$1,000 reward offered for information about MHJHS bomb threat

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Students were evacuated from the junior high school shortly after classes began Friday, following discovery of a bomb threat on the overnight phone messages left at the school.

And school district officials are fed up with the problem of bomb threats and fire alarms being pulled at the school.

A $1,000 reward is being offered for the identification of the student or students involved in Friday's bomb threat "because we are tired of this," Supt. of Schools Tim McMurtrey said. "I want to catch whoever is doing this. We will prosecute them to the fullest."

The students at the junior high were sent to the high school where they were held until the building was cleared after bomb-sniffing dogs from Mountain Home AFB went through the building.

Students returned to class roughly around the noon hour.

Parents were being encouraged to keep their children in school and not pull them out because of the threat. One school official said pulling students out simply encourages future threats.

The threat was discovered while staff was going through the overnight phone messages.

Police, fire and ambulance crews were sent to the scene as part of the standard procedure for bomb threats, and the Department of Homeland Security and FBI were notified. Bomb threats are now a federal offense and are taken seriously these days.

Should the caller be identified the individual faces not only state and federal felony charges, but also reimbursement for the costs of emergency crews that respond to the threat, a figure that typically runs about $5,000 (and for which parents are legally responsible).

The threat was the third one at the junior this year. During the fall two threats were made on consecutive days. In addition, a rumor -- totally unfounded -- went through the school last fall that a student had a gun at the school. A number of parents removed their children from the school during all three of those incidents.

Also last week, fire crews were called to the junior high when two students pulled a fire alarm. They have been apprehended and are facing disciplinary action.

And Saturday Mountain Home fire crews were dispatched to the high school following a report of a fire. The call was bogus, however, and the students who made the call have been apprehended and are facing disciplinary action by the school district and criminal charges for making a false report to police.

"These are just a total waste or resources. I'm disgusted with it," McMurtrey said. "We'll be going after all of these kids to the full extent."

McMurtrey also said the school district would look at adding days to the school year because of all the class time that has been missed due to the various incidents.

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  • Go get em, Tim!!!

    -- Posted by mrfresh28 on Wed, Feb 20, 2008, at 11:10 AM
  • I understand the need to punish the offending students, however is there no caller ID or "call stamping" on the voice mail? Can they not track these little hoodlums?

    And now the whole school system is to be punished so the district gets its daily allowance from the government for each student? All the students didn't get together and do this, only a one or a few did this.

    No wonder I am so relieved that all my students are no longer in the MHSD!

    -- Posted by so this is smallville on Fri, Feb 22, 2008, at 3:15 PM
  • What STIS, are you inconvenienced? How about my children who ARE still in the MHSD who, b/c of a couple little "hoodlums", has had their education disrupted at least 3 times this year. No, adding additional days isn't a punishment for the entire school system, but rather making up for valuable lost time in an education system that is already letting some of our children down. It's only a punishment for the ones who disrupted the days b/c they didn't want to go to school in the first place. I whole heartedly support adding school days onto the schedule, and guess what, my teens do too!! Try to think a little broader about situations, rather than being narrow-minded and selfish, especially since apparently this does not effect your students anyway!!

    -- Posted by sgt_elle on Sun, Feb 24, 2008, at 12:43 PM
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