The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/947382
The Press-Dispatch Opinion Wednesday, Februar y 28, 2018 B- 7 VIEWS ON VIOLENCE Letter to the Editor FRANK COLEMAN'S VIEW To the Editor: I am all for the second Amendment, "the right to bear arms." I have guns of my own and I wouldn't want someone telling me that I couldn't have them. However, we as a society, and those who would be elected to be the next sheriff of Pike County, including my- self, need to face the reality of our changing society. I firmly believe that some solutions need to be addressed to include, but not be limited to, men- tal health checks. A statewide database needs to be established. The database would be managed by the state police, who ultimately issue every gun permit in the state. The sheriff of our county only takes applications for gun permits for those who live in the county. If the sheriff has information on a local person, or suspects a person may be unstable, but he or she is not in the state data- base, that person would need a men- tal health professional (doctor) to pro- vide written clearance. In that exami- nation, the mental health professional would have to state the person is not a danger to himself or others and is in a stable mental condition. That type of information should be forwarded to the state police database and taken in- to consideration before someone is al- lowed to purchase a gun or receive a permit to carry. If the sheriff's department has local and verified information about some- one who is not disclosed in the appli- cation, that information needs to be re- layed to the state police for review be- fore the permit is issued. Our children's safety and securi- ty has always been an issue that has needed to be addressed. If we do not want the same thing to happen here that is happening all around the coun- try, I suggest our leaders in the coun- ty not take a soft approach to poten- tial threats in our schools, but have a heavy hand. They have to be proactive, not re- active, after the fact. My understand- ing is in the past few days, the school board, and in cooperation with the cur- rent leadership of the sheriff's depart- ment, has contracted a company to ad- dress these threats at our school. I say great! Why has it taken so long to address this matter? School shootings have been in the limelight since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. There has been 11 school shootings since the Col- umbine shootings. "If you see some- thing, say something" has been her- alded by law enforcement across the country and here in Pike County. How- ever, if we don't have the right people as police officers and the right people in charge, what good does it do to say something? The Florida shooter was on the ra- dar of the local sheriff's department, and federal (FBI), and nothing was ful- ly investigated and nothing was done. As a result of non-action, 17 children are dead. (Bad leadership). The Flor- ida deputies, one school resource offi- cer (a deputy) and three other depu- ties arrived, and the shooter was still killing children. None of them did any- thing to save the children. They didn't react nor enter the school to eliminate the shooter. Every shot was killing a child or teacher, but the deputies were cowards or were under-trained or both. I know about active shooter training. I was trained by the state police over my career of 28 years. We were trained that if only one officer arrives at an ac- tive shooter situation, we were to go in and eliminate the shooter to stop him at any cost. You don't have time when children are dying to wait for backup! In Florida, backup arrived, but they were all too scared to go in the school. Lives could have been saved. We all have to work together to do our best to protect our children. There is a lot more we can do. Good leadership, good personnel and good training is imperative. We live in a different world these days and we all have to work together to make our county safe for everyone. Frank Coleman Retired Indiana Trooper Former Mayor of Petersburg 2018 Republican Candidate for Sheriff JOHN BELLAMY'S VIEW To the Editor: The recent deaths of 17 students, fac- ulty and coaches, and others wound- ed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., should alert everyone to the fact that our nation has a continuing problem with many of our youth being unable to deal with issues that impact their lives in a non-violent manner. Studies conducted by feder- al authorities show that many school shooters have felt bullied, persecut- ed, or threatened by others and ma- ny shooters have experienced a sig- nificant personal loss, such as a fam- ily death, divorce or breakup. Almost all shootings have involved male stu- dents that displayed prior alarming be- havior or actions showing a need for help. Very few shooters have made di- rect threats to their targets and a ma- jority of offenders have had no criminal record. These studies also show that in most cases, other students knew the shooting was likely to occur but didn't share the information with proper au- thorities. Having conducted numerous threat and vulnerability assessments, first as an FBI field agent and currently as a Homeland Security Specialist, I can say that the collection of pertinent in- formation in conducting a thorough threat assessment investigation re- quires an experienced team of com- mitted investigators to leave no stone unturned when assessing the poten- tial loss of life due to an act of violence. Setting up methods for individuals to share information without reservation or fear, and the use of search warrants and technology to obtain evidence of a potential attack, are key elements in stopping an attack against a school. Procedures have to be in place to be able to conduct the investigation in an emergency situation, without delay, to prevent an imminent school shooting. A complete vulnerability assess- ment of school emergency plans, pro- cedures and facilities