Perhaps the groups most significant feat of reporting came in June 1996, when a Middletown sheriffs lieutenant escorted Isseks and two female students into the countys sheriff station. "As the District Attorney announces the filing of formal charges against the students involved in the football hazing incident, the Middletown Area School District and School Board want to again express our disappointment and concern for the actions of these students," Hunter said in a statement Tuesday. . Neither White nor Coleman has ever been charged. We know we must work to address the culture of this team, educate our student body about hazing, and put programs in place to help us ensure that this kind of atmosphere is never allowed to exist in our school facilities.". Middletown Town-Wide Garage: See Participating Locations, Discolored Water In Middletown? Status: Did not seek re-election to the school board in May 2003. In Poisoning For Profit: The Mafia And Toxic Waste In America, published in 1985, authors Alan A Block and Frank R Scarpitti documented similar scenarios across the US. y the mid-90s, the students documentary had picked up political steam. Sean Simmers | ssimmers@pennlive.com. August 18, 2022. The boy is now 15 and a student at Middletown High School. It did not report any misconduct to child welfare authorities until 1989, in the course of Scott's lawsuit. In response to the threat against the high school, Middletown school officials said there will be an increased police presence at the school on Monday. Robert Sigler: School district superintendent hired in 1996; arrested in January 2003; pleaded guilty to second-degree sodomy and sentenced in July 2003 to 1? Peterson was told in 2004, 2006, 2011, 2012 and 2015 about numerous allegations of abuse, according to interviews with alumni and documents obtained by The Associated Press. David Birmingham, a former student of Isseks who graduated in 1995. iddletown sits amid rich, rolling agricultural lands and mountains with biblical names, such as Mount Adam and Mount Eve. Middletown High 200 LaRosa Lane Middletown, CT 06457 Phone: 860-704-4500 Fax: 860-347-2044 Diodato has never been criminally charged, according to the Asbury Park Press. This follows video of a sexualized hazing incident coming to light on the 11th. Bernard Cohen: Principal of Middletown High School; contacted police regarding Sigler's relationship with the boy before Sigler's arrest; ordered that all visits between the boy and Sigler be supervised when at high school; mentioned in a grand jury report as the only one to take measures to air suspicions; school board launched investigation into Cohen in April 2003; Cohen re-assigned to work at home in December 2003; banned from school grounds. The man went on to falsely claim that he was suffering from terminal cancer, adding that he wasnt afraid to take someone with him. During the last ice age, he explains, massive glaciers sculpted the land into the gentle bowls and valleys that would later be so appealing to Middletowns 20th-century landfill entrepreneurs. The season might not be over for Middletown cheerleaders and marching band after all. Published: Feb. 24, 2022 at 8:16 PM PST. As many as six other students may have been assaulted but have been reluctant to cooperate with police, the release said. Facing what he interpreted as professional retaliation for complaining about conditions at the landfill, Bohnwagner also threatened to reveal the location of something called the tomb. January 25, 2023. But since at least the 1970s, leaders at St. George's kept a secret. (In 1995, the Town of Wallkill landfill was capped using just such construction debris.). It wasnt clear if the new video is of the same incident the district described Tuesday or a separate incident. The eight other students face varied charges, including unlawful restraint, simple assault and hazing. LOS GATOS, CA OCTOBER 12: Shannon OConnors house photographed in Los Gatos, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021. Rachel Raimist was one of the first students to get involved in the landfill documentary. Now a family man, running his own tutoring business, Birmingham tells me that Isseks class awakened in him a passion for environmental conservation. Although all three major landfills explored in the documentary are now closed and no longer receive waste of any kind, concern about their impact on the region persists. I think there are more people I worked with on those documentaries in high school who still work in film and television than the people I went to film school with, he says. Middletown was set to open their season on Friday against Lower Dauphin. Are they part of your diet? to five years in prison; resigned as superintendent; attacked his first day in prison. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. They were literally going to plant grass on top of a known toxic waste dump and build a park and an adjacent school. That this never came to pass is at least one strike in the documentarys favour. Both went on to other schools around the U.S. before retiring several years ago. These experiences contributed to a sense among the students that they might be getting in over their heads. Isseks is himself a 1966 graduate of the school; his senior yearbook describes him as intelligent and sincere, with a streak of devil in him. More than a year after the documentary was finished, Middletown politicians found themselves confronting yet another controversial project, this time a waste-to-ethanol plant. She and Isseks both interpret this as a sign of potential structural failure. Ten students have been charged in last month's alleged hazing incident involving the Middletown Area High School football team, the Dauphin County District Attorneys Office announced in a news release Tuesday. What had the students found out? "It was because the prestige and the