Police respond to bully 'hit list' in Blairsville

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Police respond to bully 'hit list' in Blairsville

By Reeger, TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Friday, October 8, 2010

A Blairsville High School student who said he was being bullied at school made

violent threats targeting students who had picked on him and now faces charges,

state police said.

The threats brought police to the campus Thursday to monitor the situation.

Parents with children at all grade levels said the incident is a result of a lax

attitude about bullying by the Blairsville-Saltsburg School District.

" This kid was being bullied, and he's to the point where he wants to take people

out. I can honestly understand feeling that way, because I know what this kid's

going through, " said Short of Burrell Township, who said her 9-year-old

autistic son has been bullied by another Blairsville Elementary School student

for eight months.

State police in Indiana were called to the high school about 6 p.m. Wednesday to

investigate a report that a student had drawn up a " hit list " with the names of

other students. While no evidence of a written list was found, Trooper

Matchik said the 14-year-old student from Graceton did make violent threats

against other students.

" We have no substantiated information at this time that the accused was prepared

to act or carry out any of these indicated threats, " Matchik said. " We do

believe the incident originated as the result of bullying-type behavior, and it

appears the threats were indicated toward students who had bullied the student

in the past. "

The student faces charges of making terroristic threats, risking a catastrophe

and disorderly conduct.

Troopers were at the school yesterday morning to ensure students' safety as they

arrived for classes.

" Naturally, whenever there's a situation like that, we're going to take

everything seriously, " Matchik said. " We wanted to make sure we had a presence

at the school to make sure the students and everybody there are safe as

possible. "

He added that troopers will continue to patrol the school on a " consistent

basis. "

Tammy Whitfield, Blairsville-Saltsburg superintendent, did not return calls for

comment yesterday, but she issued a written statement.

" The district was made aware of a possible threat (Wednesday) afternoon, " the

statement said. " Appropriate law-enforcement agencies were notified and

investigated the situation thoroughly. Based on their investigation, the

district has taken all precautions necessary to maintain the safety and welfare

of our students and staff. "

But some parents of students at the Blairsville campus said the district is not

doing enough to stop bullying. Some kept their children home from school

yesterday.

Dawn Waltman of Burrell Township was prepared to speak to the school board

Wednesday night about pervasive bullying by an elementary student when she began

to get text messages from her daughter and other parents about the threats at

the high school.

" I was immediately sick, because I thought, 'Oh great. We have a Columbine right

here in Blairsville,' " said Waltman, who has children in the first, fourth and

ninth grades. " ... My children did not go to school today. None of them went to

school today, because I cannot trust that the situation with the hit list is

under control. "

Waltman said her fourth-grader has been bullied by the same child who has

bullied Short's son, also a fourth-grader.

" This school district continues to brush under the carpet some very serious

things going on at the school, " she said.

Short said her son has been physically assaulted and threatened with sexual

assault by the bully. The district required Short to have him evaluated by a

psychologist because of suicidal statements he made.

" At least five other families besides me have contacted the school about this

one kid, and nothing has been done, " Short said.

Short, too, kept her son home from the elementary school yesterday because of

its proximity to the high school.

Beverly Schweigert sent her daughter, a junior at Blairsville High School, to

school.

" I felt it was safe to send her, because I knew that the student in question

would not be in school, " she said.

Still, Schweigert said bullying is a serious problem that district

administrators have not dealt with well.

" It's only a matter of time before a student 'snaps' and utters the words, 'I'm

going to kill you!' or makes a hit list of the kids that pick on them, "

Schweigert said. " Whose fault is it then? Parents fly off the handle, start

calling other parents, cops are called, and everyone wants a piece of the kid

who would dare to threaten other kids.

" But what about the kids that drove him to that point? Is there any punishment

for them? What of the constant harassment that child is under? "

Schweigert said too often parents are able to get the district to drop or lessen

punishment when their child gets in trouble for bullying.

" The schools need to start taking this seriously before something terrible does

happen, " she said.