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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us November 1, 2004 Caution closes high school By Bill Choy Ashland Daily Tidings The typically bustling hallways at Ashland High School were silent this morning because of a bomb threat discovered on a bathroom stall Friday night. Ashland Police officer Phil Gray searches lockers for anything suspicious this morning at Ashland High School. School officials elected to close the school after a bomb threat was discovered in a school bathroom over the weekend. Denise Baratta | Ashland Daily Tidings Superintendent Juli Di Chiro said this morning that the threat was discovered by students working on the school play "You Can't Take it With You," in a boys' restroom at the school's theater commons. She said the threat, scratched into the wall, said that on Nov. 1 they were going to blow up the school and the school couldn't do anything about it, Di Chiro said. After meeting with high school officials and Ashland police, she said they came to the conclusion the threat was "not credible." But it was decided to close the school to "air on the side of caution," Di Chiro said. Principal Jeff Schlecht said administrators and the police went thoroughly through each room on campus this morning to make sure it was safe. Teachers, who are working today, were asked to check each room afterwards, and if they saw something not right, to report it. This morning, the high school staff met with Di Chiro and Schlecht at Lincoln Elementary School to talk about the threat, their emergency plan, what to tell students on Tuesday, and the importance of helping any students that might feel withdrawn and isolated from the rest of the school. The meeting was held at the elementary school as a safety precaution. Di Chiro told the teachers it was vital for them to work closely with their students as a resource and as a confidant. "It's an opportunity for us to help these kids that might not be feeling a part of the culture," she said. "The staff's the first point of contact with the kids. ... It's an indication that someone has a lot of anger and hostility." Di Chiro said the school hopes to find the person who made the threat. She said if the person is caught, they would be charged with a crime, as well as receiving counseling and any assistance they may need. Schlecht said this was the first time in his 25 years as an educator something like this has happened to him. "It produces a lot of anxiety," he said. "I worry about the well-being of our kids and staff. We all want to be dealing with education issues. This is very time consuming." Di Chiro concurred. "It's the kind of thing we need to squelch," she said. "It's a huge distraction in what we're trying to do here." This morning, fewer than 10 students showed up for school, Schlecht said. He said the majority of students and parents heard about the closure through the district's Web site, the media, and through the community. They were hindered by a glitch in the district's telephone notification system. Only 343 families out of 1,170 students in the school were called, Schlecht said. The skipped school day will have to be made up later in the year, so the school can meet the state requirement of 990 institutional hours, Di Chiro said. All other Ashland schools are open today. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Slippers Isotoner Slippers Dsw Shoes Ceramic Piggy Banks Fanny Mae Eloans Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weight Loss Programs Citibank Student Loans Acs Loan Matchmaking & Dating Scripts Adventure Travel Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems student loan consolidation helzberg diamonds Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams