Wadsworth High School
Newspaper II/III
January 2012
The
1870 - 2012 Wadsworth City Schools: “Celebrating 141 years of Excellence in Education”
Volume XXXVI No. 4
BRUIN
Welcome to 2012!
625 Broad Street Wadsworth, Ohio 44281
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What was your first thought when Mr. Parsons announced the threat to the high school?
10 Eric “I wonder what is wrong, and this means I get out of French.”
Megan 12 “I have to find my best friend Nicki McNeil and get out of here!”
Ethan 11 “Whatever is actually going on is going to be very interesting.”
BY ALYSSA KEIPER
have classes were called into the office to prepare for the evacuation. This also allowed time to coordinate with the Middle School staff, considering the Middle School was the location for the evacuation. “I believe the administration did a phenomenal job with this unfortunate threat,” said Aaron Austin, science teacher at the high school. After evacuating the building, police and administrators searched the building for the alleged bomb. With help from the Summit County Canine Unit, Wadsworth Police Force and Wadsworth Fire Department checked every area in
the building. Parsons said every locker, closet, classroom, and even the roof was inspected. Video
Kasey 12 “I have to finish my physics test.”
Anthony 9 “I thought it was a bomb threat. Why else would we evacuate the school?”
Threat forces evacuation An anonymous e-mail was sent to the high school administrators early in the morning on Jan. 18. The e-mail detailed a bomb threat against the school at a specified time. Upon receiveing the message, assistant principal Mr. Steve Moore promptly pulled principal Mr. Jerry Parsons from an early morning meeting, and he contacted police immediately. Officials activated threat plans and emergency protocol. Police and other administrators arrived promptly, including Director of Facilities Joseph Magnacca. By the time the threat was received and police were contacted, buses had already arrived, and there were students in the building, so the decision was made not to close the school. Shortly after classes began, Parsons came on the announcements asking teachers to take attendance immediately. Later, he said it was important to know who was and was not at school that day. As advised by the police, an evacuation plan was set in motion. Parsons said there was time to plan and think through the threat since it included a specific time. “Our number one priority is the safety of our students,” said Parsons. Staff members who did not
officials believed the building was clear, there was a secondary evacuation. Since the threat specified a time, police advised that no one be in the building “We would never bring during that time. The students who the students into an remained at the high school unsafe environment.” evacuated to the middle school again. -Jerry Parsons, Principal During this evacuation, cameras were checked for students were joined by all school any suspicious activity. After officials, including Parsons and thoroughly checking the building, Magnacca. This precautionary police deemed it safe for students evacuation lasted approximately 30 minutes. to return. “We would never bring “The Wadsworth Police was the students into an unsafe outstanding,” said Parsons. Although police and school environment,” said Parsons.
Even though the building and students were safe, there was an administrative meeting on Monday, Jan. 23 to debrief the situation. In this meeting, administrators discussed what changes need to be made to improve the process if a bomb threat ever happens again. Following established protocol and listening to the advice of experts gave the students and staff protection during the bomb threat. An inital thorough sweep of the school and secondary evacuation kept students safe. In this potentially dangerous situation, calmness prevailed.
Student charged in bomb threat BY BRUIN EDITOR STAFF
According to the Wadsworth PoliceDepartment’s Facebook report, officers arrested Guy Barnard, a Wadsworth High School senior, in connection with the recent bomb threat at the high shool. Officers administered a search warrant on his home on Monday, Jan. 23. He was arrested on a second degree felony charge of inducing panic. Barnard, 18, was confined to the Medina County Jail and has currently been released. Police gathered enough evidence to issue the warrant
and arrest, despite his use of advanced procedures to disguise the origin of the threat e-mail, which included multiple proxy servers. An AlertNow was sent out to inform parents and students about the arrest by principal Jerry Parsons. “We are most pleased that our local authorities maintained their investigation to find the person responsible for the e-mail threat,” said Parsons. As further potential charges pend with the Grand Jury, the extenisve investigation will continue, and items recovered in the search will be examined.
PHOTO BY HAYLEY MCQUATE
After the building was evacuated due to the student’s e-mailed threat, books and personal belongings were left behind in empty classrooms.
Inside the Bruin: MORAL MINORITY SPEAKS How are students really spending their weekends?
– page 5 APP REVIEW
Best Apps from the Apple App Store.
– page 9
index Page
SCHOOL COLORS
Students question if black should be a school color.
– page 14
SPEAK OUT
Who is your celebrity crush and why?
– page 20
Editorial...................................................................2 News.........................................................................3 Opinion.................................................................4,5 Ads ........................................................... 6, 7, 16, 17 Features ..................................................................8 Entertainment........................................................ 9 Picture Pages .................................................... 10, 11 Sports.......................................................... 12, 13, 14 Health.................................................................... 15 2011 Review........................................................... 18 Of the Month......................................................... 19 Speakout................................................................20
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