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Rumor saps school numbers Photo by Jim Craven Sally Killen teaches her eighth grade English class, which is usually full, Monday at Hedrick Middle School in Medford. Ten of her 30 students showed up. Many students skipped school Monday because of rumors about copycat shootings like those last month at Columbine High School in Colorado. Some refuse to let fear rule the day By DAVID PRESZLER Like a lot of Rogue Valley parents, Terry Stauffer was worried Monday. His daughter, Courtney, is an eighth-grader at Hedrick Middle School, one of two Medford schools mentioned in threats rumored to have appeared in an Internet chat room. The threats of shootings May 17 or 18 sparked a mass exodus that left Hedrick with less than 40 percent of its students present Monday. Fear and senior skip day left the other threatened school, North Medford High School, even more vacant: About 75 percent of its students were absent. But Courtney wasn't among the several thousand area students who stayed home. And her father didn't stay away, either. He spent the day walking the halls at Hedrick to ease his mind as well as hers. "Quite frankly, I couldn't live with myself if something happened and I wasn't here," the self-employed Medford man said. "But I refuse to be made a victim by this nonsense and so does she. She needs to be here and so do I." Only 358 of Hedrick's 910 students were at school Monday and about 400 of the 1,850 students at North Medford attended classes. Other Rogue Valley schools also were emptier than usual. At McLoughlin Middle School and South Medford High School, only about half of the students attended. Crater, Eagle Point and Phoenix high schools reported between a quarter and half of students absent and about 50 students more than normal missed school at Ashland High. Ben Davis, whose two children attend North high, said he and his wife considered keeping the kids home but didn't after talking it over with them. "It was a debate all weekend," he said. "They wanted to go. They didn't want to succomb to that." School officials said they tried to be sensitive to parents' and students' fears while reassuring them that the schools are safe. But they also expressed concern about how easily the rumors and threats were able to disrupt things. "What I tried to do is convince parents that this is a safe place to be," said North Medford Principal Don Lacey, who was disappointed that so many students stayed home. "Are we going to allow for school to be shut down every time someone makes a threat or starts a rumor?" Lacey and Steve Wisely, superintendent of the Medford School District, both fear that some students used the threats as an excuse to skip. "I don't believe there were very many that were fearful," Lacey said. They also said media attention only made matters worse. "The rumors and the coverage of the media pretty much determined what happened," Wisely said. "Students can't afford to have their instruction interrupted like today did." The threats, which came just two days after 15 people were killed at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., are still being investigated by police. Police also sought to assure parents that the schools are safe. "I sympathize with parents and their concern but I do believe it's unfounded," said Medford police Lt. Tim George. "The schools are safe. I would encourage parents to sent their kids to school. We are going to have additional deployment for a few days until the anxiety and fear dies down here." At least three uniformed officers and one in plain clothes made the rounds at Hedrick on Monday. Some of the children who did come said that eased their minds. "I wanted to (stay home) at first," said Beth Mueller, an eighth-grader. "My mom talked to the policeman and he said it's probably going to be the safest day." "I think it'd be dumb to do it today if they were going to do something," said Dustin Hawker, another eighth-grader. Hedrick Principal Marjorie Lininger met with the staff before school, encouraging teachers to focus on regular duties like standing at their doors between classes and watching for anything out of the ordinary. She wanted to use Monday to show parents and students how aware and alert the school's staff is. "I hope the school will model their concern for children through this incident," she said. "The parents who came this morning saw Hedrick at its very best." School officials were unified in the hope that Monday marked an end to the uneasiness. "I'm just hopeful that the numbers will increase tomorrow," said Lacey. "What we need for now is for everything to get back to normal," said Wisely. "This is confirmation that our campuses were safe before Littleton, during Littleton and they are safe after Littleton." (Chris Bristol of the Mail Tribune contributed to this article.) Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA