The David School FOUND ME!!

DAVID, Ky. — As a tough-guy federal prosecutor in Eastern Kentucky's Appalachians, Mark Wohlander locked away two former county sheriffs, at least two former judges and a judge-executive, a mayor and assorted drug dealers. In private practice, he represented whistleblowers who helped bring attorney Eric Conn and a corrupt administrative law judge to justice in what the government said was a $550 million Social Security fraud scheme. Now 68 and virtually retired, Wohlander has returned to the mountains in an entirely different role: He is a volunteer at the legendary David School, which sits in a hollow in the middle of nowhere on the Floyd-Magoffin county line and provides a free high school education to impoverished students who drop out of regular public schools. Mark Wohlander, a tough-as-nails Republican, now devotes most of his time to volunteering at the David School in Eastern Kentucky. Besides teaching he is helping to rebuild cabins the school hopes to turn into a Bed & Breakfast that will be run by the students. Nov. 17, 2021Wohlander, a former Army explosives expert and an FBI agent, as well as an assistant U.S. attorney, spends at least two days a week at the school in the abandoned coal company mining town of David, Kentucky. He has rebuilt its computer system, taught civics and constitutional law and put in a pumpkin patch. This semester, he is renovating 10 cabins the school hopes to rent out to visitors in a student-run hospitality-training program that could generate as much as $80,000 a year for the school. Founded in 1974, The David School, which is tuition-free and this year has 52 students, gets no money from the government, relying instead on the generosity of donors. It has nearly gone broke at least a couple of times. Wohlander found out about it from an old nemesis, defense attorney Ned Pillersdorf of Prestonsburg, Kentucky, whom he once fought in the courtroom, and who is the board director of the school. Mark Wohlander, a military veteran, former FBI agent and federal prosecutor, practices law in Lexington, Kentucky, and throughout the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. They are an odd couple: Wohlander is a Republican, a Christian and a patriot. His hero is Ronald Reagan. Pillersdorf is a progressive, a liberal and a Jew. "Even though he is a law-and-order Republican, I love the guy," Pillersdorf says. So do students at the school, where Wohlander began working about a year ago. “He is a really good guy,” said Stephen Newsome, 18, a senior, who dropped out of Prestonsburg High School at 15 and took Wohlander’s weekly history class last year. “He has taught me to help and respect others. "Michael Robinson, also 18, who moved to Floyd County by himself and lives on his own, said Wohlander — students call him Mark — taught him about the law and the Bill of Rights. "He opened my eyes to things I didn’t know," Robinson said.Lead teacher Lisa West, who was born and raised in Floyd County, said students listen to Wohlander because of his background in the Army and law enforcement. “He shoots it straight, he is lively and he gets their attention,” she said. Wohlander, who wears his hair in a Mike Ditka-like buzz cut, said he appreciates how important it is for kids at the school to get a high school degree. Growing up in working-class Cleveland, the son of a homemaker and a railroad electrician, he said that sometimes seemed like an unreachable goal for him. But he got his degree, served seven years in the Army and earned his undergraduate and law degrees at Cleveland State while loading UPS trucks to support himself. He chased pornographers in the FBI, where he also served as a lawyer; ran a drug strike task force in Ohio, then came to Lexington, Kentucky, in 1990 as a prosecutor. In his most famous case, he won a conviction and 18-year sentence against drug-running former Lexington police officer Bill Canan, a ringleader in the famed “Bluegrass Conspiracy,” as author Sally Denton dubbed the fantastic plot unveiled after one of its members, Drew Thornton, parachuted to his death in 1985 carrying thousands of dollars in cash and 150 pounds of cocaine. Mark Wohlander, a tough-as-nails Republican, now devotes most of his time to volunteering at the David School in Eastern Kentucky. Besides teaching he is helping to rebuild cabins the school hopes to turn into a Bed & Breakfast that will be run by the students. Nov. 17, 2021Wohlander spent most of his time prosecuting in the Pikeville district, where he earned respect from defense counsel and judges, including now Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph Hood. “He is a person committed to his beliefs and those beliefs are strong,” Hood said in an email. Leading defense lawyers like Jim Shuffett, William “Big Bill” Johnson and Scott C. Cox said Wholander tempered justice with mercy, especially for young defendants he thought were redeemable. “I am not surprised he is devoting his life to helping others,” said Cox. “I'm sure he believes he was called to do this work. ”Wohlander spends at least two nights a week at the school, where he sleeps in one of its cabins, and commutes from Lexington, where he and his wife of 46 years, Sherri, have a home. He said he has only three open cases from his 14 years in private practice; in one of his final cases, in October, he spared a client — a former Indianapolis Colts linebacker — from prison time for defrauding the NFL’s medical care plan by submitting phony claims. Wohlander said the client, Darrell Reid, is going to do his 240 hours of community service at The David School. Besides volunteering himself there, Wohlander writes op-ed columns, blogs and is an accomplished photographer. His first role at the school was shooting its COVID-delayed graduation in October 2020.During a recent visit to the campus, about seven miles from Prestonsburg, Wohlander was hobbling on a cane. He was photographing a female elk in Martin County when it charged him and he twisted his ankle retreating to his car, he said. He also is building a website he calls “Gateway to Hidden Treasures” that will offer visitors a guide to 80 must-visit places in nine Eastern Kentucky counties. He said he hopes some will stay in the cabins at The David School and put money in its coffers. “He just loves to serve this community,” said Bryan Lafferty, the school’s principal. “He will help any time of day or night, and we have never paid him a dime. "He has become one of my best friends. I think he is a top-notch guy. ”Andrew Wolfson: 502-582-7189; awolfson@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @adwolfson.How to help: You can donate to The David School by going to their webpage or Pay Pal.