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Chad Youth Enhancement Center - Tennessee

Linda Harris, age 14, died after being restrained at the Chad Youth Enhancement Center on September 18.

Linda had been sent to Chad from New York and had been at the facility less than a week.

Initially the facility described her death as "mysterious" and claimed that nothing out of the ordinary happened preceding her death - she was merely "being escorted" to the time-out room when she collapsed.

However, new information has surfaced indicating that Linda was being restrained by at least one male staff member, and that during the restraint, the staff member "fell" on top of Linda.

A woman who saw Linda's lifeless body at the hospital emergency room has contacted authorities and reported that she saw mechanical RESTRAINTS on the child as well as obvious injuries and blood.

Linda's death comes just 5 months after another tragic restraint death.

In April, 13 year-old Travis Parker died after being restrained at the Appalachian Wilderness Camp in Georgia.

6 staff members have been charged with murder and the director of the facility was fired after refusing to take a polygraph test.

posted September 25, 2005

Spring Creek Lodge Academy - Montana

If we ever hand out an award for most dishonorable mention, it'll go to Spring Creek Lodge Academy for sure.

They have graced our pages every month now.

The latest involves an injured runaway and subsequent cover-up by local authorities.

The Missoula Independent reported on the events and what seems to be a conspiracy between the Sanders County Sheriff's Department, Clark Fork Valley Hospital, and the Thompson Falls Volunteer Ambulance.

Interestingly enough, the Thompson Falls Volunteer Ambulance and another local paper - the Sanders County Ledger - are BOTH run by Tom Eggensperger.

Eggensperger is the President of the ambulance service and the editor of the Ledger.

Now, since Eggensperger runs the ambulance service and therefore likely knows about EVERY emergency call from Spring Creek Lodge, the fact that the Ledger NEVER publishes anything but fluff about the facility is highly suspect.

For example, in October 2004, Karlie Newman committed suicide at Spring Creek Lodge Academy.

There was not a single mention of her death in the Ledger, even after Spring Creek issued a press release containing some details.

Earlier this year, a boy escaped from Spring Creek Lodge, slid down a cliff and into the Thompson River.

Local rescuers WERE called and transported the boy to the hospital for treatment of hypothermia.

The only mention of Spring Creek Lodge made in the Sanders County Ledger around that time was a fluff piece about the school hosting a blood drive.

Yeah, that's MUCH more important...

Last week's issue of the Ledger made no mention of what turned out to be a rather dramatic helicopter rescue of the injured boy.

If a tourist had fallen down the cliff and was taken out by chopper, the Ledger would likely have a huge write-up and photos of the rescuers slapping each other on the back for a job well-done.

Because that's NEWS!!

But since it was a kid from Spring Creek Lodge, it's not news.

It's a secret.

The question we'd like answered is WHY?

posted September 25, 2005

Living Water Refuge aka Living Water Christian Church and Boarding School - Hartville, Missouri

Living Water Refuge may be the most worrisome place I've heard about in a long time.

Don't bother looking online for any info about this place, because you won't find any.

And quite frankly, that scares me because it means that very few people know this "school" even exists.

The folks at Missouri CPS know, however.

They were supposed to visit recently to check on one of the boys there.

But Living Water Refuge didn't want CPS nosing around so the child was expelled from the "school" before CPS arrived.

I hope that raises some suspicion with Missouri officials because it sure raised some with me.

Here's what I've found out about Living Water so far -

• It's run by Brother Phillip Lanzini and his wife.

• It's an all boys "school."

• They take boys as young as 4.

• For at least the first month, the boys wear a white robe and socks.

• They have to "earn their way" out of the robe.

• Brother Lanzini sleeps in the room with the boys.

• Approved discipline includes "flogging." (click here for the definition)

• Parents aren't "allowed" to speak to their sons for the first 30 days and can't visit for at least 6 months.

• During that first visit, the kids can't leave the grounds of Living Water Refuge.

• Incoming/outgoing mail is read by the staff and "negative mail may not be delivered."

• Brother Lanzini encourages parents to leave boys there past the age of 18 and says "there is nothing negative about a student attending high school for five or six or even seven years."

If you know anything else about this place, please contact us.

posted September 13, 2005.

Pillars of Hope/Dundee Ranch Academy - Costa Rica
Carolina Springs Academy - South Carolina

It looks like Narvin Lichfield, owner of Dundee Ranch Academy/Pillars of Hope in Costa Rica and Carolina Springs Academy in South Carolina, is up to something.

Narvin is asking parents of "upper level" students currently at Carolina Springs to transfer their kids to Pillars of Hope in Costa Rica.

This is interesting because Pillars of Hope has claimed to be for legal adults only.

No one believes it, but that is what they advertise.

There is also the matter of those pesky child abuse charges from the raid and closure of Dundee Ranch Academy in 2003.

As I reported last month, Narvin has been paying for happy (bought off?) Dundee Ranch kids to go down and offer testimony on his behalf.

Narvin Lichfield might be a criminal genius hiding under a cheap toupee.

I'm sure Lichfield knows that by filling Pillars of Hope with underage kids whose health and welfare depend on his happiness, he'll have a plentiful supply of kids ready to sing his praises to the Costa Rican authorities.

For more info on Dundee Ranch Academy, check out ISAC and WWASPSinfo.net.

posted September 10, 2005.