As I staggered, at least half-asleep, past my husband in the hallway at an ungodly hour this morning, he told me there’s no school because they’re investigating a security risk. A what?
Now being a high-school student in the now very normal-seeming end of the 80’s, I assumed some punk called in a bomb threat to get a day off, which pissed me off because we’ll now have to go a day later in June.
Then I saw the school closure scroll on the bottom of the screen. There are still about 20 schools closed due to damage and flooding from the Nor’easter. But our entire district is closed for this security risk. As are the schools in two neighboring towns. The Headstart. The charter school, the Montessori school and the Ashram school. That would be every public and private school in two districts. (I don’t know about the fancy schmancy prep school—they don’t deign to announce things like that.)
I don’t know what’s going on, but it doesn’t sound good.
UPDATE: 7:25am, and four town police departments and the State Police are refusing to give WMUR even a hint of what’s going on.
UPDATE: 8:22, and the very short news bit in the online paper says the schools are closed tomorrow, as well, and reminds us not only of the Virginia Tech tragedy but also that tomorrow is the anniversary of Columbine.
UPDATE:: 12:30 — Okay. So apparently somebody bought a used computer about a month ago. Last night (I assume) a threat against the school was discovered in the hard drive with date being given as April 19.
But it was written two years ago by a former student. I guess the FBI interviewed him a couple of hours ago and while he was in a bad place then, he’s not now and the threat is considered no longer a threat. (Tell that to the parents who are thinking about what could have happened two years ago today.)
So the not knowing is over, though the sense of unease lingers. I take comfort, though, in knowing that our school district and law enforcement acted swiftly and in the best interest of the students’ safety.
As far as I know, there will still be no school tomorrow. And between Virginia Tech and Columbine and now this, I doubt attendance would be high even if they call them back in. (And I really wish they’d used a picture of the high school and not the middle school in the article. I have a horrid case of the heebie-jeebies.)
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Well, that’s just bizarre. And I’m with you, I look back at the 80s and think, “We had no idea what we had.” Innocent times.
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I’m still guessing it’s a punk kid calling in a bomb threat, and if it had happened before the Virginia Tech tragedy they would have done their customary “Hey, you see a bomb?” “Nope, you?” “Nope.” routine.
But they’re “proceeding with an abundance of caution”.
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Keep us posted, Shan!
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:hug:
Hope its nothing at all, but enjoy the extra time you get to spend with the kids.
:coffee:
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When I was in first grade there was a bomb threat called in to my school. It was a Catholic school and they moved us all to the church and we sat and prayed for several hours (*sigh*) while they swept the building. Of course, in hindsight, they were insane for keeping us there because the church was right next to the school (we walked in an underground tunnel to get there every day). If there had been bombs, it’s just as likely the blast could have affected the church too!
That was almost 25 years ago and it was highly unusual to have any type of bomb threat like that at the time, though, so I don’t think they took it nearly as seriously then as they do now. Most people, when they hear the story, are shocked that I experienced something like that because it was so rare. But our kids are going to grow up where stories like that are pretty common. Sad
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I heard they had a big dinner at the school last night for kids going on a big school trip, with two of the district’s three police chiefs in attendance. They were rather abruptly pulled away during the dinner. Probably not a coincidence.
We just went on a Dunkin Donuts and video store run—everything a writing mommy needs to get through the day—and there was no activity at the three schools we could scope out. At the high school there was one car with government plates with a guy standing next to it looking up at the school and talking on a cell phone.
If the rumor is true there’s also no school tomorrow, we won’t have school again until the 30th because they’re off all next week for April vacation.
:baby: I just want to know if it’s a false vacation-extending bomb threat (which were practically a weekly occurrence when I was in high school—they just made us stand in the parking lot for a while) or something worse.
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I hope everything is okay. I agree with you on the 80s thing. Makes a parent very nervous when school’s don’t give out information. Almost makes me want to home school my three kids–almost. I think they need the social interaction and I need the peace, besides, I couldn’t teach my kids math or chemistry and I’m not sure our home owners would pay for a new house when I accidentally blow it up trying to show them or participate in an experiment. It’s getting scarier out there for our babies.
Hang in there.
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WTH could a harddrive possible do to a school?