The Anniston Star l Sunday, October 13, 2013 l Page 6E
SUNDAY RECORD YOUR GUIDE TO PUBLIC RECORDS AND VITAL STATISTICS IN CALHOUN COUNTY BANKRUPTCIES
DEATHS Frederick “Freddie” Douglas Anderson, Anniston Kenneth Beavers, Talladega Nellie Brown, Saks Betty “Sue” Carden, Heflin Mildred Carter, Oxford Uless Morgan “Muggs” Cast, Jacksonville Vernon Colenburg, Hobson City James Collier Jr., Kansas Virginia Lee Cunningham, Oxford Lynda Faye Dabbs, Oxford Marcella Doss, Anniston Billie “Billie Bam” Eugene Elder, Anniston Anna Kate Hamrick Ficklen, Jacksonville Jessie Garrett, Talladega Zach Garrett, Alpine John Henry Harrelson, Alexandria Polly Sue Lovvorn Harris, Woodland Audrey Lee Hosey, Anniston Barbara Ann Bryant Lambert, Goodwater Bobbie Dean Saxon Lett, Oxford Eldora Magby, Georgia Victor D. McCarley, Birmingham Geneva Colley McInnish,
Gadsden LeGree Miller, Georgia Tony K. Mitchell, Ashland Gerome Mixon, Anniston Sarah K. Northam, Anniston Alburn Eugene “Shorty” Norton, Heflin Sarah Williams Patterson, Munford Derrick LaWayne Pearson, Lincoln Sylvia Jean McFall Putnam, Jacksonville Joe Etta Porter Elston Thomas, Anniston Beverly Ann Roberts, Anniston Robert “Bob” Austin Simpson, Huntsville James Larry Stinson, Cedar Bluff Billy “Egghead” Stokes, Leesburg Velma Mae New Taylor, Rainbow City Ethel Simone and A’zaria Noeil Williams, Anniston Horace Lee Williams, Jacksonville Estelle Mount Austin Yeager, Anniston Shirley Ann Zakrzewski, Alexandria
RATE OF BANKRUPTCIES
6
6
3
The following bankruptcies declared by Calhoun County residents were recorded by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Northern District of Alabama last week:
Chapter 7 • Mario Dimming and Gabrielle Dimming, MeKleroy Avenue, Anniston • Patti Smith, Lynn Drive, Jacksonville • Celestial N. Hartline, George Street Southeast, Jacksonville • Valvard Ray Stalling, Brierwood Lane, Anniston • Robert Bell and Vickie Bell, 13th Avenue Northeast, Jacksonville • Patience Muns, Mudd Street, Ohatchee
Chapter 13
14
1212 9
A Chapter 13 bankruptcy enables debtors, through court supervision and protection, to propose and carry out a repayment plan under which creditors are paid, in full or in part, in installments over a three-year period. During that time, debtors are prohibited from starting or continuing collection efforts.
• Joe Paul Brown, Craig Avenue, Piedmont • Matthew T. Dover, Cobb Road, Ohathcee
1515
9
A Chapter 7 bankruptcy allows the debtor to retain certain exempt property, but the debtor’s remaining property is gathered and sold by a trustee from which creditors will receive payment. It may also be used by businesses which wish to terminate their business.
WILLS PROBATED • Edward Harlon • Robert Allen McCullars Sr. McCreary • Linda Haynes • Geneva T. Mote
11 8
EDITOR’S NOTE
3 0
52 weeks ago
Last week
This week
The material inside the Sunday Record is recorded by The Anniston Star from various institutions and government offices. The public records are published as they appeared on the documents obtained by the newspaper. Direct questions and comments about Sunday Record to Isaac Godwin at igodwin@annistonstar.com.