fundraising capacity of the school was more important than any one kid.". Two students, both 17, are charged with multiple counts of criminal attempt to commit involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault, unlawful restraint, simple assault and hazing, according to the release. He alleged a history teacher at Thorne Middle School sexually abused him "hundreds, if not thousands of times" from 1978 to 1983. What was going on at the landfills? The EPA does not have quality information on the boundaries of non-federal waste-disposal sites, such as those near Middletown; it does not know how many such sites there are, or whether they will be impacted by extreme weather events. Another interviewee, a former driver for a mafia-owned waste-hauling firm, described tipping fuming truckloads of paint sludge from a nearby automobile factory straight into the dump. Some text has been added or changed to clarify the locations of the landfills around Middletown. Brewster said that when he asked why the school didn't notify parents and the authorities, the two men replied that teenagers might be dragged in to testify and that their parents might also bring an "avalanche of lawsuits" against the school. As a result of the alleged hazing, seven students have been expelled from Middletown High School and an eighth is being voted on during tonights school board meeting. 87. Howard "Howdy" White, who abruptly left in 1974 after a parent accused him of inappropriate sexual conduct with a student. The alleged August assault took place in the team's turf room with no adult supervision for 23 minutes. WebFind Us . Subscribe to Our Newsletters, 4801 Lindle Road Robin Markovitz: Elected president of the school board in the summer of 2002; despite warnings from Cohen and others, signed Sigler's new employment contract (including a pay raise) on Sept. 12, 2002; wrote letter to Sigler Oct. 7, 2002, reminding him that he had been told to have no contact with the boy he was later arrested for sodomizing; re-elected president by fellow board members in July 2003. The man said the abuse started in 1978 when he was 13-14 years old and a middle school student at Thorne. Contact the Middletown Patch reporter: Carly.baldwin@patch.com Subscribe to Patch: https://patch.com/subscribe, Man Sues Middletown School District, Alleging Sex Abuse. The agency said it had no authority to act because the alleged victims were over 18. "I know this decision will be met with many different opinions and emotions and will impact many students and families," Hunter wrote. Rather, two of these individuals committed repeated sexual assaults and encouraged others to participate under the guise of hazing.. Birmingham tells me that he grew accustomed to seeing local politicians annoyed at the students, irritated by Birminghams own habit of showing up to film town hall meetings, filing endless freedom of information requests. Middletown Area School District Superintendent Dr. Chelton Hunter said in a statement that the district wants to "express our disappointment and concern for the actions of these students. For his part, Isseks insists that he went out of his way to ensure his students safety, often bringing other adults along on excursions. ''It's a bad example because it's someone you look up to,'' he said. Some businesses would cocktail their wastes with construction debris, allowing crushed drywall, lumber and other porous building materials to absorb dangerous chemicals. More such allegations quietly piled up in the years that followed. February 23, 2023. School officials last month said they had decided to cancel the 2022 football season after learning there was a second video and that the number of players involved was larger than initially believed. Superintendent Chelton Hunter and the district legal counsel Jeff Litts confirmed to PennLive that the expulsions are related to the alleged August hazing incident. A spokeswoman for both the school and Peterson declined to comment on specific allegations, citing an independent investigation underway. I loved the power of telling stories and getting adults upset, she says with a laugh. There was an error processing your request. "This offer is an attempt to right a wrong," Peterson wrote to the man in a 2006 letter obtained by the AP. The problems at St. George's burst into view in mid-December, about a week before the in-house report was issued, when The Boston Globe reported the story of Anne Scott, who said she was repeatedly raped by athletic trainer Al Gibbs as a 15-year-old in the 1970s. They described Mr. Sigler as a strict man who was known for following and enforcing school rules; that made his arrest all the more shocking, they said. Smiths words are followed by shots of rust-coloured leachate pooling on the soil: unidentified chemicals oozing from the waste mass. The Middletown Area School District's school board expelled seven students involved in the August hazing incident that prompted the district t, Ten students have been charged in last month's alleged hazing incident involving the Middletown Area High School football team, the Dauphin Co. A Pennsylvania prosecutor announced charges in juvenile court Tuesday against 10 students in connection with alleged hazing of high school football players that promptedcancellation of the teams season. Click here to learn more about the role the Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund plays in Lancaster County and to make a tax-deductible donation. Drunk, the man warned Isseks student to leave the landfill alone. When he stood for the first time, Pahucki says, it was a single-issue election: you either agreed with his opponent, who sought to reopen and even expand the countys landfills, or you wanted to close those facilities entirely. This is the second time this year the Middletown school district has been hit with such a lawsuit: In