Published: March 28, 2008 10:26 pm            

David M. Jones: Seeking truth and closure

Printing facts is paramount. As long as the facts are never presented, rumors and speculation will continue to run rampant until the facts are known. Until that happens, closure won’t occur.

We live in an impatient society and when people see similar or even worse incidents reported on the six o’clock news, it is extremely difficult for them to understand why the events surrounding David M. Jones, a former Model High School teacher who had his teaching certificate revoked due to accusations of misconduct, were not immediately reported. Now that the facts have been presented, it puts an end to all the rumors surrounding this event that have been, in many cases, more damaging than the truth itself.

The decision to publish this type of information is never easy because of the sensitivity of it and the individuals involved. We realize there are those who will not agree with our decision; however, we have a responsibility to our employees, our readers and to the public to present the facts no matter how sensitive it may be or who it may involve.

And if we don’t do that, we are not worthy of the public’s trust or our position as the community watchdog. This is why we presented the facts surrounding this incident even though more time has elapsed than we would have liked. We strive for immediacy; however, sometimes it’s just not possible.

When news of this incident broke, not much information was available and Mr. Jones was never identified as the teacher involved until now. There was a perception of a cover-up by Model High School and Eastern Kentucky University on community forums. The Richmond Register was accused of being “bought out” because of the high-profile position of his wife, Richmond City Commissioner Kay Cosby Jones. In the online forums, Mr. Jones was often portrayed as something far worse than the facts have shown.

This was not good for any of the parties involved and based on what we now know, none of it was accurate. Printing the facts and actions by all parties should dispel those rumors still circulating in the public.

Model and EKU were accused of a deliberate cover up. Based on our past experiences with the administration under former EKU President Joanne Glasser, we believed it. However, a cover up didn’t exist; they were just following the law and doing their job trying to seek the truth and protect everyone involved, especially the innocent.

The Richmond Register also was accused of looking the other way. We never did; we pursued the facts through the Freedom of Information Act. When we didn’t get the facts we felt we were entitled to, we filed a complaint with the attorney general of Kentucky, only to have him rule in the university’s favor because of the ongoing investigation. That ruling (07-ORD-043) is still available on the attorney general’s Web site.

Our only recourse at the time was to file a lawsuit against the university which could take years and lots of money. In the attorney general’s ruling, we found information that would aid us in securing the facts even though we didn’t know how long it would take. Because the allegations involved minors, the university was required to notify the Cabinet for Heath and Family Services as well as the Educational Professional Standards Board (EPSB) of Kentucky, which would eventually hear his case.

A lawsuit wouldn’t be necessary to obtain the facts; it would just take time and patience. Since no one at EPSB could tell us when his case would be heard and no one would notify us when it was concluded; we filed Open Record requests hoping to get information that his disciplinary action had been concluded. Each time we received a letter it had not. The facts eventually would be available, but not in the timely manner we had hoped for.

When the information finally surfaced that his case was officially closed and the outcome was available on the EPSB Web site, we began our quest for facts again. Model High School, EKU and EPSB all complied. Now the facts could be presented.

I hope Mr. Jones is vindicated by the facts presented because they tell a quite different story than the one circulating in forums and in the public. That story was based on rumors, half-truths and water cooler fodder.

In some instances, it may take longer than we’d like to get the facts and present them to you, but I can assure you that we will always pursue them in order to print the truth so that closure can occur.  

Nick Lewis is publisher of the Richmond Register. He can be reached at nlewis@cnhi.com or 624-6682.

        

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