MARRIAGE LICENSES • James Michael Dempsey of Jacksonville to Amy Paige Franklin of Jacksonville • Benjamin Leon Barksdale of Anniston to Mandi Marie Turnbow of Anniston • Dennis Matthew Haynes of Oxford to Patricia Gayle Deweese of Oxford • Isaac Odale Nasworthy of Jacksonville to McKenzie Shiann Wright of Jacksonville • Nathanael Monroe White of Enid, Miss., to Angela Hope Newton of Jacksonville • Joshua Lee Blanks of Anniston to Tiffany Faye Teneyck of Ohatchee • John Michael McCrelles of Ohatchee to Angela Dawn Burgess of Ohatchee • Tommy Lee Harvey of Anniston to Lorrine Yvonne Juliette Atchison of Anniston • Adam Charles Maniscalco of Oxford to Emily Sarah Greene of Talladega • Caleb Aaron Sweatt of Alexandria to Chelsy Tierra Jones of Alexandria
CATTLE SALE
• Jeremy Keon Prince of Jacksonville to Dominic Shante Johnson of Jacksonville • Gerald Edward Freeman of Anniston to Alma Aparicio Esteves of Anniston • Jacob Anthony Stone of Anniston to Amber Nicole Ward of Anniston • Mathew Brandt Morrison of Weaver to Traci Butterworth Morrison of Eastaboga • Phillip Nelson Noble of Anniston to Jennifer Elizabeth Stedham of Anniston • Chad Michael Fenton of Jacksonville to Heather Faith Delozier of Jacksonville • Kenneth O’Neil Barker of Anniston to Tracy Headrick Marsh of Anniston • Michael Travoiye Billups of Jacksonville to Octavia Ashlee Richardson of Jacksonville • Darrell Lamont Pearson of Lincoln to Angela Renee Elston of Eastaboga • Will McFall Bishop of Jacksonville to Rebecca Jean Kenney of Jacksonville
DIVORCES • Karen Grogan and Newman Howard Grogan III • Kristina Marie Menchey and William Michael Menchey • Heather Ingram and Steven Cole Ingram • Jonathan Ryan Morrow and Jessica Ann Morrow
• Vivian Bentley Hubbard and David Ronny Hubbard • James Swanner Lipscomb and Ekaterina A. Lipscomb • Lisa Ann McGuire and Michale Warren McGuire • Donald C. Parker and Cindey Ladana Parker
Here is the livestock market report for the Tuesday sale. Receipts for this week 1066 compared to 1077 last week. Receipts a year ago 899.
FEEDER CLASSES:
Bulls and steers (Medium and Large No. 1 and No. 2): 200-300 lbs. 175.00 to 210.00; 300-400 lbs. 170.00 to 210.00; 400-500 lbs. 147.00 to 195.00; 500-600 lbs. 130.00 to 162.50; 600700 lbs. 112.00 to 147.00. Heifers (Medium and Large No. 1 and No. 2): 200-300 lbs. 140.00 to 150.00; 300400 lbs. 135.00 to 180.00; 400-500 lbs. 128.00 to 152.50; 500-600 lbs. 125.00 to 147.50; 600-700 lbs. 119.00 to 130.00.
SLAUGHTER CLASSES:
Cows: Breakers 72.00 to 74.00; Boners 75.00 to 83.50; Lean 70.00 to 73.50. Bulls: Normal Dressing 54-58% 90.00 to 96.50; High Dressing >58% 99.00; Low Dressing
INCORPORATIONS • 1st Class Parties & Events LLC • Kingdom Living Ministries Inc. • Trackside TV LLC • Jonathan Perry Distribution Co. • DRACOM LLC DBA iSpy Photography • Grace Contracting LLC • R&R Expedite Services LLC • J.O. Bennett Family LLC
Dissolved • Jefferson M. Trupp MD, PC • Piedmont Pallet Exchange LLC
RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS Here are food service establishments recently inspected by the Calhoun County Health Department, along with scores. A score of 100 indicates the inspector found no deficiencies. Potentially hazardous deficiencies (four- or five-point demerit items) are noted. These must be corrected immediately and inspectors say they are often
corrected while the inspection is underway. Restaurants earning below 70 must raise their scores within seven days or face closure.
