I really think the problem is that we have some people trying to make the Ark City High School situation into a major incident and those trying to perhaps say nothing at all happened.
Neither extreme is right.
There was a fight, apparently more than just your average scuffle, because five kids are getting suspended. They claimed to be part of a gang,so security was beefed up while it was investigated. So far there is no proof of a direct link.
There have been kids claiming gang affiliation for some time, and they do paint gang-like graffiti on buildings. That does not make them gang members.
Im not even sure it matters.
Bad kids can do bad things and not be part of gangs. I really doubt national gangs are going to be teaching local kids how to be mean. They can come up with bad things on their own.
I think parents were right to be concerned. But parents also need to see that the administration of the school did do something. School officials could have given out more information more quickly.
We did not get much from the school administration.
But, they are doing something and the police are doing something.
Chief Wallace gave us information.
They have a cop in the schools full time. The school resource officer, he is called, was able to break up the fight and restore order.
Then when the rumor mill got cranked up, security was increased.
I know there was a text message going around saying there was going to be a gun or a shooting or something.
They did take that seriously and you have to.
But, do you really think a kid who was bent on shooting up a school would send a text message warning his friends?
There are alarmists among us. THeir warnings get to be routine and you stop listening because its the same thing over and over. Spreading fear does not help, actually it hinders keeping schools safe and the community safe.
We also dont need a police state.
You could have 20 officers in each school and have metal detectors at every door and do 3 drug tests a day on everyone. Would cost a fortune and some kid would still cause trouble.
I just want to encourage people to look for facts and not get stirred up by rumors.
Be a part of the solution.
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33 comments:
WE AS PARENTS SHOULD HAVE BEEN TOLD OF THE THREATS , PLAIN AND SIMPLE . IF THERE WAS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT THERE WOULD HAVE NOT BEEN BEEFED UP SECURITY , SO I SAY THERE IS NO REASON NOT TO TELL US WHATS GOING ON
And although I am not a parent of HS students, I am a parent.
These parents had a right to know what was going on. It would have been much better for the school and the police to tell the parents than for all the different stories to come up.
Sorry, but I am on the side of the parents this time.
I think you all should keep your kids home from school all the time. There will always be rumors. If that is the way you want to live, then do it. It is not up to the newspaper to report rumors. It is not up to the school to report rumors. But it is your God given right to make a fool of yourself by spreading them.
WE AS PARENTS SHOULD HAVE BEEN TOLD OF THE THREATS , PLAIN AND SIMPLE . IF THERE WAS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT THERE WOULD HAVE NOT BEEN BEEFED UP SECURITY , SO I SAY THERE IS NO REASON NOT TO TELL US WHATS GOING ON
You can't handle the "caps lock" key, how can you handle the truth?
yea i am sure we are overreacting
if there is nothing to worry about then why were all the police there ? if they were worried enough to step it up , we should have been informed ! there is no questioning that , unless you just want to argue ,and thats fine too
Like i've said before, AC is in such denial. It doesn't matter if it is kids playing gang wannabes, or the real big boys. Too many people don't see what is right in front of their noses. They don't get the signs, they don't get the warnings. No one listens to what some of the kids have said. Now, here is a question to think about. How many here have raised or are raising a teenager? Do you think you know everything they do? Doubt it. Maybe they doing something illegal, maybe not. BET THEIR FRIENDS KNOW. So how would the police and school administrators be your biggest or only source on who is who? Maybe they/we should just leave everything the way it is and then, then when some innocent bystander gets in the way, everyone will be whining and asking what went wrong. Say what you want, believe what you want Mr. Editor, you are in denial along with the rest.
I am also a parent. My child went to school on Friday with my complete support. My child was bombarded with texts from friends who had parents who did not make them go and were taking advantage of the situation.
I believe that if there were a REAL threat, parents would have been notified. The threat as I understand it was all hearsay and gossip. If we kept our children out of school for every gossiped threat, then they would not ever go to school. I am wondering how many of those kids stayed home where it was so "safe" rather than run around all day on their "free day."
I am sure that that rumors ran wild but it is still time for a wake up call in AC.
We have a right to know about this sort of thing. Them saying there was no reason to tell us is arrogant and would not fly if roles were reversed. James, you pass judgement on parents pretty easy but if your kid was in a school with extra officers and locked down and you weren't notified I bet you'd be a little indignant about it so please don't take a holier than thou attitude on this one.
