The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 5

THE PANTAGRAPH, Tuesday, July 26, 1988 AS Abuse probe, principal's suicide left more hurt than harm HEALING the WOyJNDS j-fv V. vr 1 r- HH 3 I -T -ST 1 Principal's supporters stand firm By PAUL SWIECH Pantagraph staff They wore orange-and black buttons and wrapped yellow ribbons around trees near Colene Hoose Elementary School. They wrote letters, made telephone calls and appeared before the Unit 5 school board, calling for Robert Beamer's return. They led the prayer service after he shot himself and the memorial service after he died. The buttons are off, the ribbons are down and phone calls and letters have stopped.

But the Friends of Bob Beamer feel the same way they did six months ago. "I still feel the same way I did then. I think he's Innocent," said Joan Martoglio, a Friends member and Hoose Parent-Teacher Organization co-president last year. "Most people I talk with still believe In his innocence and want to make sure It doesn't happen again to another teacher. "The original friends of Dr.

Beamer still are and still feel the same way." Although all 200-plus group members haven't met since the Feb. 9 memorial service, small groups have informally discussed the matter on occasion, Mrs. Martoglio said. Some members, who disagree with the way Unit 5 handled the matter, want to pursue it with the school board, said group member Tom Ellsworth, Hoose PTO president next year. "It comes down to changing the board," Mrs.

Martoglio said. "Trying to get one person on the board someone who's not a yes man. But so far, that's just talk." Other group members don't Tftt Paniagraph Marilee Alvey, 29 Bay Point Drive, Bloomington, conferred with Sharon Albee, 2505 Driftwood Road, Bloomington at a session of Friends of Bob Beamer during the height of the controversy surrounding the allegations against the principal. By PAUL SWIECH Pantagraph staff For many Twin City families, the sex-abuse investigation of a Unit 5 elementary school principal was the news story that came home. Parents at the principal's former school have thoughts on the episode as varied as the personalities of the 779 students who attended it last school year.

Although some opinions differ, several parents Interviewed recently agreed the episode would have no long term effects on them or their children. None of their children was an alleged victim. Yet several agreed the incident Is still on parents' minds and is a topic of occasional private discussion, although it's no longer discussed much publicly. And several agreed they learned a few things from the episode they won't soon forget. Longtime friend maintains support Joan Martoglio had known Robert Beamer for 18 years.

She met him when her daughter entered Colene Hoose Elementary School years ago, and their relationship continued when her son, Chris, enrolled. She and her husband, Gerald, were Hoose Parent-Teacher Organization co-presidents last year and have been on the PTO board for eight years. "He was a caring, open person," said Mrs. Martoglio, 1219 Nickl Drive, Bloomington. "He knew everybody by name, and if there was a problem, he got right to the bottom of things.

"We were friends." So when the principal returned telephone calls in late December to people who had called him at the beginning of his administrative leave, one call was to the Martoglios. "He said, 'I want you to know I'm not guilty of what they've accused me Mrs. Martoglio recalled. "I could see if a child wanted to get back at him, they could interpret something he did to them any way they wanted," she said, repeating a theory of the principal's supporters. "I still feel the same way I did then.

I think he's innocent. What is sad is, some people who didn't know him don't know all the good he did." Although the Martoglios were members of Friends of Bob Beamer, the support group for the beleaguered principal, they kept quiet because of their PTO positions. Mrs. Martoglio said she and her husband told Chris, a fifth-grader, in early January about the allegations against the principal and his hearing to try to get back into Hoose. They also asked whether the principal had done anything to him.

He said, "No." After the principal shot himself, some of Chris' female classmates cried, and some boys swore, but Chris never broke down, she said. "He said, 'Well, I felt bad that he died, but I wasn't about to cry and carry Mrs. Martoglio said she like other Beamer supporters was upset that Unit 5 had not allowed him to return. "If he couldn't stay (the principal's wife) asks not to go ahead, we'll defer to her." Kay Ellsworth said Friends of Bob Beamer doesn't exist as a group anymore. But because members are friends who keep in touch, they could quickly reassemble if they felt the need to do so.

"I don't think there's any activity right now," said member Sandy Gosch. Mrs. Martoglio was the only one of several group members who agreed to meet with a Pantagraph reporter. Several said want to do anything but want the episode to end and the wounds to heal, Ellsworth said. Still others who may want to do something are deferring to the wishes of the principal's wife, who has called for an end to the public debate over the episode, he said.

Barbara Beamer declined to speak with The Pantagraph. "Our future direction is unclear," Ellsworth said. "There is no collective opinion on what we should do. I can't say if and when we'll do anything. We may decide to do something, and if she would have any long-range effect on him.

Although she and her husband will never forget the episode, they don't talk about it much. When it's brought up among friends, nearly all of whom supported the principal, "we usually say, 'What's done is People here don't want it dragged through the mud some more. "Most people I talk with still believe in his innocence and want to make sure it doesn't happen again to another teacher. "Like the teachers, the parents are looking forward to a new year beginning. Time heals all wounds and hopefully that'll happen in his case." Ideals survive despite tragedy "I would say I knew him (the principal) very well not socially or personally, but professionally," said June Kolodzieski.