— 99. • Burger King, 1001 Alabama 21, S., Oxford — 98. • Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, 220 Leon Smith Parkway, Oxford — 98. NO MAJOR DEMERITS • Garfrerick’s Café, 655 Creekside Drive, • Arby’s, 1003 Quintard Drive, Oxford — 99. Oxford — 99. • Big Daddy Café, 8438 Alabama 9, Anniston • LaMar’s, 1781 Hamric Drive, E., Oxford —
98. • Los Mexicanos, 500 Hamric Drive, Oxford — 98. • Mellow Mushroom, 33 Industrial Drive, Oxford — 97. • Rabbittown Café, 900 Rabbittown Road, Piedmont — 98. • Sonic Drive In, 1405 Barry St., Oxford — 97.
ARRESTS The people listed in this arrest report, whose names and charges are obtained from public records, are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
Anniston
The following felony arrests were reported by the Anniston Police Department (addresses not provided) during the seven-day period ending at 7 a.m. Thursday. • Christopher Leon Wood, 45: possession of a controlled substance. • Markeal Antonio Jones, 31: domestic vio-
lence. • Joshua Lee McCrelles, 28: third-degree burglary. • Kerry Christopher Holyfield, 47: possession of a controlled substance, first-degree possession of marijuana. • Anthony Lavon Crook, 35: third-degree burglary, obstructing justice by using a false I.D. • Chad Sloan Carden, 32: hold for other agency. • Stacey Allen Kellum, 30: breaking and entering a vehicle. • Andrana Sherriod Minnifield, 28: possession of a controlled substance.
• Terry Judkins, 36: second-degree assault. third-degree burglary. • Holly Ann Kitchen, 38: theft by fraudulent • Shannon Douglas Rudd, 26, of Eastaboga: leasing/rental. failure to appear in court. • Dantavis Dangelo Croft, 23, of Sawyer, N.D.: Calhoun County failure to appear in court. The following felony arrests were report- • Timothy Scott Freeman, 38, of Anniston: ed by the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office bond revocation. during the seven-day period ending at 7 a.m. • Clyde Gaylon Yarbrough Jr., 43, of Jacksonville: failure to appear in court. Thursday. • Ronald Curtis Hughes, 32, of Anniston: • Bill William Lewis, 24, of Jacksonville: prosecond-degree unlawful manufacture of bation violation. • Taylor Roland Abbott, 36, of Jacksonville: methamphetamine, parole violation. • Jeremy Evan Nunnally, 34, of Anniston: possession of a controlled substance.
BLOTTER Crimes are listed by location. Anonymous tips may be called in to Crime Stoppers at 256-238-1414. A reward of up to $1,000 may be given.
Anniston
The following property crimes were reported to the Anniston Police Department during the seven-day period ending at 7 a.m. Thursday.
Burglaries
Drive: copper wire, speaker. • Residence, 1300 block of Glendale Road: televisions, jewelry. • Residence, 1100 block of Hudson Avenue: copper wire and tubing. • Specialty store, 1100 block of Noble Street: currency, cash register, hair extensions. • Specialty store, 1000 block of South Quintard Avenue: cell phones. • Residence, 500 block of Glen Addie Avenue: currency, bank cards, wallet. • Residence, 300 block of West Park Drive: antique sewing machines, aluminum shelves.
• Commercial location, 200 block of Jimmy Parks Boulevard: air conditioning units. • Residence, 500 block of Bagley Thefts
• Residence, 1900 block of Duncan Avenue: cash. • Govt/Public building, 200 block of Jimmy Parks Boulevard: air conditioning unit. • Residence, 500 block of North Virginia Avenue: generator.
Robbery
53rd Street: laptop computer with charger. • Residence, 2000 block of Moore Avenue: laptop computer, speaker, cell phone. • Unknown location, 2300 block of Adams Street: tools.
Calhoun County
• Residence, 1600 block of Charlotte Avenue: wallet, cash, debit The following property crimes were reported to the Calhoun card, personal I.D. County Sheriff’s Office during the Forgery seven-day period ending at 7 a.m. • Bank, 200 block of East Greenbri- Thursday. er-Dear Road: cash. Burglaries
sor. • Residence, Bonds Road, Ohatchee: cell phone, computer tablet. • Unknown location, Turner Road, Oxford: ground bars, ground wire, power wires.
Thefts
• Residence, Whites Gap Road, Jacksonville: refrigerator. • Residence, Reads Mill Road, Wellington: Pit bull puppies.