I would have considered letting my teens go to school that day if they had said they were just responding to rumors- had they said anything. They chose not to tell us yet had police out in full force when we drove to the school. What the hell did the expect? Us to go, oh, well, guess you got it under control? REALLY?? If any of them- officers and educators both had incountered a similar situation with their children unnotified they would have reacted not like what they are saying but like many of us did. They (the school staff & police department) shook our faith in them when we got the only information we were allowed from our kids and then as we drove our kids to school the next day. It is their own fault that parents got pissed and notified the traveler, newscow, and channel 12 because they thought it was easier to hide it than handle it.
agreed
You can't handle the "caps lock" key, how can you handle the truth?
November 15, 2008 2:36 PM
Thanks for copying the post again- the caps part- its important, and you're 'cute' little comment just tells me that you already know-it-all so why do you even take the time to read what we write?
My kids stayed home- and when I say that I mean home- they didn't run around as you suggest. I did not let them go because the school had a responsibility to tell me about my childs safety -real or perceived- they THOUGHT something was going on or they would have treated it like any other rumor- plus, you would think they would have wanted us to know they were taking extra measures- that is something good- not something to hide!!
My kids stayed home- and when I say that I mean home- they didn't run around as you suggest. I did not let them go because the school had a responsibility to tell me about my childs safety -real or perceived- they THOUGHT something was going on or they would have treated it like any other rumor- plus, you would think they would have wanted us to know they were taking extra measures- that is something good- not something to hide!!
My child was nearly involved in the gang fight by just being in the hall at the time and has had nightmares all week. He was already scared of some of the kids who were fighting because they had bullied him in the past. Tell me its not real. Tell my child.
I do think parents should have been notified.
I said that earlier. But I also think people shouldnt take every rumor that shows up as fact either.
It was a pretty lame excuse when we asked them if " a lot " of kids were out of school .. saying their computer was down and they couldnt tell how many kids were in school.
I do agree that the schools could have handled it better, but i also agree that some people need to not get so fired up over rumors.
if the school could spank cikdren and parents were no afraid too, yiou would not have these problems.. you get what you sow
How does a parent determine what is rumor or not when the school tells them nothing?
No, no, no, no. I don't know nothing. My daughter just used live across the street from a couple of gang members. So I guess I don't know anything.
They lied about a lot of stuff in the Traveler. Either bad reporting or false information- you choose.
That fight occured upstairs at the high school not on the lower level where the lunch room is, they said there wasn't threats made yet the poice themselves told Channel 12 that the gang members made threats and said they would retaliate. They said there weren't other fights when in reality there were fights everyday but friday. They said that it was all a rumor yet they were there in full force with bullet proof vests on. Intially, Wallace denied a fight at all until someone things got out of hand and he had to admit it. This stuff is scary and they want to magnify everything else and then downplay this while they lock our kids down and carry guns themselves in the school. I don't think that makes us paranoid- I think that only a fool wouldn't be concerned. Could all of this combined have spun the kids in a frenzy and caused them to spread it through texts? You bet and anyone surprised by that really is in the dark.
JJ. I've been trying to give you the benifit of the doubt, but your way off base on this. Time to take off your rose colored glasses and educate yourself. Example, note that the ArkcityFlipSide, Webmaster, first reported to her that Wallace said he did not know of any problem. Was that a lie, or just another city government talking point, that they are so good about. We claim that parents aren't involed with their kids and maybe enough aren't, but when they do they should not be scorned.
I kept my kid home because a local law enforcement officer, as well as a teacher told me they were keeping theirs home. That was enough for me. End of story. Had the administration been more forthcoming with the facts, I may have decided otherwise, but I had to decide based on what I knew.
I still believe the administration has been less than honest about the situation at the high school.
I know several students who all have told me that things are out of hand. Far from an isolated incident, the fight Tuesday was one of 7 or 8 that occured over the past week. And part of a pattern that has been going on for years. It does appear as if the inmates are running the asylum.
i never said there was no problem.
and i did say i didnt think he school responded as well as it could have.
some of the rumors didn't check out though, and that's the truth.
