Anne Grady Center director will retire

3/1/2007

Larry White, the executive director of the Anne Grady Center, plans to retire on July 31 for reasons he says are unrelated to his arrest last summer at Secor Metropark for public indecency, a member of the center's board of directors said yesterday.

Board member John Syx said Mr. White announced his retirement plans about two weeks ago, and said that the board has begun forming a committee to find a successor.

Mr. White, 61, of Swanton has been the center's executive director since 1998.

He was among six men arrested in June in a sting operation at the park in which he initially was charged with public indecency.

A hung jury was declared at a November trial on the indecency charge. In December, Mr. White was found guilty of disorderly conduct, a fourth-degree misdemeanor.

He was given a suspended 30-day jail sentence and a suspended three-year probation by Sylvania Municipal Court Judge M. Scott Ramey.

Judge Ramey suspended the probation providing that Mr. White stays away from all Toledo Area Metroparks, completes psychological counseling, and has no criminal offenses for three years.

Mr. White also was ordered to pay $328 for a fine and court costs.

Mr. Syx said Mr. White had been discussing retirement before his arrest, and emphasized that the board was not trying to move him out.

Messages left yesterday for Mr. White at his office and home were not returned.

The Anne Grady Center in Holland provides services to adults with developmental disabilities.