School Safety
Palm Bay Prep Academy Threat
Once again, we have a threat going out to one of our schools around Bay County. There seems to always be a threat coming from a school that comes out of no where. The last few years, it was bomb threats. Last year, it was threats from clowns coming to schools. This year, it looks like it’s once again violence against the schools.
Palm Bay Prep was evacuated after officials found a threat written on a bathroom wall. Parents were asked to pick up their students from Palm Bay. Police officials on scene are asking parents to come to the Balboa Avenue entrance of Palm Bay Prep to meeting with a staff member who will then check out the student.
Police searched the entire campus with a K-9 which took several hours. It turns out that a bomb threat was written on the wall. Though they do say “children will be children”, threats do not go unnoticed in the school system. The Bay County Sheriff’s office responded quickly.
Bay County Cheif Ervin says, “This was written on a wall and the school has not received a call or other communicated threat.” Which made them even more worried and worried parents as well.
Information is still not known about what happened with the incident or who was the one that wrote the threat. Palm Bay Prep says on their website under their Mission Statement that “our school offers a personal, safe and caring environment where we strive to meet our students’ needs as individual learners”.
There was no where on https://palmbayprep.org/ that any other school safety information could be found.
Threat Policies
But what is the policy on taking care of things like this within Bay County School systems? There must be more than just evacuating and investigating.
For Bay County, there is a 10 day suspension or a 1 year expulsion for “criminal behavior”.
“Any threat, regardless of the location from which it is made, to throw, project, place or discharge any destructive device with intent to do bodily harm to any person or with intent to do damage to any property of any person, or the making of a false report with intent to deceive, mislead, or otherwise misinform any person, concerning the placing or planting of any bomb, dynamite, or other deadly explosive or concerning the use of firearms in a violent manner involving school or school personnel’s property, school transportation, or a school-sponsored activity.”
This could be any type of “destructive device”: bomb, smokebomb, grenade, mine, rocket, missile, pipebomb, or similar device containing an explosive, incendiary, or poison gas and includes any frangible container filled with an explosive, incendiary, explosive gas, or expanding gas, which is designed or so constructed as to explode by such filler and is capable of causing bodily harm or property damage; any combination of parts either designed or intended for use in converting any device into a destructive device and from which a destructive device may be readily assembled; any device declared a destructive device by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
With this in mind, threats that might seem silly can cause serious damage in the end. Students can be suspended or expelled for making these threats in the Bay County school system.
Mock DUI for Prom
In Freeport, FL there was a different kind of threat on the horizon. Students were shown a mock DUI accident in Walton County schools.
Proms are right around the corner and many proms are being held out on the beaches. Whether it’s the Marriot or the Majestic or even Captain Anderson’s boat; school officials, first responders, and law enforcement showed students what can happen with one wrong decision behind the wheel.
“I’ve been doing this for eight years and I’ve seen too many lives lost from one careless mistake. It’s my passion to try and make a difference in every kids life.” Sarah Weed, Walton County Fire Medic shares during the mock DUI.
“They are going to see one careless mistake that was made by two teenage drivers by drinking and driving. The boyfriend is going to be arrested by [Florida Highway Patrol] and the girlfriend is going to be carried away by the funeral home.” explains Weed.
Many people shared personal stories around the mock DUI accident. It seemed to really hit home afterwards.
“I really didn’t see it happening to me. I hope sharing my story with young folks allows them to kind of see into my life and into my thought process and if they are experiencing any of the same, that they might tweak their mindset just a little bit.” explains Eric Smallridge, guest speaker.
“Accidents are the number one cause of death for young people aged 12 to 19, and those involving motor vehicles are the most common. Statistics show roughly a third of alcohol-related teen traffic fatalities occur between April and June, which is considered the peak of prom season.”
Sources
http://www.mypanhandle.com/news/panama-city-police-investigating-palm-bay-prep-threat/1131263982
http://www.mypanhandle.com/news/mock-dui-presentation-grasps-the-attention-of-teens/1131193665
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Meagan Stone
Student Author - Spring 2018
Senior at GCSC pursuing a Bachelors in Applied Science in Digital Media. With over 5 years professional experience in graphic arts, I hope to someday bring my skills overseas.
