Matt Aiken, a former staff member at Hidden Lake, wrote a front-page article about the lawsuit in the local newspaper, "The Dahlonega Nugget". Various letters to the editor were later published. Diane Stephenson, a laywoman highly involved in the local Unitarian Universalist Church, wrote of Hidden Lake Academy's various contributions to the local community. Reverend Barry Bailey, who often visits the school to teach students about local Indian beliefs, wrote a letter saying "When those lawyers made their blistering attack they conveniently forgot that Hidden Lake is a last chance boarding academy that offers objectively-defined teenagers an alternative to prison. Such a school is inherent with risks and the possibility of violence and retaliation."