The Ottawa Herald
Page 8
Weekender, March 30-31, 2013
Central Heights facing bond issue to fund school district improvements By BOBBY BURCH Herald Staff Writer
RICHMOND — Patrons of the Central Heights school district soon will face the question of whether to support a $1.75-million bond issue or delay improvements to district facilities. If approved by voters on a June 4 mail-in ballot, Jim White, superintendent of Central Heights schools, said the bond would fund several improvements for the district. The improvements include the construction, equipment and furnishing of a new music room, locker room, kitchen, improved seating in the gymnasium and auditorium, as well as replacing the original building’s roof, which was built in 1967, White said. “The reason a bond issue was considered the most cost-effective for district patrons was the state would pay 46 percent of an approved bond issue,” White wrote to patrons in a March 16 letter. “So, you see why a bond issue is the most cost effective funding source for district improvements, the state will send back to the district 46 percent of the cost of each bond payment. You, as a district taxpayer, would recapture some of the money — 46 percent of the bond issue — you have already sent to Topeka and put it back to work for USD 288.”
More local news ■ Handcuffed man recaptured after police chase. See Page 3. ■ Wild ‘wheelies’ lead to motorcyclist’s arrest. See Page 3. If voted in, local taxpayers would encounter a 3 mill increase for 14 years, White said, equating to $34.50 per year on a $100,000 home. The relatively low levy should make the bond issue an appealing option for taxpayers, he said, considering the state plans to reclaim nearly half the cost. The plans have thoroughly been discussed by the school board for several years, White said, and the improvements address some of the district’s most urgent needs. “[Feedback] has been positive,” White said. “The [patrons] that I have spoken with see the needs as we have outlined them. But I’ve heard also that there are folks out there that think this is not a good time to be increasing taxes, but it will be only a minimal increase.” In addition to better facilities, the prospective plans should provide
better educational opportunities for students, White said. What’s more, he added, bond rates might never be this low again. “I don’t think there will ever be a time that’s better to undertake these upgrades — we’ll have great financing and the bond rates will be low,” White said. “One thing I would reinforce with the voters is that the facilities need these upgrades. ... I believe with improved facilities we will see an improved learning environment that will lead to higher academic achievement for our students.” The full bond issue’s question, as it will appear on the mail-in ballot, reads: Shall the following be adopted? Shall Unified School District No. 288, Franklin County, Kansas (Central Heights), issue general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $1,750,000, to pay the costs to construct, equip and furnish additions to the existing district school building, including a new music room, new locker room, new roof, and kitchen, gymnasium and auditorium improvements and make all other necessary improvements related thereto; all pursuant to the provisions of K.S.A 10-101 ET SEQ.; K.S.A 25-2018(F); K.S.A. 72-6761; AND K.S.A. 75-2315 ET SEQ.?
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Attorneys representing the reported victim of an alleged sexual assault have filed a civil lawsuit seeking damages against Yvonne Scrutchfield and her former day care business. Yvonne Scrutchfield Day Care Home, 607 N. Cedar St., was the location Scrutchfield’s husband, Eric Scrutchfield, was accused of assaulting a then-4-year-old girl in spring 2011. A Franklin County jury March 8 found Eric Scrutchfield not guilty of rape and lewd and lascivious behavior in connection with the alleged assault. The jury of six men and six women, however, could not reach a verdict on the other two charges in connection with the case — aggravated indecent liberties with a child and aggravated criminal sodomy — after 23 1/2 hours of deliberation. Scrutchfield could be retried on those two counts if prosecutors seek a new criminal trial. The jury was split 11-1 in favor of acquittal on those two counts, according to reports. Scrutchfield maintained throughout the investigation and criminal trial that he was not guilty and said no such assault
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Attorneys are seeking an unspecified monetary amount in damages against the day care and its owner. The petition also asks for a jury trial.
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ever took place. Attorneys Ryan T. Merrigan of Lenexa and Brant McCoy of Olathe filed a civil suit this week on behalf of the girl and her family, seeking an unspecified monetary amount in damages against the day care and its owner. The petition, filed Monday in Franklin County District Court, also asks for a jury trial. District Judge Eric W. Godderz, who presided over the criminal trial, was listed as the judge for the civil case. A hearing date has not been set in the case. Attorneys Merrigan and McCoy did not return phone calls Thursday and Friday, and Yvonne Scrutchfield could not be reached for comment.
PROSECUTOR: Trial venue could move (Continued from Page 1) Although Hiatt aired no qualms with The Herald’s motion to intervene in the case, he indicated that details of the allegations, which also are sought after by KCTV5 and The Kansas City Star, likely would become available during Curry’s first criminal hearing 1 p.m. Monday. Senior Judge John E. Sanders ultimately will decide whether to open the sealed records. Hiatt said Curry’s defense attorney had not sought to close Monday’s court proceedings. “Most, if not all, the information contained in the state’s petition will be presented through testimony at the preliminary hearing in [the criminal case against Curry],” Hiatt wrote, adding that Franklin County District Court’s unstated rationale to initially seal the information was likely to ensure a fair trial. “While there is not a factual record supporting the decision to seal the pleadings in [the civil case against Curry], it may be assumed that one of the primary reasons was to ensure a fair trial free from prejudice for the individuals charged. It was well known to all involved that this matter would almost certainly be widely reported by the media. ... At least one of the intervenors in this matter [The Herald] has followed the defendant’s professional and personal travails very closely.”
To overcome the potential prejudice as a result of the public’s and media’s significant interest in the cases against Curry, Hiatt intimated that courts historically have changed a trial’s venue. In the past, courts have changed a trial’s venue as a means to ensure a jury without prejudice against the defendant or defendants. “The ultimate outcome of the court’s decision on whether to unseal pleadings in [the civil case against Curry] may be a motion to change venue,” Hiatt wrote. “To succeed, the movant must show actual prejudice to substantial rights of the defendant in the community from which the venire will be drawn.” Though a change of venue is possible, Haitt contended that such concerns about unsealing the information relating to the allegations against Curry and Fredricks are without evidence and “speculative.” As such, the decision to unseal the documents is “left wholly up to judicial discretion,” he said. “The court could certainly conclude the matters pending before the courts are of great interest to the residents of Franklin County,” Hiatt wrote. “Providing a fair trial in [the criminal case against Curry] is always an important consideration for the state and for the judiciary. Public dissemination of the pleadings in [the criminal and civil cases against Curry] could impair the abil-
ity of the judicial system to provide the defendant a fair trial; however, these concerns are cautionary at this time and absent specific evidence must necessarily be based, at least in part, on speculation.”
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