday afternoon.

The school hired a private firm, Mississippi Security Police, that was on duty at the academy Saturday, Welford said. Deputies remained on campus over the weekend, he said.

Welford said he notified the Department of Human Services and the Department of Health of the situation over the weekend. On Sunday, Jacob Ray, spokesman for the state attorney general's office, said he could not verify whether his office is investigating.

The nine cadets were charged with disorderly conduct because they refused to comply with orders Friday and are being held at the Forrest County Juvenile Detention Center, Welford said. Of the cadets taken to George County Hospital, six were treated and released and one was hospitalized. Welford was unsure if the hospitalized cadet had returned to school on Sunday.

Bethel Boys Academy has a history of abuse allegations and state investigations dating to 1988, when 72 children were removed by state welfare officials. In 1990, a judge closed the school, then owned by Herman Fountain Sr. In 1994, Fountain reopened it as Bethel Boys Academy.

Early this year, the school changed its name to Eagle Point Christian Academy. John Fountain said the name change is an effort to disassociate the school from the past allegations.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hattiesburg American reporter Robert Malone contributed to this report.
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(1 comment) Comments >>

Bethel Boys Academy, Lucedale, MS. ABUSE & TORTURE

By Anonymous Hero, Section News
Posted on Mon Mar 28th, 2005 at 11:54:50 AM PST
This past summer of 2003 my husband and I placed our son at Bethel Boys Academy in Lucedale Mississippi. It is owned and run by Herman Fountain and his son John Fountain. My son was only there for a few days when I had changed my mind and returned to Miss. to claim him. Doing those few days he was beaten, tortured and deprived of food, sleep, water and bathroom privaleges. He was covered head to toe in bruises. We took our son to the Attorney General's office in Jackson, MS. They sent an investigator to get my son's deposition and also to try and take pictures of the bruises. Within the next month another 16 boys would be removed from that torture chamber. All with stories of abuse, beatings for no reasons, torture including electrical shock. Being locked in a foot locker for the whole day. Forced exercise for hours straight with no breaks and no water. The Attorney General's office had 13 of those boys testify before a judge asking to close the place down. Mike Moore publicly announced his intention to do just that in all the newspapers down in MS. We were all to appear in court on August 26th, 2003 to testify and show proof of the abuse the boys suffered at the hands of the Fountains and their evil Drill Instructors. Two days before court Mike Moore, the Attorney General made yet another deal with Bethel Boys Academy to allow them to remain open. I guess his political adgenda (possibly running for U.S. Senator) was more important to him than saving all those abused children's lives. The new decree with Bethel admits guilt right and left. It basically says they will no longer use electrical shock on the children. They will give them water to drink. I couldn't believe that the State of MS. knows about this abuse as this particular home has been in the news every year since they opened. The State even shut them down before only to have them reopen a few years later to continue with the abuse. We treat our P.O.W.'s better than that. These are innocent children. Herman and John Fountain love to blast their mouths in the paper that this is a last resort school. Only the bad children come there. My son wasn't bad, just getting off the right path. He wasn't in trouble with the law, never has been. My son was in there with children who thought Bethel was a private Christian Military Academy. They don't advertise as a teen boot camp where your child can be abused and tortured for a whopping $25,000 a year. The Fountains are liars and child abusers. The State of Miss. and Mike Moore are weak and too concerned about their own political agenda to do that right thing - which is to stop legalized child abuse.

(6 comments) Comments >>

Protest the Voting Age with ASFAR on Oct 30th and Nov 2nd!

By DavidSJ, Section Actions
Posted on Thu Oct 28th, 2004 at 03:18:30 AM PST

ASFAR is holding nation-wide protests to lobby for a lower voting age! Find the protest nearest you, and get in contact with the coordinator!

Planned Protest Locations

California
  Sacramento — in cooperation with NYRA
Robert Reynolds — Email · (510) 548-3322
Time: Sat, Oct. 30 @ 11:30 am - 12:45 pm
Location: South Lawn of Capitol Building
Press Release
 
Florida
  Royal Palm Beach
Patricia Botta — Email · (561) 371-3045
Time: Tue, Nov. 2 @ 5 pm
 
Illinois
  Chicago
Susan Wishnetsky — Email
Time: Sat, Oct. 30 @ 11 am - 4 pm
Location: Meet by Tribune Building, 435 North Michigan Ave. (more details)
Press Release
 
Massachusetts
  Boston
David Schneider-Joseph — Email · AIM · (781) 799-4540
Time: Tue, Nov. 2 @ 4:30 pm
Location: In front of City Hall (near Government Center T stop; directions)
Press Release
 
Michigan
  Parma
George Sanford — Email
 
Missouri
  Kansas City
Michael Graves — Email · AIM · (816) 809-7038
Time: Tue, Nov. 2 @ 2 pm - 7 pm
Location: Corner of Emanuel Cleaver and JC Nichols on the east side of the Plaza near the giant fountain. Call for directions.
Press Release
 
New York
  Delmar (near Albany)
Eli Gottlieb — Email · AIM · (518) 475-1286
Time: Tue, Nov. 2 @ 6 am - 6 pm (recommended you show up at 2 pm)
Location: Bethlehem Central Middle School (directions)
Press Release
 
  New York — in cooperation with NYRA
Oliver Traldi — Email · AIM · (610) 417-9724
Time: Sat, Oct. 30 @ 1 pm
Location: Union Square
Press Release
 
Pennsylvania
  Allentown
Anthony Gintadis Malin — Email · AIM · (610) 439-2324
 
  Yardley
Jessica Hook — Email
 
Virginia
  Hillsville
Andrew Jennings — Email · Home (276) 728-4306 · Cell (276) 237-8256
Time: Tue, Nov. 2 @ 12 pm
Location: County Complex
Press Release

(1 comment) Comments >>

Help organize the November 2nd ASFAR Voting Age Protests

By DavidSJ, Section Actions
Posted on Wed Sep 22nd, 2004 at 10:44:28 PM PST
ASFAR is holding nation-wide voting age protests, this Election Day, November 2nd! We are seeking local protest coordinators for locations around the country! Here are the steps to organize a voting age protest in your area:

1. Inform us.
Contact us to let us know you're organizing a protest. We need your name, email address, and the city of the protest. Your phone number and AIM screen name are optional, but appreciated.

