Two Appear In Court Over Conduct At Durham School Board Meeting

A minister and grandmother arrested at a Durham school board meeting in April for various charges were found not guilty on all counts Monday.

Curtis Gatewood was arrested with Carol Walthour for their actions during an April school board meeting. Gatewood was charged with obstructing justice and Walthour was charged with inciting a riot and assaulting a government official.

The school board has wanted to get a handle on contentious school board meetings, so they adopted new public comment rules, limiting how many people can speak and for how long. The new rules were immediately put to the test. Three people have been arrested as a result of the new meeting procedures.

Two weeks ago, chairwoman Gail Heath, Superintendent Dr. Ann Denlinger and members of the Durham School Board were all in court. They were witnesses in Steve Matherly's trial.

Matherly was arrested for disorderly conduct and trespassing for not leaving a Durham school board meeting. A judge later found Matherly not guilty, saying Matherly's action did not match the charges.