News from February 16, 2006 issue



3 dropped from Hargis case
Two local businesses and one individual have been released from the defamation lawsuit filed in 2004 by former Crittenden County School Superintendent Fredericka Hargis.

Circuit Judge Rene Williams in a ruling entered Feb. 6 released Lynn Auto Sales, Professional Touch Beauty Salon and Nancy Hodge from the lawsuit.

Hargis filed the action in December 2004 seeking $900,000 in actual and additional punitive damages against 13 individuals and businesses in Marion.

Judge Williams dismissed Professional Touch and its owner ShaRion Storie from the suit last week citing legal reasons why the beauty shop cannot be held liable. Hargis had contended that a former hairdresser at the beauty shop, Sue Millikan, had show copies a letter critical of Hargis to others in the shop.

Storie's attorney, Douglas Myers of Hopkinsville, successfully argued that Millikan, who is now deceased, was in fact an independent contractor and that Professional Touch could not be held vicariously liable for Millikan's actions.

Judge Williams' ruling said that Kentucky law does not allow tenants to be held liable in such situations. The judge dismissed the action against Professional Touch.
Storie said she was pleased with the ruling and reiterated claims that she made in answering the suit that she had no prior knowledge of the letter that purportedly defamed the plaintiff.

Judge Williams also released Lynn Auto Sales and Hodge because Hargis' attorneys had not filed an answer to their individual motions for summary judgment.

In essence, the two defendants filed motions asking the judge to release them based on law and because they had no liability in the case. Because Hargis' attorney, Charlie Ricketts of Louisville, never answered those motions, although he did respond to others of a similar nature, Lynn Auto Sales and Hodge were were released.

The plaintiff has 30 days to file an appeal to the judge's order.

Update: Corrected Paragraph: The judge has 90 days to rule on the others who sought release from the case through summary judgment. Those included Hodge Outdoor Sports, Leroy Hodge, Peoples Bank, Gordon Guess, Marion Homestyle Laundry, Angie Owen and Wildhair Saloon.

Other defendants, Joyce Curtis, Allen Lynn individually, Tracy Rozwalka and Kim Diles have not asked for summary judgment in the case.

Summary judgment is a ruling rendered by the court prior to a verdict based on material issues of fact and to which one party or the other is entitled to as a matter of law.

The defamation suit filed by Hargis charges that the defendants ­ individuals and businesses ­ facilitated the distribution of a six-page letter critical of Hargis and other school administrators. The letter was dated Jan. 1, 2004 and mailed to various individuals in the community, school board members and The Crittenden Press.
The letter was addressed "To Whom It Does Concern," and signed "Two Concerned Teachers." The author of the letter has never been identified, but the lawsuit leaves open the ability to enjoin other defendants at a later time.

Hargis is also suing the Crittenden County Board of Education for wrongful termination of her contract.

Hargis was fired by the school board on Dec. 22, 2004. The board fired her after a 10-month suspension that was issued just days after Hargis was charged with felony wanton endangerment in February 2004.

Hargis later entered an Alford plea in Crittenden District Court to a lesser misdemeanor charge of wanton endangerment for running over the foot of Tracy Rozwalka of Marion. The confrontation in a beauty shop parking lot with Rozwalka had purportedly started because of the anonymous letter critical of Hargis and others in the school system.

Hargis has asked for jury trials in regard to the defamation lawsuit and the action she brought against the school board. No trial date has been set for either case.

Strep jumps over vacation
Despite nearly a week off from school as a result of an outbreak of strep throat, attendance remained somewhat low Tuesday in Crittenden County.

A total of 88 students were absent Tuesday, the first day school was back in session since Feb. 7. There were 36 students out at the elementary school Tuesday, 27 out at the high school and 25 absent from the middle school.

Director of Pupil Personnel Al Starnes said attendance was 10 percent better Tuesday than it was one week earlier when school officials decided to call off classes for academic and financial reasons, and with hopes that children would get well.
School Health Coordinator Laura Wood reports additional cases of strep, which included high temperatures and headaches.

"Some of the kids I saw this morning had low-grade temperatures, around 98 or 99 degrees, but when they would come back in an hour or two, they would be up to 102 degrees," Wood said Tuesday. The stomach virus many kids complained of last week had decreased this week, school officials said.

Wood said custodians wiped down door knobs, desks and phones in each of the buildings while school was dismissed, and she encourages parents to do the same.

"Wiping down surfaces, door knobs and phones with antibacterial wipes like Clorox bleach wipes or even a bleach solution will kill germs that might be lingering," Wood says. She also encourages thorough handwashing, especially after kids get home from school or after shopping in high-traffic areas like the grocery store.