Lovingston
Nelson County, Virginia
Updated 2:15 PM EDT 9.23.09
Nelson County Sheriff David Brooks tells NCL as of 2:15 PM EDT that nothing was found at the school and all classes have returned to normal.
Earlier post from 12:15 PM EDT
Nelson County Sheriff David Brooks confirmed by telephone around noon Wednesday that students at Nelson County High School have been evacuated due to a written threat of a bomb at the school. As a matter of protocol, authorities have evacuated the school and are performing a search. A staging area has been set up around the school by law enforcement and rescue personnel.
This is not the first time the schools have been evacuated for such threats. The most recent was last year on May 7th, and another back in September of 2007 .
More information to follow shortly.
My only concern regarding the handling of this event is the health of the children being outside for a prolonged amount of time (several hours). The outdoor temp was over 80 degrees and it was a beautiful sunny day. My children came home sunburned and said they did not receive the offer of water until the end of the event. They also said that they did not have access to outdoor restrooms (albeit this may be the perception of a teenager vs. reality). I understand that there was a heat related event that required medical attention. I have expressed my concern for possible future emergencies that require the kids to be outside for a prolonged period of time….is the school really prepared to provide simple snacks (the 7th graders did not eat lunch until after 2:30), bottled water, blankets if the weather is cold, shelter from the heat/sun, etc.? Do they have the potential to store these items outside of the main school building? Obviously the first concern is safety. However, a secondary concern (especially if the event will last more than an hour) is for the health and well being of the children in providing for their basic needs. This should be basic emergency preparedness. It is my hope that school and emergency officials will address these concerns and will be better prepared next time.
I think our emergency services teams and the school did a wonderful job and their #1 priority is safety. The children all went home that day. I don’t think children will die from no water or food for a couple of hours. When I was in high school, we didn’t have air conditioning at all and a couple of times in the winter we had to go to school with no heat, we just kept our coats on all day. My parents didn’t call to complain either because they thought we had it made. They went to a one room school to which they had to walk regardless of weather conditions.
To the school and emergency services personnel, I say thank you for getting my nephew out safely and making sure he came home that day.
I am very pleased to say that I have learned that the school did have water available earlier in the event. With so many kids to manage in one place it seems easy to see how this may not have been communicated to them all. The school is now looking into adding sunscreen to their emergency kits. In addition, last night there was a pre-scheduled meeting to review disaster planning between the county emergency services and the schools. It is wonderful to see that the schools strive to make improvements in not only ensuring the safety of the children but also to take into account environmental considerations as it relates to their health and well being. Good communication, review of events, looking for ways to improve and taking steps to implement those improvements is what this is all about. Kudos to the school for reviewing, critiquing, learning, changing and improving.