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Arrest prompts new site search for Warren County alternative school
By Joe Beck -- jbeck@nvdaily.com
FRONT ROYAL -- The arrest of a 17-year-old student with a gun Thursday at the Diversified Minds Alternative Education Program has led school officials to try to find another location for the program away from its current site next to Ressie Jeffries Elementary School.
Greg Drescher, assistant superintendent for instruction for Warren County Public Schools, said such a move is likely "very soon."
"I think it's going to happen. It's just a matter of figuring out the details," Drescher said.
His comments came as the mother of one Ressie Jeffries pupil began circulating a petition demanding that the Diversified Minds Program be relocated. Alicia Johnson said she will present the petitions at the School Board's next meeting March 8.
"I'm just concerned about safety with children in general that they would have these problematic students in the same general vicinity as elementary school kids," Johnson said.
Deputies from the Warren County Sheriff's Office arrested the Diversified Minds student at about 8 a.m. after school officials searched nine students enrolled in the program. Sheriff's Office officials said deputies removed the boy from the school grounds and called his parents. The boy is not identified while he is in the juvenile court system.
Deputies said they found the firearm, a .25-caliber handgun, while patting down the boy, arrested him, and charged him with possession of a firearm on school property, a class 6 felony. Sheriff's Office officials said he was taken to the Northwestern Regional Juvenile Detention Center after a detention hearing.
In a letter to parents and guardians posted on the school system's website, Superintendent Pamela M. McInnis said some parents had questioned why they were not informed of the incident sooner.
"Information was not sent home yesterday because the initial investigation was not concluded until late in the afternoon. It was necessary to have information from the sheriff's office before notice was sent to parents," McInnis said.
Heather Roland, who has a 7-year-old daughter at Ressie Jeffries, said she didn't learn of the incident until she saw something on Facebook at night.
"It would have been nice to have had some kind of warning, said Roland, who said she also supports moving Diversified Minds to a different location.
"The whole incident yesterday just bugs me," Roland said, adding that the alternative education program "has no business being in an elementary school, of all places."
McInnis' letter said there was no threat of harm or a report of a weapon "on any individual's person" at the time school officials searched students from Diversified Minds. For that reason, the Sheriff's Office did not order Ressie Jeffries to be locked down during the search, she said.
Drescher said Diversified Minds has been at its current location next to Jeffries since 2009 or 2010. But other alternative programs have occupied the building off and on since at least 1987, he said.
Drescher said school officials need to find another existing site for the Diversified Minds program. The school system doesn't have the money for a new building and new property, he said.
Nevertheless, he said school officials agreed with those parents who want Diversified Minds relocated away from the elementary school.
"Parents and staff are thinking the same thing," Drescher said. "I think we're on the same page where separation is a good thing."
I want to know why they moved the AEP that was on the mountain on 55? Why can they not go back there? And also; why that location wasn't mentioned in this article!
ATTENTION PARENTS: I had my gun stolen and had gotten a report that the boy who stole my gun had given it to (I won't give his name) 17 year old boy at the Diversified Minds School. I heard this info just after lunch on WEDNESDAY. I immediately called the sheriff and attempted calling the school and school board for fear a child would get hurt. I also asked my friend to call the school board. (The number for Diversified Minds is not listed.) She spoke to Mary Henry, who was SUPPOSED to call me, but still has not. I tried calling Mary Henry, and left a message with no return call. I was finally able to obtain the number to Diversified Minds, where I was able to reach an administrator (didn't write a name down, but I will be tracking her name down soon) who was RUDE! I think she thought I was a teenager playing a prank, so I told her I was an adult, but she STILL told me she thought my claims were "highly unlikely" and it was "probably nothing". I demanded there be a search, and she said "well all the students have left". I said "then search this kid tomorrow--this is a GUN in SCHOOL for crying out loud!" She said they wouldn't be doing this, and tried to end the call. This is when I called the newspaper. I was told they couldn't run my story, unless a gun was found....but now with a gun found, I hope they do run the story that the school board and school admin did NOTHING!!!! What if I had been a teen calling in who was scared and timid and unable to INSIST? How many calls like this go ignored by the school board??? As a parent I am OUTRAGED that a report of a gun in a school can result in such little action from the school and school board. Thank GOD the sheriff's office followed thru and removed this weapon from the school. But we need to fix how things are handled by the school next time.
Saturday afternoon I posted the facts not being disclosed about this story--my friend and I were the ones who TRIED to report this gun to the school and school board and we got NO attention other than rude reactions. And for some reason my comment has been removed! I urge angry parents to contact me thru FB, so I can fill you in on what the school is not telling you...you will be outraged. Andn I strongly hope NVD will write the IMPORTANT DETAILS that have been left out of this story. Especially being that I called the paper on Wednesday when I learned of the gun in the school and got no reaction from the school, and was told they could only run the story if/when a gun was in fact found in the school. Well, a gun was found, so now it's important for parents to know how the school neglected to handle it!!!
why do you have a gun????
It's called the 2nd Amendment!!! It is my right, my neighbors right and Melanie's right to own a firearm as an upstanding citizen.
Melanie,
If what you are saying is true then how are you allowed to talk about it? Isn't this considered a criminal investagation? Usually anyone involved with an investagation is told not to give out information. Are you sure it is your gun? Have you contacted the police dept. to verify it is in fact your gun? Why are you contacting a news paper instead of the sheriffs office? What did the Sheriff office say when you contacted them? Did they say to contact the school? Did they say they were going to look into it? How did you find out your gun was stolen and also given to a 17 year old boy? You knew the 17 year old had the gun but how did you know for sure he actually brought it to the school? Did you go to the police dept. to press charges on the person who stole your gun? With all due respect your story sounds fishy to me. It sounds to me once the Sheriff arrived they assisted them in finding the child with the gun.
MBC alumna,
What do you mean "why do you have gun?" What kind of question is that? Your comment makes no sense.
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