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http://mikeoncrime.com/article/4488/threats-target-winnipeg-high-schools-police-will-increase-presenceDATE: Oct 4, 21:25
By Nick Martin, Joe Paraskevas and Bruce Owen
Winnipeg Free Press
The decision is up to parents — will they send their children to Kelvin High School Friday morning despite a threat posted on a washroom wall?
Police said Thursday they are investigating threats made against students and staff at Kelvin and Tec Voc high schools. Both threats were written on washroom walls in the two high schools — the threat at Kelvin referred to Friday, and one at Tec Voc targeted Oct. 31.
No one is revealing what the threats said, when they were found, or by whom, but the situation is similar to a washroom threat at the University of Winnipeg last week.
And on Wednesday, a third high school, Garden City Collegiate, went into lockdown for two hours after an anonymous caller said a non-student was entering the school with a knife. Police concluded the report was unfounded.
Winnipeg School Division board chairwoman Kristine Barr said Kelvin would be open for classes today, but attendance is up to parents.
“These decisions always rest with the families,” she said. “We have direction from the police that the threats don’t warrant closing down the schools.
“There will be an increased police presence,” said Barr, who would not discuss the nature of the threats.
Threats written on a washroom wall at U of W two weeks ago produced a high security alert on campus last Wednesday that saw more than one-quarter of classes cancelled, and 30 to 50 per cent attendance at the classes that were held.
“It’s always unfortunate when these incidents occur, because there’s always a possibility it’s a copycat,” said Barr. “It’s taking police off their regular duties.”
Barr said that the Child Guidance Clinic will also have counsellors in Kelvin for any students who wish to talk about what’s happening.
Barr said the division notified her about the threat at Kelvin Thursday morning, and about the threat at Tec Voc a couple of hours later.
Tec Voc principal Gordon Crook noted in his letter to parents that he held a special staff meeting at 8:50 a.m. Thursday to discuss the threat.
One Tec Voc student shrugged off the alleged threat of violence, also suggesting the threat would have little impact on the school’s community.
Asked if she was worried about coming to the school, 18-year-old military cadet Kaitlin Fehr said, “Not really. It could be something big, but for me, I’m in the military.” Incidents of violence at school fail to jar her, she added, because of the physical training she has done in her youth.
“My parents put me in karate when I was younger, for this stuff,” Fehr said.
A Tec Voc parent however, didn’t share the young woman’s philosophical outlook toward the latest threat.
“It ticks me off, that whole issue,” said the parent, who would only identify himself as Doug.
