Story Archive

Teacher’s Pet

According to Jordan Powers’s mother, Tammie, Jordan was “always compliant,” kept her room neat, and minded her curfew. “I was really, really careful. I wanted her to be safe.” In the last year, though, Tammie said Jordan, 18, had panic attacks and her grades started slipping. “I believe it was the stress of the lie,” Tammie said. That alleged lie came out when Jordan moved in with her Enochs High School teacher, James Hooker, 41, who left his wife and children to live with her. Modesto, Calif., police are investigating whether there was “inappropriate contact” before Jordan turned 18, and Hooker was placed on paid administrative leave by his school. “In making our choice, we’ve hurt a lot of people,” Hooker acknowledged. “We keep asking ourselves, ‘Do we make everyone else happy or do we follow our hearts?’” (MS/Sacramento Bee) ...It seems unlikely their hearts were the only organs involved.