Putnam County Owned And Operated
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NO CREDIBILITY TO RUMORED THREAT AT HURRICANE HIGH SCHOOL
Investigators say there is no reason to believe rumors of supposed
threats against student safety at Hurricane High School.
Administrators became aware of rumors before spring break and
notified the appropriate law enforcement agencies, including local
authorities, the FBI and the ATF. These agencies investigated and
determined that there is no truth to rumors of a threat.
According to Richard Campbell, Hurricane High School principal,
rumors began to circulate two weeks ago that a student who is no
longer in school had threatened the safety of the school. With the
use of text messaging and emails, the rumors circulated widely among
Hurricane students, who brought it to the attention of teachers,
parents, and staff. The school system immediately went into action
to safeguard students.
Campbell states, “We have done everything possible to assess the
credibility of the threat and make certain that students are safe.
We do not take these things lightly and are treating it with all
seriousness.”
Even with the assurances of the investigators, Putnam County Schools
has taken extra precautions by having the building searched multiple
times and by having law enforcement present at the site.
Superintendent of Putnam County Schools Chuck Hatfield is satisfied
that there is no threat to student safety. “We are convinced that
this is a baseless rumor. I commend the staff at Hurricane High for
their swift action to make sure students and staff remain safe; that
is our number one concern,” he says.
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"We take these things very seriously," says Putnam County Schools spokesperson Karen S. Nowviskie. "Even if they are only rumors. We don't take, we can't take any chances with student and staff safety."
So when Putnam County Schools officials learned
of rumors of a shooting at Hurricane High School on the 10th
anniversary of the Columbine massacre, they called Hurricane Police,
the West Virginia State Police, the F.B.I, and the A.T.F. to
investigate.
"If we thought they could help, we called them," Nowviskie says.
"Thankfully, it was just a rumor."
School went on as normal, April 20th, though there were extra law enforcement walking the halls.
"We searched the campus multiple times," Nowviskie says. "We brought in more police, we brought in dogs to search. When we determined it was all OK, we let the students come to school. Only after we knew things were safe."
It all started when students advised Principal Richard Campbell of rumors.
"With
the use of text messaging and emails, the rumors circulated widely
among Hurricane students, who brought it to the attention of
teachers, parents, and staff. The school system immediately went
into action to safeguard students," Nowviskie states in a news
release.
Campbell states, “We have done everything possible to assess the
credibility of the threat and make certain that students are safe.
We do not take these things lightly and are treating it with all
seriousness.”
According to Nowviskie, the person that is believed to have started
the rumors is NOT a Hurricane High School student. Citing student
privacy laws, Nowviskie declined to reveal if the person was a
Hurricane High School student, or had been expelled.
"I cannot confirm or deny either," Nowviskie says.
However, in the news release posted above this article, Nowviskie states, "According to Richard Campbell, Hurricane High School principal, rumors began to circulate two weeks ago that a student who is no longer in school had threatened the safety of the school."
Campbell sent out the following on the school message system to students and parents:
"I want to say, “Thank you,” to students who reported this. You did the right thing, and I am happy to say that we were able to determine that there is no truth to the rumors. Please continue to be good citizens and keep us informed of anything you believe to be suspicious.
"Please know that your students are safe at Hurricane High School and that they need to be in school so that the educational process is not interrupted."
It is not known if
charges will be pressed against the individual accused of starting
the rumor. Nowviskie could not reveal if the person is a juvenile,
in which case the ex-student's name will not be available to the
news media-unless the alleged offender is charged as an adult.
PutnamLIVE.com stayed away from the HHS campus so as not to
be a distraction. We felt the students and staff endured enough
without a reporter asking questions.
Of course, we will update this story if charges are filed.
