Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-02-08
It Is Believed That Nevada
School superintendent Ger
titicate Will Be Revoked
SCHOOLS IN A CHAOTIC STATE
Matters Have Been Going From Bad
to Worse, and the Trouble Has Now
Assumed Serious Proportions -
County Superintendent WeIty Has
Not Yet Given Decision in Trial.
Special to Times-Republican.

Nevada, Feb. S.-The trial over the
matter of revoking the certificate of
Superintendent Probst of the city
schools, which has been in session
for considerable length of time, has
been concluded. but County Superin-
tendent Welty has withheld his decis-
ion and will take the matter under adj
visement and further investigation for
some days. The general opinion, how
ever, appears to be that the certificate
will be revoked.
School matters in Nevada have been
in more or less chaotic state for the
past several months. Just previous to
a fight was put up against l.. B. Car
Isle, then superintendent, charging
him with immortality and other indis-
cretions, as we'll as being mentally in
competent to handle the schools. These
matters underwent a rigid examina-
ton, and at last Mr.. Carlisle was fully
acquitted of all charges brought against
him, but with the best interests of the
schools at heart, apparently, resigned
his position.
The board then hired Mr.. A. f.
Probst, a graduate of the University
of Michigan, to take charge of the
schools. AS soon as Mr.. Probst ar
rived here and took charge of the
schools, letters and newspaper clip
pings from Cedar Springs, Mich, where
he had last taught, began to arrive
here, charging him with incompetency,
and other matters not complimentary.
AS rule, these did not bear the
stamp of reliability, and little attention
was paid to them.
The schools ran along smoothly for
a time, until some trouble arose among
the high school boys in regard to foot
ball matters, confusion which they
laid partially at the door of the sup
erintendent, and it was not long until
matters began to assume serious pro-
portions, and it was evident that there
| was trouble brewing.
Discipline began to be very poor and
it appeared that Superintendent
Probst was unable to handle the
schools, at least as they had been in
| the past. Whether he was in the right
4 or not could only be known by one who
was in the schools, and could make a
close examination of the matters from
day to day. A number of the older
boys and some of the girls in the high
school were suspended and some of
them have not returned.
| Miss Anna Batman, who had held the
position of principal of the high school
e 1,ar nci-
ton and left for Colorado. Last FRI
day the superintendent and one of the
high school boys got into personal
encounter, over the superintendent
trying to administer corporal punish
ment on the boy. and it ended in what
| was reported as a regular fight.
Trial is Held.
| AS a result of some of these trou-
bles, the trial which has just ended,
was started. Bob" Ricketts,. son of
Sheriff Ricketts,, one of the star men
on the foot ball team, had some trou-
BILE with the superintendent and was
suspended The board investigated the
case and sustained the superintendent
| in his position. Ricketts, is now at
| tending high school at Ames. Sheriff
Ricketts, then made an investigation
of the matter at this end Of the line
and after satisfying himself that the
fault was not all with the scholars
began to look up the charges made at
Cedar Springs, where Probst had had
some trouble. Some days ago he filed
with the county superintendent pc
tition asking that the certificate which
he had issued to Superintendent
Probst to teach here, be revoked, on
the grounds that he had secured it
under false representations, thus max
ing himself guilty of immoral con-
duct.
In the trial of the case, the fact de-
veloped that the last certificate issued
to Mr.. Probst in Michigan was in 1893
| q five