July, an adult man in his 50s who now lives on Long Island similarly sued the district. It Might Be Hydrant Flushing, Lincroft Students Advance To Finals In International Math Contest, Good Friday, Seven Last Words of Christ, Service of Darkness, Be the Judge and Jury: Legal Studies Discussion, Pet Groomer & Dog Bather Wanted For Busy Pet Salon, Animal Cruelty Charged Against Howell Man In Killing Of Pet Cat, Check Out These Homes For Sale In Middletown. Middletown Area High School has a new head football coach after a hazing scandal that led to the cancellation of its2022 football season. WebMiddletown High School (Pa.) has canceled its 2022 football season in light of new evidence in a hazing scandal. customerservice@witf.org. Over the next six years, culminating in 1997, students passing through Isseks high school class would film, edit, and release a feature-length documentary that exposed a generations worth of illegal, mob-connected dumping of toxic materials in their part of New York state. Richard McCormack: School board member at the time of Sigler's arrest; seen outside Sigler's house while the boy was there. The goal was to train the schools teenage students in film-making and media production, using local subjects as a starting point perhaps a documentary about the citys sports teams or an amateur talkshow. January 25, 2023. The problem will be relevant as long as its here.. To me, it was like: theres no way theres a toxic waste dump basically in my backyard. This started when he was 13 and lasted until he was 16, per the lawsuit. Hamblet thanked him, but nothing else happened, Groome said. District officials have shared the new video with police and are continuing to work to finish their investigation. One of the students most shocking discoveries comes during an interview with Dieter Bohnwagner, a stocky, mullet-haired former worker at the Orange County landfill. Is Middletown, as a community, safer today because of the students work? He added that the school's willingness to pay for therapy was "in no way an admission of responsibility.". . Isseks asked his students if they might be interested in interviewing the men. Middletown sits amid rich, rolling agricultural lands and mountains with biblical names, such as Mount Adam and Mount Eve. Any staff members who were found to have ignored this kind of hazing will also face disciplinary action It simply cannot and will not be tolerated. n October 2019, Isseks, Cleaver, Birmingham and I go for a long hike along the Wallkill River, scrambling through thick growth across from the Orange County landfill. The teenagers alternated between grungy early-90s flannel and choker necklaces and awkward attempts at business attire as they honed their reporting skills. For Isseks and his students, the logbook was undeniable proof of illegality not just evidence of toxic dumping, but of collusion between town officials and corrupt waste-hauling firms. Sufficiently spooked, the student dropped Isseks class. After more videos surfaced, the school district canceled the football season. Middletown Area School District has cancelled its high school football season amid a growing hazing scandal. The trees were falling over in the wrong direction. Astors, Vanderbilts and Bushes have attended the exclusive boarding school, where students can go sailing, play on world-class squash courts or simply enjoy a sweeping view of the sea from the hilltop campus. Their most powerful ally would prove to be New York state representative Maurice Hinchey. Diodato declined to comment to an Asbury Park Press reporter who contacted her at her home. Even the deputies now seemed to be on their side, accelerating a sense that the city wanted its toxic secrets unearthed. Jason Flores, 14, a ninth-grade student at Middletown High School, said students would be more careful about being alone with a teacher or school officials. An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Status: Submitted his resignation September 2003; ordered to stay home for the 30 days between time he gave notice until his resignation took effect. Dauphin County school district investigates hazing, cancels high school football season, Hazing back in the spotlight after recent incident in Middletown. The release said 10 students have been charged with having involvement in the incident and that six students, ages 14-17, were sexually assaulted over the year. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. WebMiddletown High School Athletic Director, Scott Govern, was named Head Coach at Tuesdays night school board meeting. At one point, a DEC employee arrives and begins taking photographs of us from the opposite river bank. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. NEW! Middletown High School (Pa.) has canceled its 2022 football season in light of new evidence in a hazing scandal. If convicted of the charges, he faces up to seven years in prison, prosecutors said. More: This Freshman has five college offers before playing first high school game, NIL News: St. John Bosco announces first-of-its-kind NIL deal with Sports Performance group, SCORES: Live in-game results around the nation as they happen, Live-Stream your teams games in 2022 on the NFHS Network. The goal was to train the schools teenage students in film-making and media production, using local subjects as a starting point perhaps a documentary about the citys sports teams or an amateur talkshow. St. George's previously issued a statement apologizing "for the harm done to alumni by former employees and former students." WebThe Middletown Area School District in Dauphin County has canceled its football season following hazing incidents.In a letter to parents, Superintendent Chelton Hunter said the You shouldnt be cutting class, she remembers Isseks saying, you should be taking Electronic English. 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