Flurry of Suits hit Fayette County

First, there was...

Former student sues Fayette schools
CASE ALLEGES SEX WITH TEACHER

A former student has filed a lawsuit against Fayette County Public Schools for allowing a sexual relationship to develop between her and a former teacher.

The plaintiff says in the suit, filed last week in Fayette Circuit Court, that Anthony J. Graves subjected her to a pattern of sexual, psychological and emotional abuse for two years. The plaintiff is seeking monetary judgment for damages and a jury trial.

Graves, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, met the student in 2002 when she was a student at Tates Creek Middle School, where he was a technology instructor. While she was a student, the lawsuit says, they spent time in class together during and outside of school hours. In 2004, when she was a freshman at Henry Clay High School, he initiated sexual contact, the lawsuit says...

Then...

Woman sues Fayette school officials
SUIT: THEY DID NOT PROTECT BULLIED DAUGHTER

A mother whose daughter was allegedly bullied for at least four months says Fayette County school officials failed to protect the middle school student, according to a lawsuit filed Friday.

LaFleesha Patton says in the lawsuit, which names Superintendent Stu Silberman and five other Fayette County Public Schools employees as defendants, that she notified school officials in January that her daughter, identified as Jane Doe in the suit, was verbally and physically bullied at Crawford Middle School to the extent that she needed psychiatric care.

According to the lawsuit, students repeatedly assaulted Patton's daughter while on school grounds. Those students also "cyber-bullied" the girl by making comments online that referred to her and Patton in "obscene, vile terms and contained defamatory language." ...

And another one, a little too close to home...

Former Teacher Faces More Charges

A former Fayette County school teacher is facing more legal trouble after allegations surfaced that he sexually abused several students.

A lawsuit was filed Monday on behalf of four mothers who say former Linlee Elementary teacher Kenneth Dunn, 51, took advantage of their young daughters.

Dunn is currently serving time in the Kentucky State Reformatory after pleading guilty last year to two counts of sexual abuse for an incident involving two children at his home. The Fayette County school board says those children were not students, but the suit filed Monday alleges that Dunn used his title as teacher to sexually molest the four young students.

The suit is asking for a jury trial, it's also asking for damages to be awarded to all four families involved.

Fayette Co. Schools sued by former student

This from H-L:

LEXINGTON, Ky. --The Fayette County Public School system is being sued by a former student who claims school officials did nothing to stop an inappropriate sexual relationship between the student and a former teacher.

The lawsuit alleges the girl endured a pattern of abuse during a two-year relationship with instructor Anthony Graves during her time at Tates Creek Middle and Henry Clay High School.

Graves, who is named as a defendant in the suit, allegedly initiated sexual contact with the student in 2004.

The suit claims the school system is negligent because it failed to intervene...

1st recipient of the Marcie Reynolds Thomason Student-Athlete Memorial Scholarship: Leah Volk

At first, she didn't even want to apply. She said it was too emotional. She didn't know Marcie Thomason but knew one of her sisters and said their families were close.

"It was probably the greatest honor I've ever received," said Leah Volk, the graduating senior from Henry Clay who received the first scholarship in Marcie Thomason's honor.

Volk, like Marcie Thomason, played soccer and will be moving to Washington, D.C., in the fall as a freshman at Georgetown University. She is considering studying international business.

This from Sean Rose of the Herald-Leader:

"It was really cool to be connected with (the Thomasons) because I've always looked up to them," she said.

More family traveled to Lexington to be a part of the award, Barbara Thomason said. Her other two daughters presented the scholarship to Volk.

The Thomasons called Volk an "amazing young woman," and the night one that they would never forget.

But giving back can't heal all the wounds caused last August.

Marcie Thomason was home then for the last leg of planning for her Sept. 30 wedding.

She woke up at 4:30 a.m. the day of the crash to catch an early flight back to Washington, D.C., where she lived and worked. She and her fiance were going to look at houses that day, Barbara Thomason said.

[On August 27th] Bill Thomason drove his daughter from the home she grew up in to Blue Grass Airport [to catch Comair flight 5191].

Not long after the 6:05 a.m. takeoff, Barbara Thomason heard the phone ring in her house. It was her sister asking about Marcie.

"That just began the nightmare," Barbara Thomason said.

"How do you call your two daughters and tell them 'your sister's been killed in a plane crash?'" she said. "How do you call her fiance who's waiting at the airport for her in D.C. and tell him that she's not coming back?"

Despite time and support, in some ways, the nightmare stays.

During the award night, Volk's father had to get up and leave at one point to compose himself, Bill Thomason said. An art teacher in the audience started crying, and Barbara Thomason struggled with one of the first events for her daughter since the crash.

"The night of the scholarship presentation was really bittersweet because not only was it an opportunity to hold an award and remember Marcie but it was also a very public acknowledgement that she's gone and she's not coming back," Barbara Thomason said.

"To this day there's some moments when it just doesn't seem real and maybe she's still just in D.C," she said.

Bill and Barbara Thomason said they were blown away with the support they have received the last nine months. Still, healing is far off.

Bill Thomason sighed as he explained that the scholarship is made to honor her memory, not a method of healing.

"I don't think you ever heal," he said.

Photos by David Perry Herald-Leader
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A personal note:
From her earliest days, Marcie Thomason had "it." Other children at Cassidy Elementary School naturally gravitated toward her. She was friendly, cheerful, inquisitive, fun, a great student, a willing worker...an absolute delight. Barbara and Bill are the kind of parents every teacher wishes every child had. They loved their children, set high expectations for them, and the children soared. It's hard to assess the magnitude of the loss to the whole community. I feel certain Marcie would have continued to do great things.
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Donations to the $2,500 Marcie Reynolds Thomason Student-Athlete Memorial Scholarship can be sent to Henry Clay High School, 2100 Fontaine Road, Lexington, KY 40502.
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And this from the Cincinnati Post.