Jasper County Democrat, Volume 4, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 October 1901 — MR. OVERTON TALKS APPEAL. [ARTICLE]

MR. OVERTON TALKS APPEAL.

Parker Overton, who was fined $1 and costs, $43.85, last week in Esq. Troxell’s court for punishing the 10-year-old son of Frank Corcoran, south of town, in a manner which the jury thought was unjustifiable, and amounted to assault and battery, will appeal to the circuit court, it is claimed, but the appeal had not been filed up to the time of our going to press. Regarding a couple of statements made by The Democrat last week we - wish to give Mr. Overton’s statement as to their incorrectness. We stated that his own testimony showed that this was the third time he had been arrested on a like charge, and that it was alleged that during the sixteen years he had taught school he had never taught the same school for two terms, Our authority for the first statement was tue court and two of the attorneys engaged in the trial, but Mr. Overton says that if they made such statements they must have misunderstood him, as this was only the second time that he had been arrested for such offence. Regarding the second statement, which we did not give as a fact, only an allegation, but which was current talk upon the*streets the day after the trial, Mr. Overton says that he taught the Surrey school two terms, one term intervening between the first and second terms taught; also, No. 6 school in Newton tp., two years in succession, and the Osborne school in Hanging Grove tp., three years, two of which w’ere in succession. We have no desire to misstate the facts in the matter in any way, and make this correction on Mr. Overton’s own statement in justice to him.