Correction/clarification

In the April 1, 1998, issue of The Nugget, we ran a front page story with the headline "Guardian of truant fined by Sisters schools."

We were contacted by lawyer Martin Fisher, representing Keith Akers, subject of the story. Mr. Fisher demanded a retraction, saying that (1) Mr. Akers was not the registered guardian of his granddaughter, that (2) Mr. Akers never paid any fine and (3) the case was dismissed, therefore the granddaughter was not a truant.

Upon review of the story, we agree that the headline was incorrect. Mr. Akers was cited, not fined by the school district. The fact that the citation carried a fine led to the poorly worded headline.

We also should not have used the legal term "registered" guardian, though this may be splitting hairs. We believe Mr. Akers had been acting as the girl's de facto guardian or surrogate parent, and had represented himself to the school district as such. It was in this sense we intended to use the term.

Finally, though the case was dismissed and the girl completed course work elsewhere, the fact remains that the truancy citation was issued by the school district, which was what was alleged in the story.

As to a second citation given to Mr. Akers' for failure to appear in court on the truancy citation, Mr. Fisher says that this was due to a miscommunication on the part of the Deschutes County District Attorney's Office. Akers was given a complete refund of the bail he was required to post upon his arrest on that charge, according to Fisher.