The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1950-09-14
SIX INDICTED
FOR CONSPIRACY
IN SCHOOL DISPUTE
Kitzmiller Committeeman Cited
BY Grand Jury For Wilfully
Keeping Large Number of
Children from School

Indictments for conspiracy in will
fully keeping a large number of chill
dren of school age from school, were
returned against six Kitzmiller resi-
dents by the Garrett County Sep
TENDER Term Grand Jury, prior to
adjournment on Tuesday afternoon.
The indictments were returned
against DR.. Ralph Calandrella, Carl
Schell, Earl Shank, Charles McIn-
tyre, Frank Damon and Kenneth
Bray. Sheriff j. S. Teats said he had
notified Calandrella yesterday by
telephone of the indictments, notify
ing them to appear and furnish bond
for their appearance in court, and
that he planned to follow up the
matter this morning
These six men are charged with
conspiring together to induce or at
tempt to induce a large number of
children Of school age in the Kitz-
miller area in Garrett County to alb
sent themselves unlawfully from
school,"
The Grand Jury action brought an
unexpected note into the strike which
began at the Kitzmiller, Vindex,
Shallmar schools last Wednesday in
protest of a proposed consolidation
plan for county high schools.
The action was forecast Monday
| following a fruitless conference be-
tween School Board Officials and a
committee of six men representing
Kitzmiller parents.
At that time Walter w. Dawson,
president of the Board, declared that
| if the situation did not clear up, the
Board would have to take the course
prescribed by law.
He referred to Chapter 81 of the
Maryland School Laws, which says
that "any person who induces or at
tempts to induce any child to absent
himself unlawfully from school
shall be deemed guilty of misde-
meanor and fined not more than $50.
Mondays conference was attended
| by the siX-man committee, the Board
of Education members, w. w. Daw-
son, Stuart F. Hamill, Oakland; C.
O. Bender, Grantsville; Asa T. Mat
thews, attorney; and R. Bowen Har-
desty, county superintendent of
| schools.
The committee had asked guaran-
tee earlier that Kitzmiller be elimi-
mated from the school consolidation
program.
School officials promised all help
possible in Kitzmiller's school prob
lens but said they could not give
such a guarantee since the school
board had been eliminated from re-
sponsibility for the building program
as a result of the 1947 Act of the
Legislature which put the responsible
ity of building schools in the hands
of the County Commissioners.
DR.. Calandrella, spokesman for
the committee, described the meeting
as "waste of time" and said eve
will keep our children home from
school until our demands are met"
Present Petition
Last June over 300 signatures of
people from Shallmar, VindeX and
Kitzmiller areas were on a petition
which was presented to both the
Board of Education and the County
Commissioners. 1t threatened to keep
children out of school unless suffi-
cient funds were appropriated for
seven classrooms, a gymnasium, shop,
cafeteria, home economics room and
library at the Kitzmiller school. At
that time those in the building bust
ness estimated such a program would
cost about half million dollars.
The county is committed to use an
appropriation of $1,500,000 plus other
funds which would swell the total to
around $2000,000, to build two high
schools, one near Oakland, and one
) in the Cove section to replace the
five present high schools and to i'm
prove existing buildings as elemen-
tary centers. In May the Court of
Appeals upheld the Garrett County
Circuit court in dismissing a suit
hled by elght taxpayers against the
County Commissioners. 1t rejected
the taxpayers request for an order
restraining the commissioners from
spending the 1947 bond issue for con-
struction of the two schools, giving
= them discretionary powers in what to
build and where to build.
Meanwhile attendance was slim in
j.. the entire area. Yesterday there were
% students at the Kitzmiller school,
: at Shallmar, at West VindeX and
none at East VindeX.
School Board officials had promised
full cooperation in meeting the prob
; lens of the Kitzmiller group but de-
clined to grant the request for drop
Continued on Page Six