More children have been hurt at Ridge Creek School (RCS), formerly known as Hidden Lake Academy (HLA), a residential teen facility in Dahlonega, Georgia. A ‘tough’ group of students appears to be causing harm. Years ago, we had a handful here and there at HLA, but nothing like the apparent gang mentality where the kicking of heads in appears to have become a favorite past time, aside from playing “Yahtzee.” “Yo-bro” has replaced “ya'll”– perhaps achieved by watching too many reruns of “The Sopranos.”
Admission of violent students is increasingly obvious and so is the fact that the staff does not appear to be able to handle them. Admission of children with serious mental and behavioral health issues was/is not appropriate when the credentials of staff monitoring these children is that of a novice at best; thus,lending itself to an environment that is dangerous for students and staff. This appears to run rampant at other residential teen facilities across the nation. Perhaps the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office is bored out of their gourds and looks forward to dispatching units to RCS. Either way it costs the taxpayers money and K9 -1 can cock its head to the sound of “yo-bro” while lickin’ “chew” off the ground.
Years back, facilities operating like RCS were called "reform schools.” The insane incidents at RCS make the facility more congruous to that of a PRTF (Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility).