Wid. S.l.ction of FRESH I tALTWATEl FISH SUPPLIES 311 South Main Normal (n.xt to BurQtr King) 454-1108 Cloaad Tudy articles that referred to the episode would hurt, not help. Ellsworth said in late February that the group is "not going to worry about this issue of guilt or innocence anymore because he's gone. The most important thing is to get the school back to normal so the kids are not adversely affected." "Barbara Beamer's message was to forgive," Mrs. Gosch said.

"It's admirable that she's been able to get on with her life. We're trying to do the same thing." and-see attitude" regarding his guilt or innocence. "When this family discusses anything, we look at all sides," she said. "During the whole thing, I felt that no matter what actually occurred, I still had faith in the ideals he espoused. I feel you couldn't put the guilt completely on him, yet you couldn't deny there were problems.

don't necessarily think he was innocent, but there was more to it. "With his death, it remains unclear whether he was guilty, and we shouldn't take away from the good things he did." Like others, Ray and June Kolodzieski were disturbed that the principal didn't live up to a principle he taught students that suicide is never a way out. Despite her feelings for the principal, Mrs. Kolodzieski said she understands why Unit 5 placed him on leave, then suspended him. However, more communication Like all Volvos, the 760 is built to hold together over the long term.

Which means that you probably won't have to return to the money market for a new car loan any time soon. And with luxurious inte- THIRD OF FOUR PARTS between the principal and the administration and school board could have prevented the "tragic polarization" that complicated matters. "I had more than a 12year association with him. When I drive to the school, I feel a sense of emptiness, like a relative died. That's an empty place in my history, and I can't go back and help him." Childrens' questions accompany probe The Behrens family, 1306 Fell Bloomington, is an example of many in the area who, although their children didn't attend Hoose last year, hud to deal with the allegations.

Although 11-year-old Jennifer and 9-year-old Jamie attend Epiphany Elementary, they attended Hoose for kindergarten. "We met Dr. Beamer at orientation and saw him occasionally," said the girls' mother, Kathy Behrens. "We heard a lot of good things about him but didn't have much direct contact. He always seemed very nice and appeared to be doing a good job." After the allegations arose, Mrs.

Behrens discovered Jennifer had been reading Pantagraph articles about the case, "and she knew more than I thought. That's when I told her what was going on." The conversation went well because Mrs. Behrens and her husband, Bill, had taught their chil- dren they could always come to them with questions, and they often did. "I never go in too deep, where I would lose them, but ex- plain just enough to answer their questions. "If they were still at Hoose, I'm sure their reactions would have been different.

I don't think the Epiphany kids talked about it much, and they just wanted some things explained." Both daughters already knew about good and bad touches and that they should tell their parents about someone who touches them in a way they don't like, Mrs. Behrens said. Because the Behrenses already had discussed child sexual abuse with their daughters, the incident Please see PRINCIPAL, back page rior appointments rivaling those of cars costing thou- 1 sands more, the Volvo 760 is uniquely qualified to transport you through the tough times ahead in total comfort. Both fiscal and physical. So, if you're in the market for a long term investment vehicle, consider the Volvo 760 GLE.

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She was in the PTO when her daughters attended Hoose, and she substitute taught there. Mrs. Kolodzieski, 101 Lawrence Normal, an art teacher at the McLean County Arts Center, said that when allegations arose, Anna was most affected. "She was recovering from a friend's suicide. Her feeling was one of profound sadness because he (the principal) was a part of her childhood.

"Elizabeth did not seem to be as upset about it. Maybe she wasn't as involved with him, or maybe she takes a more realistic view of life." The Kolodzieskis took a "wait- BRADLEY W. BARNES, D.D.S. Appointments Available For New Patients PRACTICE OF GENERAL DENTISTRY (309) 454-7337 1537 E. Ft.

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Eureka, IL 309-467-2371 ext. 4500 DUANE RALSTON. CLU. at Hoose during the investigation, at least they could have put him in the central office." But the principal at first agreed to the administrative leave, Superintendent Richard MacFeely responded. "Then, he was in the hospital for six days and it became a medical question." When the principal asked for a meeting to discuss his possible return, he didn't show up because of a conflict in attorneys' schedules.

Then, his attorney sought court orders to assist in his return to Hoose, "and when he sued the district, that pretty much colored the position we had to take," preventing him from returning, MacFeely said. "My feelings toward Dr. MacFeely are not very loving," Mrs. Martoglio said, adding that she will remain involved at Hoose. Recently, Chris hasn't brought up the Beamer matter, and Mrs.

Martoglio said she didn't think it The 20-second firing, with the shuttle locked firmly on the pad, will check modifications made to turbopumps and other engine systems and is considered crucial to Discovery being certified for the first post-Challenger shuttle flight. The launch, with a five-man crew, is scheduled for early September, but the date is uncertain because of the leak in a steering engine system that is separate from the main engines. NASA officials believe that even if the leak can be fixed on the pad, the launch will be delayed past the middle of September. Experts were considering several ways to reach and plug the inaccessible leak, from cutting a hole through the shuttle cargo bay wall to running a snake-like tube 20 feet through the half-inch-diameter gas line. Tests over the weekend ruled out using the tube in two configurations.

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