Cane Hill College Board Votes On Change

CANE HILL — The Cane Hill College Board of Directors voted 4-1 Friday night to dissolve as a nonprofit entity and be replaced by a new public, nonprofit organization known as Historic Cane Hill Inc.

Board members met earlier in the week to discuss a proposal brought to them by Realtor Neil Helm and Jerry Leach. Board President Scott Davis recommended that the board call a second meeting to allow others from the public to come and ask questions.

Davis and board members Betty Colburn, Archie Reed and Dwayne Payette voted in favor of the motion. Board member Sherry Valentine voted “no.” Board member Leonard Reed was absent.

The vote means that the six board members will resign from the Cane Hill College Board of Directors. The new Historic Cane Hill Inc., will have a three-member board of directors that can be expanded up to 19 members in the future. Helm, Leach and Bobby Braly, who all grew up in the Lincoln and Cane Hill area, will serve on the board.

Several committees will fall under the board of directors, including the Cane Hill College Committee, which will serve as an advisory committee to supervise the activities of Cane Hill College and its use for community events. Some of the members of the Cane Hill College Board of Directors may serve on the advisory committee.

Helms addressed about 17 people at the meeting Friday night and said the biggest differences between the bylaws of Cane Hill College Board of Directors and the new bylaws for Historic Cane Hill are the number of people on the board and the responsibilities for the new corporation.

The new bylaws say that the objective of Historic Cane Hill is to acquire, preserve and maintain historic buildings and property in Washington County for historical and preservation purposes.

Leach said his son, Tim Leach, who is in the oil business in Midland, Texas, has committed to providing funding to renovate and restore Cane Hill College and other historic structures in the Cane Hill community.

“He has a passion for Cane Hill and the property around here,” Jerry Leach said after the meeting. “He would make the money available through a foundation. The funding will be available for whatever is deemed to be needed.”

The corporation also will seek grants to help restore and renovate historic property in Cane Hill.

Helms said Historic Cane Hill will have a three-pronged approach in preserving and restoring the Cane Hill area. This will include the area’s Civil War connections, Cane Hill College and historic structures in the community.

In voting against the motion, Valentine said she supported the idea but had several questions, preferring that the new corporation provide more information in writing.

“I want to make sure to know what we can do and can’t do before we sign any papers,” Valentine said, adding she would like to see a timeline for when projects would be finished. “We don’t want you to start and just stop. We want this fixed but our job as the board is to make sure the college is taken care of.”

Others in the audience also urged the board to vote against the proposal.

“I think the whole thing is moving too fast,” said Homer Hodson. “This says the board loses all author- ity. You ought to get a legal opinion on what’s going on. I don’t know if anyone has the authority to do this.”

Wanda Irwin wondered why the benefactor couldn’t just make donations to the Cane Hill College Board of Directors to restore the college and its facilities, instead of having to create a new corporation.

Payette pointed out that the college does not have money to make repairs and restore its buildings.

“Personally, I don’t see any possibility of doing it any other way,” Payette said.

Colburn said the decision was a hard one for her but said she believed most people were excited about the proposal and wanted her to support it.

“I know we’ve tried to take care of the buildings as well as we could. There comes a time when we’re not able to do that. We’re moving in that direction. That’s one thing we need to think about.”

Leroy Beckcom said he’s been driving through Cane Hill for years.

“It breaks my heart to see it deteriorating,” Beckcom said. “To have someone come in and give a gift like this to Cane Hill so this town could blossom, that’s something you need to take into consideration.”

George Biggs told the board he supported the plan.

“I don’ t re a l ly see anything wrong with it,” Biggs said. “There’s not a one of those three ( men) who would do anything for their own personal gain.”

Jerry Leach reminded everyone that the intent of Historic Cane Hill is not to take anything away from the community. If anything, he said he believes the community can plan more events and activities.

“The intent here is to pull other things into it and make Cane Hill a more attractive place,” Jerry Leach said.