770-928-0706 - The Cherokee Ledger-News

16 THE CHEROKEE LEDGER-NEWS NEWS MAY 20, 2009
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CRUELTY: Teacher, parapro likely to be terminated
FROM PAGE 1
“If it wasn’t for their testimony
or them coming forward, no one
would ever know that this had occurred.
They are being very cooperative,”
Garrison said.
Peavy allegedly duct taped a 17year-old
male autistic student to a
chair as a disciplinary action, police
said. Cheek was there when
the incident happened, said Garrison.
During the investigation,
another incident was revealed in
which a 17-year-old blind girl was
forced underneath the teacher’s
desk with the chair pushed into
block her, Garrison said.
“She was placed under the desk
… and was held there for her talking
and being chatty,” Garrison
said.
Major Ron Hunton, of the sheriff’s
office’s Criminal Investigations
Division, said police believe
the teens were restrained for several
minutes at a time.
“As far as the amount of time
these children were restrained, it
varies,” Hunton said. “Sometimes
(it was) for 10 to 15 minutes at a
time.”
Hunton said it appears that the
teens were subjected to being confined
on more than one occasion.
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“It’s difficult to determine the
exact number of times this has occurred,”
Hunton said.
Police said there were a total of
four students in the class. The investigation,
which still is open
and ongoing, had not revealed
that any other students were
treated in the same manner.
Garrison said the 17-year-old
boy was removed from Peavy’s
classroom sometime last year and
was returned to her classroom a
few weeks ago.
During the course of the investigation,
detectives are expected
to conduct forensic interviews
with the two victims.
“We have to make special
arrangements, because this is
outside the norm,” Garrison said.
“We have to get someone who can
communicate properly with these
children.”
Along with the criminal investigation,
the school district has an
administrative investigation under
way. McGowan said that when
the allegations were made, Peavy
and Cheek immediately were removed
from their posts and reassigned
to positions where they
wouldn’t have contact with children.
He said the Cherokee County
Department of Family and
Children’s Services was contacted,
along with the sheriff’s office.
School officials also have been
speaking with the students’ parents.
“The administration has been
in contact with the alleged vic-
Animal Expo set for May 23
The Cherokee County Animal
Shelter will hold an Animal Care
Expo May 23 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
at the shelter, 1015 Univeter Road,
Canton. Veterinarians, groomers,
pet sitters, animal trainers, pet
boarding and pet product companies
will be represented. There is
a rabies clinic from noon to 2 p.m.
The cost is $7 for animals at least 4
months old. All dogs must be on a
leash, and all cats must be in a secure
cage.
For more information, call (770)
345-7270.
NEWS BRIEFS
■
tims’ parents,” McGowan said.
“They were informed throughout
the investigation what was being
alleged. They have been cooperative.”
McGowan said it’s likely that
Peavy and Cheek will be recommended
for termination following
the district’s investigation.
While the two reporting employees
are not facing criminal
charges, they could face sanctions
by the school district for not reporting
the incident sooner.
McGowan said teachers and
school administration are subjected
to frequent training on how
to handle themselves in the classroom,
and they recently underwent
training on ethics. He said
he believes that ethics training
might have led to the reporting
teacher and paraprofessional
coming forward.
“As a school district, we are obviously
very disappointed that
these allegations came to light, especially
in a district that is annually
awarded for meeting and exceeding
state targets in special education,”
McGowan said. “We
have families move to Cherokee
County because of our special education
program.”
Peavy was hired by the school
district in the fall of 1997. She
originally worked at Cherokee
High School, and she was transferred
to Woodstock High School
in 2001.
Cheek was hired to work at
Woodstock High School in 2001.
Adopt-a-Stream training
scheduled for May 23
The Upper Etowah River Alliance
will host Adopt-A-Stream
training May 23 from 9 a.m. to
noon at its office, 180 McClure St.,
in Canton. Adopt-A-Stream is a
statewide program teaching how
to monitor streams chemically,
physically and biologically. State
offices use the information to
track the health of watersheds.
For more information or to register,
call Lori Forrester at (770) 355-
6477.