that includes property inside and outside the school, as well as transportation of students to and from the school, must be complet- ed in order to identify vulnerabilities to active shooters, improvised explo- sive devices and other hazards, such as kidnapping or sexual assault. The as- sessment should include all activities on school property, including students attending classes, sporting events, mu- sic and drama events, graduation, and other special events. Nearly all active shooter attacks in the U.S. have been in gun-free zones, with the first highly reported school attack taking place in 1999 at Col- umbine High School, where 13 peo- ple were killed by two attackers. The risk to schools is elevated since most schools are considered gun-free zones. By Indiana law, only law enforcement officers and specifically approved in- dividuals are allowed to carry guns on school property. Thus, measures must be taken to prepare for and respond to an active shooter event on school prop- erty, since students, faculty, adminis- trators, staff and visitors are vulnera- ble to attack. Identifying safe areas where people can go to help protect them if they're not able to escape an active shooter in- cident is an important part of planning. Rooms with walls and doors that can't easily be breached or penetrated with bullets are ideal safe areas. The use of alarm systems to alert individuals in- side and outside the school to an active shooter event and shooter location is a key to an effective civilian and law en- forcement response. The ability to con- trol access, manage visitors coming in- to the school and onto school property, and control the introduction of weap- ons, IEDs and other hazards is a crit- ical part of security operations. Hav- ing updated procedures and equip- ment, and officers trained and avail- able to perform emergency response during the school day and during spe- cial events attended by family, friends and other visitors, is part of a compre- hensive strategy for preparing and pro- tecting Pike County. Recent initiatives within the county by the school board and Sheriff's Department are address- ing some of these issues through an outside consultant. It is evident that our communities must provide a support system for our youth and assist parents and guard- ians in showing kids how to cope with issues that impact their lives. Family assistance programs, including men- toring through faith-based organiza- tions and after school programs, can help provide this support. In addition, anti-bullying programs are a vital part of our schools, which should be given all the support that they need. The CASA program is another valu- able asset within our county, which pro- motes a safe, healthy environment in which kids can receive the things they need to have a good life growing up in the community. Since it may be diffi- cult for some kids to ask for help or even know that they need help, it's important for adults to identify kids who have suf- fered significant loss or been involved with bullying situations so they can be given the opportunity to receive the counseling and mentoring they need. It is also evident that given our cur- rent culture, where violence is perva- sive in movies, music, video games and other media, our children must be taught how to respect life and au- thority, treat others the way they want to be treated, and manage conflicts in non-violent ways. This is especial- ly challenging when kids come from homes where verbal, mental and phys- ical abuse or addiction and neglect is prevalent. That's why family assis- tance and mentoring programs are so vital in these situations. John Bellamy KENT JOHNSON'S VIEW Dear Editor: In light of recent and continuing tragedies of school shootings, I want the citizens of Pike County to under- stand how seriously I take these mat- ters. As a member of the Pike County Sheriff's Office, we work closely with the school corporation to protect and keep the children of this county safe. The Pike County Sheriff's Office trains with the Petersburg Police De- partment to respond to any threat that may arise. We've conducted several tactical training events, focusing on ac- tive shooter situations. I believe one of the best ways to help control a situation like this is the inclusion of a School Re- source Officer at each school. A dedi- cated School Resource Officer builds relationships with the children, who more often have insight into what stu- dents may be troubled. An officer in the school cuts down on the response time, which in turn will save lives. Sheriff Jeremy Britton and I have been working hand in hand with the school board members and the Super- intendent to improve the technology of the school security systems. During these meetings, we have developed a plan on enhancing security, while ad- dressing vulnerabilities. With these changes, I believe soon Pike County Schools will be some of the safest in the nation. As a father myself, my greatest fear is losing one of my children. I am part of a team that is working to make our schools safer. No parent or child should ever fear for their safety in our schools. Sincerely, Kent Johnson BRAD JENKINS' VIEW To the Editor: It is a tragedy when someone choos- es to take someone else's life, but it is even more incomprehensible when the person committing this crime is a child, and they have chosen to take another child's life. School shootings have become all too real occurrences in society today, and like many of you, I am concerned with the future of our young people. My line of work as Deputy Sheriff gives me a different view of society and the increase in the terrifying things that our young people must face. Be- ing a grandfather, with two grandchil- dren in elementary school and two in high school, I fear for their safety. As a community, we need to help one an- other and look out for the children of our community. Things to watch for are abrupt be- havior changes in a child, signs of de- pression and