They lied about a lot of stuff in the Traveler. Either bad reporting or false information- you choose.
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WEll i repeatedly asked on here and other places for anyone ... ANYONE, just ONE person, to be willing to talk to us on the record //
not a single taker.
sooooo . what am i to think?
again, we never said there was no problem.
we said there was a problem, which is why it was a story
but we are not going to spread lies and rumors and make things worse than they are.
Just because some rumors proved not to be true, doesn't mean the problem isn't as big as many are making it out to be. Teachers were injured. They may not have broken bones, but they were assaulted. There certainly was more than the "isolated" incident on Tuesday that the administration spokesperson mentioned. I understand that the administration would do everything they can to downplay the incident, and but the best possible spin on the situation, but there obviously is more to the story than what is being told. Reporting lies or rumors would serve no purpose, but neither does regurgitating the party line from the administration.
Teachers are afraid to speak on the record. And, I don't know what students you are talking to, but they certainly aren't the same ones I have been talking to. I think, if you were to dig a little further, you would find a much different story than the one you are reporting.
Has the Traveler requested school discipline reports for the current school year? Has it compared these reports to previous years?
Have you corroborated the numbers cited by police and the administration? Has there been a change in the way the numbers are being reported, or how infractions are being handled in the schools?
One can make numbers say anything they want. Anecdotal reports would seem to be telling an alltogether different story than the one being spewed out by administration mouthpieces.
Traveler Editor said...
"
I do think parents should have been notified.
I said that earlier. But I also think people shouldnt take every rumor that shows up as fact either.
It was a pretty lame excuse when we asked them if " a lot " of kids were out of school .. saying their computer was down and they couldnt tell how many kids were in school.
I do agree that the schools could have handled it better, but i also agree that some people need to not get so fired up over rumors."
When rumors are all you have to go by, and your child comes to you crying, saying that they are afraid to go to school, what are you suggesting we do??? Send them anyway because surely things like gangs and kids with guns don't happen in Ark City? They didn't happen in Columbine either.. until they DID. I, and I'm sure many other parents, figured that things were not quite as bad as the kids were saying, but weren't going to take the chance. I don't take chances with my child's life on the line. PERIOD! The large police presence was enough for me to realize that they were taking it as a serious threat, and that was a big enough reason to keep my child at home.
If, god forbid, something HAD happened, think of the sh!tload of trouble that school would be in today, after failing miserably to warn parents of a known danger.
You can Monday morning quarterback all you like, but given the information we had at the time, I would do the same thing. Even a 1% chance of my child being hurt is too high.
I understand why a parent would keep their child home on Friday. What I don't understand, is how any parent could hear the rumors, see the large police presence, all the parents and administrators gathered at the front of the school, and send their kid anyways.
I'm just not sure my child will be back on Monday. What has the school done or said to convince us that the threat wasn't real, or that they have the situation under control?
It doesn't appear that they've been able to control it up till now.
The complete lack of communication by the school is deplorable.
Ok...here is a school administration that when HNB was robbed did not bother to notify parents that schools were going on lock down because of that. As a parent I worried about my child in nearby schools due to the robbery. Security is beefed up at the HS due to "rumors" and parents are again not notified. Is it too much to ask that we, as parents and taxpayers, know why something is or is not being done. www.arkcity.com has a list of all current school board members and I believe their email addresses. Start telling them how you feel. Nothing will change unless we DEMAND it.
HNB was robbed did not bother to notify parents that schools were going on lock down because of that
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They did notify us and the radio stations, and it in our paper and on the radio.
HNB was robbed did not bother to notify parents that schools were going on lock down because of that
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They did notify us and the radio stations, and it in our paper and on the radio.
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But they didn't send out notices to parents via the website or other means. Not all parents have access to radio and newspaper during the day.
The HNB robbery was a perfect example of the ineptitude of the administration. I was at the high school that afternoon. There were police up and down Radio Lane, Swat Teams and dogs coming the woods around the school, and a helicopter circling over head, and the administration decides it would be a good idea to dismiss 800 students into that mess.
Granted, the suspect was probably long gone, but you couldn't prove it by me with an active search underway.
And yeah, they may have notified the paper and radio, but how many of us are sitting at work reading the paper, (which comes out after scholl is dismissed<) or listening to the radio...
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