Taylorville HS employee arrested on meth charges

TAYLORVILLE — An internal investigation has resulted in the arrest of a Taylorville High School employee for drug use.

Officials from Taylorville Police Department and district administrators started an investigation two weeks ago. The investigation comes following a tip that a current employee was bringing methamphetamine into the high school and using while on duty.

Officers along with a K9 unit would conduct a traffic stop Wednesday. Arrested was Adam Cherry, 38, of Rosamond, who will be facing charges of meth possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Authorities state that Cherry self-admitted using during work hours inside the school as a night custodian.

Taylorville superintendent issues statement

Taylorville superintendent Dr. Chris Dougherty was notified of the incident. Cherry is currently on administrative leave with pay as of today.

“We are still working with local authorities on the investigation of this night custodian who [has] served the district since August 2019,” Dougherty said in an official statement. “When he showed up for his shift last night, he was apprehended by the police and taken into custody.”

“We do not condone bad behavior anywhere in our schools,” adds Dougherty. “He was immediately removed from our campus. We are following the protocol set forth by district policy which leads to termination.”

Cherry’s potential termination will likely not be until the Board of Education meets next month. The only exception would be if the school board holds a special executive session meeting.

At this time no other information is available.

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Jake Leonard, Executive Editor-In-Chief

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Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.

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