Published: April 28, 2008 11:59 am      

New Dominion school taking action to appease neighbors

OLDTOWN - An alternative high school for troubled teenage boys is moving forward with plans to keep the facility's neighbors better informed if an emergency arises.

Gary Wolz, school administrator for Three Springs New Dominion Maryland, said Friday that some residents might have walked away from a meeting a month ago with little faith that something would be done.

"Things are getting done," Wolz said. "We are trying to do the right thing."

Bob Malamis, a spokesman for some 75 residents who attended the March 25 meeting at the Oldtown Volunteer Fire Company's Community Center, is satisfied with the steps taken since then. Any actions taken, school officials pointed out, have been voluntarily implemented by what is a private company. No state agency has required any changes to how the school conducts business.

"I would like to commend Three Springs Inc. and the New Dominion School staff for their timely and positive response to our call for action," Malamis wrote in an e-mail to residents, school staff and law enforcement officials who attended the March meeting.

In a packet of information he released Thursday, Malamis included an April 14 letter from Dave Posey, the school's admissions director and the man tasked to chairing the Community Safety Group. That group's first meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday in the lodge on school grounds.

The group was mentioned last month as one way the facility could better interact with the community. The committee will include area resident volunteers. Posey added the facility is working on establishing an immediate notification system to alert the facility's neighbors if a client should leave the grounds without permission, referred to as a walk-off, "or any other issues that might arise."

Nearly half of the 75 residents in attendance March 25 signed up to be notified when such incidents occur.

"We have purchased a plan and are looking to schedule a time in which we could do a trial run in the next few weeks," Posey said.

The residents also brought up the issue of nighttime security. The early-morning hours are the times boys most frequently attempt to leave the facility. Posey and Wolz said Three Springs is considering contracting out security services. That would leave current staff free to fulfill the primary mission of caring for the boys. Posey said the idea is "a more secure solution" than current operations allow.

Posey also said school officials are looking into requiring staff members to wear vests or some other clothing item that would help distinguish them from escaping students. Residents had suggested the idea because they couldn't tell who anybody might be when officials scour the area looking for a client in the case of a walk-off.

Three Springs, formerly New Dominion School, is located on an open 330-acre campus on Wagner Cutoff Road. The outdoor therapeutic program serves boys ages 11 to 18 who experience emotional, behavioral or learning issues. Nearly 90 percent of the boys are court-ordered to attend a facility like the one in Oldtown. School officials, however, have final say whether a boy is accepted into the program.

Wolz said residents might have a perception that the boys are "thugs" but "I can assure you, that isn't the case."

"But they are kids with problems," said Wolz, adding that he understands nearby residents' concerns. "We have a high success rate. We have a strong history" of successful treatment.

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.



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