I didn’t write about this yesterday because I was so thoroughly exhausted, but here it is:
Tense times on campus: Threat clears JB school
By ROXANN MILLER For Public Opinion
MERCERSBURG — “Bomb goes at 12:15 off. Not a joke.”
That message, written in large letters in red lipstick on a girls’ bathroom wall at James Buchanan High School, Mercersburg, caused officials to go into emergency response mode and clear the school Thursday.
Tuscarora Superintendent Rebecca Erb said she was notified by high school principal Rodney Benedick of the threat about 9:30 a.m. after a female student found the writing on the wall of a bathroom near the cafeteria and notified school officials.
Students and faculty — approximately 750 students and 65 teachers and staff members who were in the building at the time — were evacuated from the school as a precaution about 11:30 a.m.
They walked to the football stadium, where they remained for about 15 minutes until they were moved to the nearby James Buchanan Middle School and placed in the gymnasium and the auditorium, due to the threat of rain and cool temperatures, according to Dr. Erb.
“We were working with the Pennsylvania State Police and they advised us to evacuate the building a half an hour before the bomb was to go off at 12:15,” said Erb about her reason for waiting until 11:30 to evacuate the building — two hours after the threat was discovered.
Erb eventually dismissed the high school and middle school students at 1 p.m. while the elementary students were dismissed at the normal time, 2:15 p.m.
The high school was sealed off after students and staff had been evacuated so police could search the building.
Parents were also able to pick up their high school children at the main office of the middle school and take them home.
Gloria Dixon, Mercersburg, came to the middle school shortly after 1 p.m. to pick up her daughter and two other students.
“I wasn’t sure what was going on and in this day you just never know,” said Dixon as she was standing with her daughter Jacqueline, seventh grade; and Jonathan Brown, ninth grade and his brother Chris Brown, seventh grade.
Alex Grubbs, a 15-year-old JBHS freshman, was in second period (which starts about 9:30 a.m.) when he heard the news that something was going on in the school.
“I was pretty calm, but there were people panicking,” said Grubbs, who was leaving the middle school with his mother, Pam Upton. “I was a little bit worried when I heard there was a bomb threat.”
He said he was glad that the administrators took the bomb threat seriously.
Tim Rock, a 15-year-old JBHS freshman, was also in second period when he heard about the threat.
“An announcement came over the intercom about the threat. I really didn’t react at first. At first, we were calm. We really didn’t think it was very serious,” Rock said. “But, after they evacuated us it came to the other kids’ minds that it really could be serious.”
Rock doesn’t understand why someone would do something to scare classmates.
“I thought it was messed up that someone would do this and think they were cool to try to scare us. I think this person should be arrested and never return to school,” Rock said.
Barbara Patterson, Fort Loudon, came to pick up her daughter Christina, who is a senior this year.
“I was a little concerned, especially with everything that’s been going on (referring to Virginia Tech). When you hear something like this you feel nervous until you see your child,” Patterson said.
Christina said this is nothing new — she’s seen five threats or what she calls “pranks” since she started at JBHS.
After-school activities and events were also canceled at both the middle school and high school Thursday night following the threat.
“I feel I did the right thing,” Erb said. “As a parent myself I would want the safety of the students to be the main priority.”
While Mercersburg Police Chief Larry Thomas was the first on the scene, state police arrived shortly thereafter and entered the building with several bomb-sniffing dogs.
“This is very, very serious,” said Thomas. He said there have only been a handful of threats at the high school, but they have increased over the past several years.
Erb said, if caught, the person or persons responsible for the threat will be arrested and, if a student, expelled from school.
Thomas said an investigation will take place and whoever is responsible will face a minimum of terroristic threat charges, which are felony offenses.
“We will deal with this and take it very seriously,” Thomas said. “This is not a joke. I just hope parents will talk to their children and tell them that this is not a joke and it’s something that could ruin their future.”
A complete search of the building by the Pennsylvania State Police and several bomb sniffing dogs found no bombs in the school.
In light of getting the all-clear sign, Erb said students are to report to school at their regular time today.
Oh yes, there was much excitement. On the whole though, the evacuation was handled very smoothly and professionally, and according to protocol. It was still really stressful, but it wasn’t traumatic at all.