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CLEAR Temp: 76 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Saturday, October 4, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 25, 2003 School violence threat irks parents Rogue River school district didn’t notify parents of the written threat. Police arrest girl, 13 By SANNE SPECHT Mail Tribune ROGUE RIVER — A threat of violence discovered Monday at the middle school has parents and students demanding to know why they weren't notified of the potential danger for almost three days. The threat, "On Sept 24th I will kill 10 ppl with a gun," was printed in blue felt pen on the back of a toilet stall in the girls’ bathroom. The message was discovered Monday afternoon by a school janitor and reported to the office staff. School officials did not notify Rogue River police until Tuesday afternoon, said police Chief Ken Lewis. Police immediately began an investigation, Lewis said. The school district did not attempt to notify parents, students or news media of the threat. Advertisement On Wednesday morning, parents and students arrived to a scene of police officers and television news cameras. Three Rogue River police officers were at the school, two of them inside the building, and a Jackson County sheriff’s deputy was patrolling the area in a cruiser. Police randomly searched some students’ belongings for weapons, finding none, before the investigation led to a suspect, Lewis said. Police arrested a 13-year-old female middle school student on campus Wednesday morning in connection with the threat. Lewis said he compared handwriting samples from the girl's homework with photos taken of the message scrawled on the bathroom stall and determined five major distinct handwriting similarities. Lewis said the girl was charged with disorderly conduct, a Class B misdemeanor, and released to her mother because she had no previous arrests. It is the Mail Tribune’s policy not to name juveniles charged with crimes unless they fall under Measure 11. Parent Jinnie Willard said she was dropping her fifth-grade son off at the elementary school across the street when a television reporter began to interview her about the threat. "He had to tell me what was going on," said Willard. "We need to know these things. We may decide to let them go to school, but it needs to be our choice. And, if we don't have the right information, we can't make an informed decision." Thomas Rennert arrived at the school around noon to pick up his sixth-grade daughter, Shelby Shultz, as soon as he heard there had been death threats via gossip at the Wimer Market.The flushed and visibly nervous girl said no school officials had talked to her about the threat. She said students were trying to distinguish rumor from fact. "I was really shaking," Shelby said. "I saw all the police. I didn't know if they caught the person who did it or if they're still out there." "I’m really upset they knew about this on Monday and didn't tell us," said Rennert. The 13-year-old suspect’s mother said her daughter has been suspended but that she believes the child is innocent. "We're still trying to collect all the facts," she said. Superintendent Charles Hellman said he was not informed of the threat until late Tuesday afternoon, after school had been dismissed. Hellman said the absence of the school's principal, Steve Reed, who has been ill, and the lack of an assistant principal may have caused a glitch in communication between the school and the district office. Hellman defended his decision not to close the school because he "did not have enough time to inform the parents." Parent Diane Strong said Hellman made the wrong call. He should have closed the school first and then informed the parents, she said. "They get the word out on snow days," she said. "Are you telling me he couldn't put up a sign, call parents, alert the media? That's ridiculous." Hellman said about a third of the middle school’s 300 students did not attend school Wednesday. Detective Sgt. Roy Skinner of the Medford Police Department said it is the policy of police departments to follow the direction of the school districts when it comes to on-campus threats. "The school generally has a policy on how to handle these types of situations and we discuss the protocol and threat assessment with them," said Skinner. Strong said she will be expecting to hear what Rogue River’s policy is and added she does not want to hear that parents are being "hysterical" or "overreactive." "Now they're blaming the parents for being upset," she said. "I'm not going to accept that. If they wanted to create chaos, that's what they did. If they had handled it correctly, it wouldn't have happened." Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 776-4497 or e-mail [email protected] . Meanwhile, at the high school ROGUE RIVER — As the school district struggled to deal with a threat of violence at the middle school Wednesday, a second threat appeared at Rogue River High School that morning. "A teacher will be killed at lunch," said the handwritten threat in the boys’ bathroom. Principal Dave Orr said he immediately notified Superintendent Charles Hellman, called for coverage from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and gathered his staff to assess the danger. After asking his teaching staff if they wanted to stay and teach or close the school, the decision was made to remain open, Orr said. Sheriff’s Capt. Joe Puckett said his department had up to five units on scene between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. in case the threat, believed to be a copy cat of the middle school incident, was real. "I want to be clear this was a very specific threat," said Puckett, explaining the threat was made to a teacher and not the student population. A student assembly was canceled. All teachers had lunch together in view of sheriff’s deputies. School administrators sent a letter for the students to take home to their parents explaining what had happened and how it had been handled, Orr said. In students’ seventh-period class, teachers gave out the letter and invited questions and comments. The difference in the way the two threats were handled is the difference between calm and chaos, said one parent. Diane Strong has daughters at both the middle school and high school. Strong said her frustration and anger over hearing there was a threat at the middle school, of which she was not informed, was balanced by her relief at knowing how quickly Orr put his school’s plan of action into effect. "I think it was handled well," Strong said of the high school incident. "It’s what I expect. The officials and police were contacted, extra security was found and the staff spoke to the students and notified the parents. "My (high school) daughter told me it was taken care of and she was calm and happy. My middle school daughter was in tears." "I believe the training we had two years ago with the mock shooting situation had a tremendous impact on how we handled this today," said Orr. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times