Auto-related thefts
Auto-related thefts
• Residence, Pinecroft Road, • Residence, Magnolia Drive, Pied• Residence, 700 block of West Anniston: tools, trailer, compres- mont: radiator, truck wheels.
FORECLOSURES • Eric D. Waters and Coni R. Waters, • Milton E. Elston Sr., Booker T. Wash- • Misty Ford, a parcel of land in section Covey Rise subdivision, block B, lot 4. ington Heights, block 8, lot 5. 2, township 15, range 8.
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The Anniston Star
Sunday, October 13, 2013 Page 7E
SUNDAY RECORD CALENDAR: AnnistonStar.com/calendar PROPERTY TRANSFERRED
• Rita J. Brown to Rita Craft Brown 2013 Revocable Trust, Cheaha Acres, block 5, lot 2, $10. • Bank of New York Mellon to Alfred Sears, Mountain Terrace subdivision, lots 10-12, $1. • Faith Presbyterian Church to Hope Community Church of Jacksonville, a parcel of land in section 35, township 14, range 8, $10. • Housing & Urban Development to Richard L. Thompson and Robin Wooten Thompson, Albert T. Harris, block D, lot 2, $60,000. • Cyrus S. Steed III and Garrett Walker Steed to Kristena Lee-Ann Clark, a parcel of land in section 22, township 15, range 5, $10. • Somerset Place LLC to Anniston Rental Properties LLC, City of Oxford, block 47, lot 1, $1. • Nationstar Mortgage LLC to Fannie Mae, Sagewood subdivision, lot 31. • Michael T. Ingram and Ashley Brea Ingram to Larry C. Whaley and Brenda F. Whaley, Piedmont Land & Improvement Co., block 24, lots 3 and 4, $10. • Housing & Urban Development to Lowell Jennings and Regina Jennings, Indian Oaks Estates, section 5, lot 192, $56,125. • Robert Castello to Cynthia Castello, a parcel of land in section 25, township 16, range 6, $10. • James Malone to Bare Ventures LLC, a parcel of land in the Old Plan of Jacksonville, block 132, $10. • Farmers & Merchants Bank to John W. Gordon and Deidre D. Gordon, a parcel of land in section 16, township 16, range 8, $10. • Gregory S. Murphy to Elizabeth Cheryl Murphy, Timber Crest subdivision, lot 15, $10. • Tommi Coker to Barbara Bolton,
Loy Gunter’s re-subdivision, block 700, lot 12, $10. • Kerry Lee Osterhout and Kevin Lee Baxter to Mellye McCabe, Saks addition to Cloverdale, block 11, lots 16 and 17, $10. • Janice Trantham to A. Shane Harrell and Paige D. Harrell, a parcel of land in section 9, township 14, range 8, $10. • Maxine K. Sutley-Estate to Jimmy W. Harrell, Annette S. Harrell and A. Shane Harrell, a parcel of land in section 4, township 14, range 8, $10. • Donald Ray Murphy to Vera Elaine Harrell and Harry E. Harrell, a parcel of land in sections 4/9, township 16, range 9, $10. • Thirteenth Street Inc. to Larry A. Young, Anniston City Land Co., block 13, lots 7 and 8, $200,000. • Orlis Anne Travers to Perry L. Smith, a parcel of land in section 24, township 15, range 7, $3,500. • Benjamin M. Duncan to Connie J. Duncan, Profile Mill Village, block 8, lot 14, $10. • Greg Johnson to Shirley B. Brown 2010 Revocable Trust, a parcel of land in section 31, township 13, range 8, $10. • Mark L. Hobbs to Kristi Waldrep Owens, a parcel of land in section 29, township 15, range 5, $10. • SFS LLC to Herman L. Gladney and Arlene S. Gladney, James Nelson’s Midway subdivision, lot 15, $10. • Christopher S. Boone and Heather C. Boone to Steven Alan Lee and Brooke M. Lee, Taylor’s Bend, lot 27, $252,000. • The Shelton Trust to John Clifton Shelton, a parcel of land in section 21, township 14, range 9, $10. • Shirley B. Brown 2010 Revocable
Trust to Greg Johnson, a parcel of land in section 31, township 13, range 8, $10. • T. Scott Roberts III and Kelli Roberts to Phuong Lan T. Pham, Cider Ridge subdivision, phase 1 reassessment, block YI, lot 43YI, $10. • Phillip Investments LLC to Ardrena Cook and Raymond Cook, Anniston Land Co., block 515B, lot 20, $31,500. • Patricia Rebel Lee Woodrow to Charles E. Fair and Lola Donette Fair, a parcel of land in section 5, township 15, range 6, $10. • PHH Mortgage Corp. to Peyton Properties LLC, a parcel of land in section 34, township 13, range 6, $20,900. • Larry T. Ford to Larry K. Deason and Betty B. Deason, Eagle Pass subdivision, block B, lots 3 and 4, $100. • Tim Clark to BNT LLC, Pine Crest subdivision, block 2, lots 13 and 14, $1. • Zachery Buckner to Julia Leanne Bice, fractional sections G/H/P/ of a parcel of land in section 6, township 14, range 6, $133,750. • Peyton Properties LLC to Joseph R. Samples and William C. Price, a parcel of land in section 5, township 16, range 9, $100. • Alonzo Young and Pamela F. Young to YCR LLC, Cooper Reservation Land Co., block 6, lots 27 and 28, $10. • Alonzo Young and Pamela F. Young to YCR LLC, Anniston Land Co., block 531A, lots 10 and 11, $10. • Alonzo Young to YCR LLC, Anniston Land Co., block 533, lot 14, $10. • Alonzo Young and Pamela F. Young to YCR LLC, a parcel of land in section 11, township 16, range 7, $10.
• Alonzo Young and to YCR LLC, a parcel of land in section 3, township 16, range 7, $10. • Alonzo Young to YCR LLC, Anniston Land Co., block 515C, lot 2, $10. • Alonzo Young to YCR LLC, Anniston Land Co., 515B, lots 17 and 18, $10. • Alonzo Young to YCR LLC, Anniston Land Co., block 515C, lot 3, $10. • Kenneth C. Acker and Dennis L. Acker to William O. Martin and Hazel Martin, Hillcrest Acres, lot 31, $10. • Robert Neal Brittain and Janet J. Brittain to Christian Drake Anderson and Jessica Moore, Tallasseehatchee Farms subdivision, lot 116, $45,000. • Larry Thomas Williamson and Jane C. Williamson to Larry Thomas Williamson and Jane C. Williamson, a parcel of land in section 32, township 12, range 10, $10. • Blondell Robinson Hollingsworth to William M. Golden and Sharon G. Golden, W.P. Acker subdivision, block 48, lot 15, $10. • Jim E. Clark and Mary S. Clark to Donald E. Smith and Flora J. Smith, a parcel of land in section 31, township 16, range 7, $10. • Dick Mays-Estate to Nual F. Forsyth and Lena M. Forsyth, Hillcrest Heights, Saks 2nd addition, block 6, lot 17, $10. • Housing & Urban Development to North East Alabama CDC, Clubview Heights, McCall’s addition, block 5, lot 5, $40,100. • Housing & Urban Development to Gary Abbott, Shady Manor subdivision, 1st addition, block A, lot 4, $49,700. • Mohammad Kamran to Dustin Helms and Summer Helms, Cider Ridge subdivision, phase 1 reas-
sessment, block CW, lot 11CW, $10. • Lee T. Stern and April D. Elder Stern to Steven Blake Bryant, Buckelew Estates, lot 1, $132,000. • Miguel A. Rivera and Helda M. Rivera to Lee T. Stern and April E. Stern, a parcel of land in section 21, township 15, range 9, $201,500. • Fannie Mae to Franklin Graham, Buckhorn subdivision, phase 4, lot 18, $10. • Edward A. Davis Jr., Edward A. Davis III, Karen Lynn Davis, Delleane Tolliver McKenzie, Charles L. Tolliver and Dianna Tolliver Brown to Emma Johnson, Randolph Park subdivision, block 42, lots 13 and 14, $10. • Rodney Clarke and Judy Clarke to Larry T. Ford, Wildwood subdivision, lot 3, $215,000. • Rebecca Ann Heindl to Kenneth L. Kilgore, Anniston City Land Co., block 529, lots 2 and 17-20, $10. • William Eugene Ledbetter and Patricia H. Ledbetter to Larry V. Dempsey and Janice H. Dempsey, a parcel of land in section 18, township 15, range 8, $10. • Pat W. Shaddix to Tim Porter and Judy Porter, a parcel of land in section 18, township 15, range 6, $10. • Phyllis S. Weaver Revocable Trust to Phyllis S. Weaver, S.E. Boozer Farm subdivision, lots 3-6 and 12-21, $10. • David O. Scott and Neoma J. Scott to Jack Parker and Fairris Parker, Brownwood Estates, 5th addition, block N, lot 1, $10. • John B. Crane Jr. and Katherine M. Crane to Whit H. Cherry, a parcel of land in section 5, township 13, range 10, $10.
