Clark reviewed the files to find their resignation notices were simultaneously submitted on Feb. 25 without announcement. He was the first to report on the resignations from the letters after asking all appropriate officials for explanation or comment.
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Former athletic director details his own resignation: Back in January, the Journal-News was the first to report Hamilton High School athletic director Bill Stewart resigned after the boys basketball team was forced to forfeit eight wins because of an OHSAA rules violation regarding eligibility.
What exactly led to that resignation remained a mystery until Stewart opened up about the situation to Clark. From our story:
Bill Stewart, who resigned in late January from the athletic director's job, told the Journal-News he was presented with an affidavit regarding the player's eligibility.
“One of the parents involved completed an affidavit that stated she was moving into the Hamilton district. This affidavit was provided to me by HHS personnel who represented to me that the information it contained was truthful," Stewart said.
He organized a conference call on Jan. 20 with the parent and the OHSAA.
“During that conference call the involved parent indicated that neither she nor her family had any intention of moving to Hamilton, which was contrary to the representations contained in the affidavit she had previously completed and contrary to the representations that were made to me by the other HHS personnel involved," Stewart said.
Clark reached out to the OHSAA, which confirmed the report. Stewart stressed he “was not involved in any way with orchestrating the misrepresentations that were made in the affidavit” and that he resigned because he thought it was in the best interests of the district.
It was the first time the public learned the circumstances of his resignation.
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Hamilton mother upset kindergartner accused of sexual harassment: Kiara Martinez was shocked when her kindergartner son at Hamilton’s Fairwood Elementary was forced to sign a form stating he had committed a sexual harassment offense when the 6-year-old boy pointed at a female teacher and asked, “Are those your boobs?”
She called the Journal-News. Clark listened to her story, then he began to confirm what she was saying before even writing a word. That led to a story about Hamilton Schools changing the offense from sexual harassment to “misconduct.”
The school contacted Martinez to follow up on the incident on the same day the Journal-News began asking questions, which was five days after the event.
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Committed to following the important stories: The Journal-News uses reporters in our communities to follow public records, connect with sources for, sometimes, weeks before anything publishes and asks questions of community officials to address community concerns.
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