The People News, a free newspaper serving Cleveland Tennessee (TN) and Bradley County Tennessee (Tn).





Of Bradley County Tn.


SEPTEMBER  2008

                            The People News, a free newspaper serving Cleveland and Bradley County Tn.

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Greg Cain Interview Continued... By Tonya Brantley

When you asked Bob Taylor in the beginning where all this was coming from, what did he say?
"Susan Shelton (BN Weekly Publisher) brought it to his attention. And looking on the Bradley News forums, they have a privacy statement. It's a private community."

Have you talked with her?

"No."

When Mark Grissom made the comment during the June 8th meeting agreeing with Tom Cassada, asking why wasn't Cain warned or reprimanded? Why wasn't he given something to sign that said, 'If you do this again, you will be fired?' This is a waste of taxpayers' money. I say. "Let he without sin cast the first stone." When he said that, what went through your mind?
"I said great, lets tell it like this. Who hasn't sinned? What big sin did I do that they can't forgive and just reprimand me?"

Why do you think you weren't given any notice or any warning?

"They just don't like me. They knew I wasn't in the teacher's union and they didn't think that I would be able to get an attorney that quick. And Bob's made a comment to people that he's been able to bully people into resigning or retiring. I don't want to mention names because some of them worked at the central office.
But when Tom asked him, Mr. McDaniel said he wasn't aware until May, and I could bet money that he probably didn't know until the last day of school. They were keeping it from him. They didn't have enough confidence in my own principal that they were investigating?

The thing about it, they started investigating in April, I got my letter at home that on May 1st, I was given my reassignment back to Bradley. So they wouldn't have been able to do any postings during April because I was already rehired. They would have had to went from May to the end of school."

"Then when they said it wasn't the content, it was just the hundreds of postings, then I know they don't know what they are talking about.
My mouth gets me in trouble I know that. I'm very opinionated. But I really got fired up when they came against Mark in that January meeting. That has no place in a school board meeting.

My analogy of what they did to me is, if I were to leave here, a policeman pulls me over and drags me out of my car and sticks me in a patrol car, takes me to the justice center, throws me in jail... What have I done? Do I have any rights? I wasn't given my rights. I wasn't given my rights at all. As soon as chancery saw that, bam... this is over. No due process what-so-ever.

This is probably the biggest railroad job of a teacher ever in the case of Tennessee I'd say. For this charge anyway. I can see that they'd have a little bit more of a case if I was really really supposed to have been teaching. I could see that. I would never put my kids in jeopardy. They were never in jeopardy for one moment. They were well taken care of. I had a great intern. Where as a student teacher is with you six weeks, she was with me all year.

But there weren't any hundreds of postings, I don't think there was a hundred to be honest. I'm going back and looking and I just don't see it. You know, I challenge the school board once again to that challenge. I'll teach a year free, substitute, clean toilets, whatever you want me to do. But they've got to make the same deal too if they can't prove it. And if they want to do that, I want everything on a power point on those postings. Everything from all those screen names. I want the times, because I know sometimes at night time the times would be like two hours off. So a lot of times weren't right. And I'll be honest. If they want to get somebody with a lie detector, I'll say.. that is me.. that is not me.. I know my style. I won't lie."

When posting, why didn't you use your real name?
"I guess, I'd be cowardly, in a way, like other people on there. You know, because they will come against you then. I'd been better off if I would have. I've noticed most people on there too don't use their names. Its just fictitious names."

Now that you are retired, what are you going to do?
"I don't know. I've got to work. I've put in applications at places. But I believe the board really doesn't want to be finished with me. They want to see me run, that's the feeling I get, and they'd like to see me run.

I want to give due credit to especially Mark Grissom, J.C Bowman and his brother Ernie, Donace Dillon that wrote that article last month, and I just want the taxpayers to know that I did not cheat them, like Bob Taylor said, unprofessional, they were not cheated. They were well taken care of. I would never do that.

It's hard, you know? Thirty five years of teaching, with school open... it's devastating. But I know the Lord has something better for me. I'm a good person basically, I've got my faults, and I've been humbled. It's tough."

.

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