signs that they are being bullied. These changes may not hap- pen overnight. They may happen grad- ually, so we as a community need to take the time to stop, watch and listen to our children. Explain to your child or grandchild that if they see some- thing at school or hear about someone at school who causes them concern to find an adult they trust and tell them. Is there a quick fix for this problem? No, there isn't. The local law enforce- ment does have training if such a situ- ation should arise at our school, but I pray that we never have to use it. Some- thing I believe that has been a deterrent is having a school resource officer who is assigned to our schools every day. Other schools have implemented different things to help keep the chil- dren attending their schools safe, and with the help of the school board and the public, if I am elected Sheriff, I will make every effort necessary to imple- ment things to help increase the safe- ty of our children. Brad Jenkins To the Editor: I read with some inter- est the article on page A-2, your February 14 edition. Not knowing the terms the clerk-treasurer is em- ployed under leaves me at a disadvantage. I was sur- prised by her ability to re- duce office hours if she didn't receive a raise. Typ- ically, the job, any job, car- ries responsibilities, among them is timely completion of tasks to do the job, at- tendance and punctuality. Surely the clerk-treasurer was told this was a five-day- a-week job. I know what would hap- pen in the real world if an employee that was working for me used blackmail to get a raise. Or was she prom- ised a raise to $15 after a set period and hasn't re- ceived due compensation? The entire scenario ap- pears to be a lack of set du- ties and mismanagement by all parties. Thank you, Robert Heiden Pike County Sheriff's candidates express their views on the recent school shooting incident in Florida and steps that need to be taken locally to prevent a similar tragedy. Note: All five candidates were contacted, four responded with the following letters. They are organized alphabetically by the candidate's last name. Thoughts on Winslow Clerk-Treasurer Katiedid vs... by Katiedid Langrock That pesky 'oil change w' light "Just ignore that," the woman at the car rental place said. I looked at the light-up orange icon. The words "Oil Change Required" were blinking on the dash- board. Sure- ly, I thought to myself, she knows her rentals well enough to make that call— the way I know that my car can go another 23 miles be- fore running out of gas af- ter the "empty" light comes on and it dings at me. Or how I know that my bum- per is the perfect height for fender benders that don't leave a scratch on either car—if I were to ever have one, I mean. Ahem. We were finally get- ting the door fixed on my Chevy Traverse. Ages ago, while we were driv- ing 55 mph through a con- struction zone on an inter- state, a large plastic trash bin had hurtled at us and bashed into the passen- ger-side door. There was a large dent, and the door handle had been knocked off, making it impossi- ble to open the door from the outside. For months, I have allowed stretching across the seat to open the door from the inside count as my daily yoga routine. It turns out folks are right about how a dai- ly asana practice increases positive thinking. Certain- ly, no one likes having her door bashed in, but the se- vere dent makes clear that had the bin hit a few inches higher, I would have had a face full of broken glass. And perhaps because of this grateful attitude, I felt little need to expedite the fixing of the dented door. It not only gave me a work- out but also provided great resistance against would- be thieves by eliminat- ing one of the doors they might have otherwise bro- ken in through. A few days ago, we expe- rienced our first beautiful spring-ish day of 2018. All I wanted in life was some quality time outside. I put the car seats in the rental car and decided to pick my kids up from school a bit early. On the drive, I day- dreamed about what we could do to enjoy our hours of sunlight and warmth. Would the kids want to head to the park or grab a bite to eat at the barbecue joint by the train tracks? I slowly slipped from this reverie as the rental car slowly came to a stop. Against my will. This is not my car. I have no idea why it suddenly died in the middle of the road. Perhaps the "Oil Change Required" light had some- thing to do with it. But I was just supposed to ig- nore that. I picked up my phone to call the folks at the rent- al place and ask them to send me a tow truck. That's when I saw my phone had only 3 percent battery left. As confidently as I know that my car can drive 23 miles after the gas light turns on, I know that my phone will die any moment after it hits 11 percent. The odds were not in my favor. I called my husband in- stead. He would have to pick up the kids now, and I figured I could quickly ex- plain to him where I was and have him take care of calling the rental place. My phone was down to 2 percent when I dialed. He ignored my call. I assumed he was on a work call, so I dialed his cell. He ignored my call. I called again. Ignored again. My phone was at 1 per- cent. I called one more time. He answered with the words "I'm on a work call. Can I call you ba- -" "This is an emergency! " I yelled, trying to get him out of autopilot mode. "Oh," he said, shaken. It worked. I had his attention. "My car died, and my phone is about to die. Pick up the kids, and call the rental to send a tow truck. I'm at the corner of- -" BEEEEEEP. The phone died. It took a while, but I flagged down a driver, who let me use his phone. He didn't speak English, and the phone was all in Span- ish, but we figured it out. Then I sat on the curb and waited for the tow truck. Hadn't I said that all I wanted was some quality time outside? I'm pretty sure we shouldn't have ignored the oil light. Like Katiedid Langrock on Facebook, at www.face- book.com/katiedidhumor.