VT Christian Homeschooling Mom Taken Away In Shackles!

The Curmudgeon: A Vermont Newsletter | 10/17/02 | Cindy Wade

[Truant Mom]

As of this post (10/21/02) no one, including Patricia's husband, Ray, has heard from her in prison since October 16. Ray has not been allowed to visit Patricia either or his children. ABC 22 TV reporters in Burlington, Vermont have also been given the run-a-round and have not been allowed in to see Patricia O'Dell. Something fishy going on here, folks. Time to write the Warden at Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility, 7 Farrell St., Burlington, VT 05401 and ask him what is up with this. This is the same jail where Karen Maple was for 14 days.

I, for one, want to know exactly what was Patricia's crime prior to September 13, 2002?

[ReadMyMind]

From the article:

"The basis for the children being taken into custody was educational neglect."

[Gophack]

Prayers for the O'Dell Family from California.

[Tired of Taxes]

Ping

[AppyPappy]

When questioned by Judge Howard about her refusal to submit to being photographed and fingerprinted Mrs. O'Dell informed him she believes a person is innocent until proven guilty and the procedure violates her rights.

I guess she cares more about clean fingers than her kids. It only takes one nut to give all homeschoolers a black eye.

[Gophack]

I agree that she should have allowed them to process her. Still, it seems a little unclear about why they arrested her in the first place. If a couple armed police came to my house to take my kids into custody, I don't know if I would calmly go off with them and allow my kids to be taken to juvenile hall or social services or whatever. I just can't say one way or the other -- but we don't know the whole story, except that in it, nowhere was she accused of physically abusing her children. Short of physical abuse, I give parents total leeway in how they raise their children.

[AppyPappy]

I don't think she is the only homeschooler in VT so I can reasonably assume that she did something extraordinary to get this reaction.

[homeschool mama]

hmmm...bump for later read.

[homeschool mama]

ping

[Tired of Taxes]

Some possibilities:

(1) The newsletter has not provided us with the whole story.

-- OR --

(2) The combined complaints against the family (i.e. treatment of animals, property) and the fact that technically they're "homeless" - plus homeschooling (i.e. not sending the kids to school) - prompted the police to LOOK FOR a reason to arrest her. Hence, the "educational neglect" charge.

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

Here is a parent who knows where her children are all day long. They are not out looting the neighbors. Their crime is they are white and they refuse to submit to the socialist teaching complex of administrators and teachers.

Now go to any urban setting and many of the black children are failing in school, are absent more often than not from school, and are active in criminal enterprises. Their mothers don't know where thir kids are most of the time. Yet, the socialist complex of psycholgists and government administrators continue to fund and enable these fatherless families and don't take the kids away from their drug ridden mothers.

[Teacher317]

"educational neglect"?!? Since when have parents owed any amount of education to the state?

[Gophack]

You're probably right, we don't know the whole story, still until we do I side with the parents.

God bless!

[ReadMyMind]

Since when have parents owed any amount of education to the state?

You might not like it, but it's been the law of the land for a long time (at least 50 years, probably more like 100). If you choose to have children in the USA, state law determines (for a whole host of reasons) that you have a set of obligation to those children. Among your obligations as a parent is to see to it that your child gets a state-certified education.

If you don't like it, you have three reasonable options:

1. Work through the system to change the law.
2. Don't have children.
3. Move out of the USA.

I hope that the police coming to take the O'Dell kids into custody was not the first contact that she's had with the child protection authorities. I hope that it is a just situation and this woman has had lots of opportunities to provide for her kids and refused them unreasonably just like she seems to have unreasonably refused to be finger-printed.

[glory]

Hmmm...Public schools commit "educational neglect" everyday, yet I don't see teachers and administrators being carried out in shackles. This is pitiful. As some others have said, I still don't see what got this lady where she is other than she ticked off the admin of a school because she dared to challenge what they thought was best for her children.

[southern rock]

It only takes one nut to give all homeschoolers a black eye.

How many government bootlickers does it take to give conservatives a bad name?

[glory]

No, of course your right...I mean it's unreasonable of Mrs. O'Dell to expect her children to be free from abuse by students and teachers at school and that teachers will actually teach them and assist them with their studies, not do the work for them to make themselves look better. What an unreasonable scumbag this Mrs. O'Dell is to think and expect her children get a better education than the one the state "certifies".

[southern rock]

Robson allegedly then placed his knee in Mrs. O'Dell's back and cuffed her hands behind her back. Officer Robson then tightened his grip on her arm while twisting it in an attempt to prevent her from shouting to her family members to not let the other officers into her mother's home without a search warrant, according to Mrs. O'Dell.

A real tough guy.

Robson was there that day with several other officers to take Mrs. O'Dell's four children into state custody for what he describes in his affidavit as "The basis for the children being taken into custody was educational neglect."

I guess all children really do belong to the state. They are just on loan to the parents.

[AppyPappy]

How many government bootlickers does it take to give conservatives a bad name?

As opposed to anti-government terrorists?

[Aquinasfan]

"educational neglect"?!? Since when have parents owed any amount of education to the state?

Around 1852.