As a Parent I Want to Thank KPMS, Keyser High School, and Mineral County Schools

Thank you Keyser Primary Middle School, Keyser High School, and Mineral County Schools.

This has been a trying week for parents, teachers, administrators, and law enforcement. Four days of bomb threats have disrupted school repeatedly. Government does not always act efficiently or effectively, but in this case, major kudos to all parties involved.

KPMS officials evacuated the school cleanly and effectively to a different safe location every day. When masses of parents arrived to get their children, the principals and staff worked effectively to maintain organization and keep parents informed. I trust that these people know how to keep my child safe in an emergency and that is important to all of us.

The Mineral County response to these exasperating incidents has been professional and very reassuring. Police presence at both schools, mainly the Keyser Police Department and the Mineral County Sheriff's Department, helps to keep the children reassured. They have also done their jobs very effectively in identifying suspects and getting information from them.

As for the crimes themselves, I do not think that the guilty parties understand the gravity of their offenses, although they soon will. Each day that children must be evacuated and police called means thousands of dollars wasted. Classes and learning is disrupted. Students may have to make up the time during Christmas break (although that would not be the best way to handle making up the lost school time with so many planned trips.)

Worse is the effect on younger and mentally challenged children. Smaller kids get easily frightened by these types of things. I especially feel sorry for the autistic children. Breaks in their routine cause extreme panic and fear for them. Wrenching them out of class is a nightmare for teachers and these students.

When caught and found guilty, these children need to be thoroughly punished. Everyone says that now until faces are put to the crimes. Then we find out about their horrible home lives or some other possible mitigating factor. That should probably not be considered in this case. Threatening a school with bombing is not the victimless crime that defense attorneys may eventually try to call it. We lose time and money and have genuinely frightened children.