Former Hiawatha school secretary to serve probation for thefts

HIAWATHA, Kan. - Mounting medical bills from breast cancer treatment, diabetes and several other illnesses led a former high school secretary to steal more than $9,100 from the Hiawatha, Kan., school district.

That's what Jolene Carter and her attorney, James Heathman of Topeka, said during her sentencing hearing Wednesday in a Brown County courtroom.

The 47-year-old Ms. Carter, of Hiawatha, was charged with stealing from the school's activity fund from August 2008 to this May. She pleaded no contest in September to 10 counts of misdemeanor theft as part of a plea deal.

Magistrate Judge Roy Roper sentenced Ms. Carter to 12 months in jail on each of the 10 counts of misdemeanor theft - to be served consecutively - but then suspended the jail time and placed her on 12 months' supervised probation. She was ordered to pay $218 in court costs and fees.

Ms. Carter has already paid more than $11,500 in restitution to the school district. She has no prior criminal history.

One of the conditions of her probation is that she must appear before the school board and make a formal apology in the next 60 days. Her husband, Mark, head Hiawatha High School cross-country coach and assistant track coach, attended the hearing.

Compiled from the Hiawatha World.