PUBLICITY DIN LEADS TO NURSE'S RESIGNATION

JACKSON -- The Jackson school nurse who was shot and wounded last summer outside the home of her married lover quit her job Tuesday.

Cheryl Litzelfelner said she resigned because she needs to spend more time with her children and wants to get her name out of the newspaper.

Litzelfelner, 38, described herself as "worn out emotionally and physically." She turned in her resignation Tuesday and plans to continue working only through the end of the week.

The media attention that focussed on the love triangle when it turned violent -- not pressure from the school district -- provided the impetus for her resignation, she said.

"I have a lot of regard for the school system," said Litzelfelner. Her 13-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son will remain in the Jackson school system.

"The kids have done well, but it's been a tough situation for myself and the children," she said.

Litzelfelner was shot in the leg July 23 outside the home of Bruce Thomas, the Jackson High School wrestling coach. Thomas's 43-year-old estranged wife Donna subsequently was charged with second-degree assault, armed criminal action and felony property damage.

She also is charged with violating the probation resulting from another fracas involving Litzelfelner in March 1993.

Last month, Donna Thomas was fired from her job with the Cape Girardeau School District.

The Jackson School District Board of Education met in a special executive session Tuesday night, a meeting scheduled last Friday.

Afterward, Superintendent Wayne Maupin confirmed that the board had accepted Litzelfelner's resignation. Asked whether Litzelfelner had been asked to resign, Maupin only reiterated that the board had accepted her resignation. He characterized her action to resign as "a personal decision."

The board has taken no action with regard to Bruce Thomas, whom Litzelfelner admits to having a long-running affair with. Maupin said he has no comment on Thomas' status with the district.

Litzelfelner, a 1974 graduate of Jackson High School, has been a nurse with the Jackson School District for nine years. She plans to remain in Jackson.

"Jackson is my home, my children's home," said Litzelfelner, who will continue her nursing career, though "not in such a public way."

Litzelfelner said negative public reaction to newspaper stories about the shooting led her to consider resigning.

"My speaking out publicly was what caused the pressure from the community," she said.

Litzelfelner, who is estranged from her own husband, said she harbors no bad feelings toward anyone involved. "I'm not angry or upset at anybody or anything." she said.

People in Jackson have been especially supportive, she said. "A lot of the harassing things have come from the Cape side."

She does feel victimized, first by Donna Thomas and secondly by the media. "Life isn't fair but you have to do the best with the situation," she said.

To those who have criticized her involvement with a married man, she says, "Infidelity is not the cause of a broken marriage. It's the result of one."

But, she added, "I realize there is no right way to do a wrong thing." With a civil suit filed against her by Donna Thomas and Thomas' criminal trial awaiting, Litzelfelner says "I still have a lot to go through."