We will contact ASFAR members in your area to invite them to the protest. We will also post the information on this site.

2. Choose a time and location.
Pick an exact time and location for the protest to happen. We recommend that you stage your protest near a polling station, so that voters will see you as they enter and exit the building. If possible, choose a station that a major politician will be voting at, since media are likely to be there. The best time of day is late afternoon, when kids will be done with school.

It is also recommended that you choose a backup date in case the weather is bad. Check the weather forecasts a week in advance so you can give advanced warning of postponement.

When you have selected an exact time and protest site, please let us know so we can tell interested parties.

3. Get a permit.
Call your local police to find out what the process is of acquiring permission to hold a demonstration. The sooner you do this, the greater the likelihood of getting permission in time!

4. Make signs and print out literature!
We'll send you copies of Youth Truth (our quarterly ’zine), as well as “Lower the Voting Age!” buttons, for handout at the protest. In addition, you can print out copies of our voting age position paper.

You may want to create flyers with the date and time of the protest, to hand out or post ahead of time. Here's an example flyer.

Finally, you'll want to make signs! Here are some PDFs of poster templates you can print out, then blow up into full-size signs at Kinko’s or another copy shop:

[Lower the Voting Age!] [No Taxation Without Representation!]
[We want to vote, too!] [We deserve the vote!] [We demand the vote!]

5. Inform the media.
Write a press release for dissemination to local media. A sample of what the press release should look like is here. It should include the date, time, and location of the protest, as well as your contact information. If there is a rain date, include that as a footnote.

Call all your major local newspapers, TV channels, and radio stations (even papers not in that city will be interested in covering the protest if someone from their coverage area will be attending). Fax them your press release. Then give them a reminder phone call the day before the protest happens.

6. Hold the protest!
All that's left to do is show up! Be prepared with answers to questions from reporters (you may want to read our voting age position paper). If you get a lot of people to come talk to you and think about the idea of lowering the voting age, your protest is a success! (Also, take pictures if you can, so we can post 'em online!)

Good luck, and have fun!

(1 comment) Comments >>

Please show respect for son's memory

By pedrop357, Section Philosophy
Posted on Tue Sep 14th, 2004 at 04:36:48 PM PST
Letter to editor in RGJ
http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2003/07/19/47327.php?sp1=rgj&sp2=Opinion&sp3=Opinion
4th down

Please show respect
for my son's memory

I'm the father of Nicholas Christopher Courson. Nick was born at St. Mary's Hospital in October 1986 seven weeks early and fought his way into this life. He was 16 years and 8 months old when he passed away.

Nick was no stranger to responsibility, as his older sister is developmentally delayed. From the time he could walk, he stood up for, took care of, loved and supported his sister. For you to portray him as irresponsible and immature is ridiculous and wrong.

Maybe you should look at the Washoe County School District driver's education class curriculum or our society's laws for young drivers, but not at the expense of my son's memory.

Please let Nick rest in peace.

Please don't do this to other families.

Please respect our memories.

Please use compassion when reporting another family's loss.

Please go on to other subjects.

A memorial fund in Nick's memory has been started at Marvin Picollo School, which is the way we would like to take something positive from this tragedy. Nick will be with us always; his courage, compassion, past works and good humor will be his legacy. We can all aspire to live life like my son did. I would also like to thank all the real people who are helping us rebuild our lives.

Chris Courson, Carson City

(1 comment) Comments >>

Boston ASFAR voting age protests a success!

By DavidSJ, Section News
Posted on Mon Aug 23rd, 2004 at 06:50:22 PM PST
Success!

The August 22nd Boston voting age protests were a great success! Stories appeared in The Boston Globe, the MetroWest Daily News, and the Daily News Tribune.

We attracted quite a bit of interest; lots of people came and talked to us, and were quite receptive to what we had to say.

Click Full Story for slideshow.

(4 comments, 390 words in story) Full Story

ASFAR Aug 21 Voting Age Protests!

By DavidSJ, Section Actions
Posted on Thu Aug 5th, 2004 at 02:29:50 PM PST
Attention youth rights supporters!

ASFAR is coordinating nation-wide voting age protests on Saturday, August 21!

Find the protest nearest you, and get in contact with the coordinator! If your location isn't listed here, please see the instructions below to organize a local protest.

(1 comment, 260 words in story) Full Story

Students to recieve $165 fine for being tardy

By pedrop357, Section News
Posted on Wed Feb 18th, 2004 at 08:42:55 PM PST
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,207~12026~1799171,00.html

WHITTIER -- Two strikes and you're out out of $165, that is.

That's the tardiness policy being implemented at Whittier High School, where students who arrive on campus after the 8 a.m. bell more than twice without being accompanied by a parent will now receive $165 tickets from the Whittier Police Department.

(449 words in story) Full Story

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