Ohio lawmaker waits tables, helps with plumbing to pay off student loans BY CAROL BILICZKY Akron Beacon Journal
ALLIANCE, Ohio — State Rep. Christina Hagan remembers being floored by an “unfathomable” $11,000 tuition bill in college. It got much worse. By the time she graduated in 2011, she owed $80,000. The man she went on to marry about a year later carries another $40,000 in debt and has yet to graduate. Each is 24. “I was very determined and I failed to take all things into consideration,” said Hagan, a Republican representative for eastern Stark County, Ohio. “It’s my fault.” She talks openly of the financial mistakes she now believes she made while getting through college and her efforts now to make education a priority in the Statehouse. “I don’t regret my education, but I sometimes regret my ability to be frugal when I was doing it,” she said. Hagan and her husband, Adam Nemeth, are among the two-thirds of college graduates nationwide who typically take out loans to finance their educations. Over the past eight years, student loan debt has nearly tripled to $1.1 trillion and the percentage of 25-year-olds with student debt has exploded from 25 to 43 percent, according to the Project on Student Debt, an initiative of the nonprofit Institute for College Access and Success. Increasingly, the loans are from banks and other lenders — loans that the Project on Student Debt advises students to avoid whenever possible, said Lauren Asher, president of the Institute of College Access and Success. “Private loans are one of the riskier ways to pay for college,” she said, as they do not offer the repayment options and protections that come with federal loans. Moreover, those other loans are harder to track, leaving the country with an incomplete picture of how much individual debt actually exists. For example, the Project on Student Debt estimates the average debt nationwide is $26,600 and in Ohio, which has the seventh-highest average for student debt, it is $28,600. But those numbers don’t include loans obtained by parents to finance their children’s education, such as home equity advances, nor does it reflect loans parents make to their children. A post to the Beacon Journal’s Facebook page seeking young people with debt of $80,000 or more, like the Hagans, brought a rapid response from about a dozen people in the Akron area. No matter what kind of debt they accrue, students or graduates might not buy a home, start a family, launch a business or save for their retirement, Asher said. “It’s good advice to live like a student when you’re a student, but it’s also important that you get out of school and move on,” she said. Hagan’s story starts out like many other students’. Her parents made too much money for her to qualify for grants, which do not have
Ed Suba Jr./Akron Beacon Journal/MCT
Ohio state Rep. Christina Hagan of Alliance, Ohio, talks openly of the financial mistakes she now believes she made while getting through college and her efforts now to make education a priority in the Statehouse. to be paid back. She also feels she did not get much advice on the financial aid process. She barreled headlong into financial aid on her own, the first in her family to go to college and the fourth child to leave the nest, a modest apartment above the family plumbing and heating business in rural Marlboro Township in Stark County. Her father cautioned her about the higher sticker prices that come with private colleges, but Hagan was determined to pursue an education that reflected her deepest beliefs. “At the time I was deciding about college, I was more interested in a Christian education than the cost,” she said. She took some post-secondary enrollment courses at the two-year Stark State College while she was still in high school to get a jump-start on her education. In 2007, she enrolled at Malone College, a private Christian college in Canton, Ohio, whose motto is “Christ’s kingdom first.” Malone’s sticker price is fairly moderate when compared to that of other private schools — the current cost for tuition, fees, room and board is $34,000 a year — but it was more than Christina could afford, she readily admits now. By the time she enrolled at Malone, she already had moved out of her parents’ home and into a rental house owned by her parents with her brother. She wanted to be more independent. Her education almost derailed during her first semester at Malone when a professor told her that a Christian could not be involved in politics, her life’s goal. Angry, she transferred to the tax-supported University of Akron, where the total cost for tuition, fees, room and board is about $20,000 a year, more than one-third less than the sticker price for Malone. However, she only stayed one semes-
ter. A Malone official persuaded her to come back to play tennis for a scholarship, Hagan said. By the time it was all over about three years later, she had borrowed $60,000 in federal and private loans and another $20,000 from her parents. “I was,” she recalled, “always kind of a busybody person and it was uncharted territory for me.” She gave up a tennis scholarship at the end of her first year. Hagan declines to say how big it was, but acknowledges she wanted to spend her time elsewhere and was working while a student. Malone spokeswoman Suzanne Thomas said that Hagan’s debt level is not common. While more than eight out of 10 Malone graduates leave with debt, Hagan made her situation worse because she did not keep the college’s financial aid office abreast of how much she was borrowing or from where, Thomas said in an email. That left Malone officials “in the dark” that she may have been taking out too much debt. However, at Malone and at other colleges and universities, it may be difficult to get a realistic picture of how much students or their parents actually borrow. Thomas said the average Malone graduate leaves with $23,400, which is under both the state and national average. But Malone’s figure only captures the federal debt that the student took out while the student attended Malone. The Project on Student Debt estimates the average Malone debt at $32,000 using a broader range of data. That includes numbers pulled from Peterson’s College Guide, which uses information from the Common Data Set, an annual survey completed by colleges and universities nationwide for publishers of college guides. However, only about half of nonprofit colleges and universities complete the
voluntary and unaudited CDS. “Many may have a disincentive for honest and full reporting,” according to the Project. “Colleges that accurately calculate and report each year’s debt figures rightfully complain that other colleges may have students with higher average debt but fail to update their figures, under-report actual debt levels, or never report figures at all,” according to the Project. Students at private, for-profit colleges tend to have higher debt than their colleagues at nonprofit schools like Malone. But the for-profits often choose not to report any numbers at all. And all numbers exclude federal PLUS loans taken out by parents on students’ behalf or personal loans that parents may extend to their offspring. Still, as confusing as they may be, the Project on Student Debt statistics are the only ones showing cumulative debt for bachelor’s degree recipients nationwide. Thomas stood behind the cost of a Malone education. Through scholarships, grants and loans, “Many students are able to acquire a private, Christian university education at the same cost of a state university education,” she said. By the time she was a senior, Hagan was so eager to get into politics that she lobbied for an appointment as the representative for the 50th House District in eastern Stark County, a post her father, John, had held from 2001 to 2008. Hagan was 22, a senior at Malone, when she was chosen over two seasoned politicians for the seat vacated by Todd Snitchler of Lake Township, who became chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Her appointment made her the youngest member of the 99-member House. “I am feeling very blessed,” Hagan said at the time. The next year, she was elected to the position. She since has reintroduced the so-called Heartbeat Bill, which would prohibit abortions if a heartbeat was detected, and two education-related pieces of legislation. As vice chairman of the House’s Higher Education Reform Committee, she also travels the state to hear testimony from students and college and university officials about ways to reduce costs and debts. She wants to make apprenticeships and career schools a bigger player in student choices. Hagan is light years ahead of many of her colleagues when it comes to paying down her significant debt. As a state representative, she makes about $61,000 a year — a healthy income for someone who is barely out of college. Perhaps even better, that job only requires her to be in Columbus on weekdays during most of the year. That leaves the weekends to wait tables at Carrabba’s Italian Grill in Jackson Township and to learn the ropes of her family’s heating and plumbing business. She likes to go out on jobs because they pay more than filing paperwork and answering phones in the office. All told, she and her husband are able to pay about $1,500 a month on their debt.