Another threat at J-M
JEFFERSON – Jefferson-Morgan schools were evacuated for about 45 minutes Friday morning as the result of a bomb threat, the fourth in about the last four weeks.
Students were removed from both district schools about 10:45 a.m. after a bomb threat in the elementary school, said Sam Silbaugh, elementary principal.
About 11:30 a.m., students were returned to their classrooms after state police cleared the buildings and it was determined the buildings were safe, Silbaugh said. He declined further comment.
Police responded to the district after being notified of a potential bomb threat, said Trooper Matthew Jardine, state police public relations officer.
“It was determined that there was no credible bomb threat and no further police action was necessary,” he said. Jardine referred to the incident as a disciplinary matter that will be handled by the district. He declined to provide further details.
About three dozen parents attended the board’s building and grounds committee meeting Monday night to address the threats, expressing their frustration and concerns about children’s safety.
At the meeting, state police announced they arrested a student responsible for one of the threats.
Board President Lisa Mattish said later the student who was arrested was allegedly responsible for the first threat Oct. 15. That person was removed from the school before the two subsequent threats Oct. 31 and Nov. 6 and so could not have been responsible for them, she said.
The first three threats came in the form of writing on a bathroom stall or in a note left in the middle-senior high school restrooms.
The district increased activities aimed at preventing the threats, including checking student book bags and monitoring restrooms, allowing only one person in a restroom at a time, she said.