Group home director out

The director of the Maryville Academy Farm Campus in Durand, a group home for troubled girls, has left his job after a background check uncovered previously undisclosed criminal charges and seven paternity lawsuits. Maryville Executive Director Catherine Ryan said Keith L. Jones will not return to his position after taking a "personal leave" last week. Ryan declined to say Tuesday whether Jones resigned or was fired. Maryville officials conceded Jones had been hired in 2005 despite a 1997 felony gun conviction. But when shown court documents last week, Ryan -- who took over the troubled Maryville campuses in 2004 -- said she had not been fully aware of Jones' troubled background. Jones' record also showed a misdemeanor gun conviction in 1992 and a misdemeanor battery charge that was dismissed by prosecutors in 1993. Jones also faced seven successful paternity lawsuits that revealed he fathered eight children with seven women over 20 years, according to court records.