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Show THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1999 fAROUNOlDAVIS CLIPPER TODAY A6 Training, planning, drills key to school safety Second in a series on what the school trict is doing to make schools safer dis- BY ADAM C OLSON Clipper Today Staff Writer a eighth grade sturacuse Junior High leaped onto in the school's cafeteria Feb. 4, brandished a .22 caliber hand and administrators thought students gun. it was just a joke. When the student fired two shots into the ceiling and then leveled the weapon at Vice Principal Darin Allred's chest, Allred recognized the danger and his training kicked in. According to David Turner, director of the Safe HomesSchoolsCommunity Executive Committee, Allred had just recently gone through one of the school district's safety training programs. The training focuses on teaching staff how to safely break up a fight or what to do if a weapon is brandished. 'A training had just been done at Syracuse Junior High when the student showed up with the gun," said Steve Hill, director of the Safe Schools program. "The training kicked in and it probably saved some lives." When dent at S the stage 1998, and Prearranged code words alerted teachers to evacuate the school. Syracuse police and officers from the Davis County Sheriff's office arrived quickly. The situation was finally ended when the boy was tackled by police as he walked two hostages out to a car he had demanded. Hill said the school district was proactive and had been prepared for such situations long before Columbine and even the Syracuse situations. "This has been our process for several years, said Hill. "It wnsnt just a knee-jer- k reaction to Columbine. We were very prepared. As much as you can be. It was a combination of good training, good reaction, good cooperation and good luck! Which isn't to say that everything went perfect. Two areas that concern the district are evacuation plans and law enforcement familiarity with the schools. Roger Chase, head of district security, said the district is required by state statute to have evacuation plans in place. The most common (drill) is fire. W'e have to practice that monthly in the elementary schools, and every other month in secondary schools!" Schools are also required to have one other type of drill per year. "We have to have plans in place for every scenario, Chase said. "The one were working on now is a Columbine incident! Chase said it probably would have been better if all of the students at Columbine High, and Syracuse Junior High for that matter, hadnt been evacuated. For many of them it would have been safer to stay in their classrooms, said Chase. "There might be one part of the school that needs to be evacuated. Another part may need to stay in locked classrooms. Turner said the District is working on an emergency' drill that will give administrators the option of evacuating only specific sections of the building. Another problem that Turner and Chase are concerned with, that occurred at Columbine High, is how familiar law enforcement officers are with the schools. Because SWAT teams werent very familiar with the school, they were outside of Columbine for a long time while people inside were bleeding. "We have had practices with county SWAT teams inside of the schools to familiarize themselves after the Syracuse incident! said Turner. Six weeks ago Bountiful SWAT teams used Bountiful High on a Sunday, and went through it, said Chase. "We'll be giving them floorplans and teaching principals what to expect. On a crime scene police are in charge of the situation. Chase said in these school situations, the principal is still in charge of the students. "So were trying to teach principals what police are responsible for and what the principals are responsible foif said Chase. You can never be good enough, said Turner. You can never outguess every scenario. Weve got all of these plans mostly in place. But we want it to be more systemic. What weve got is pretty good, but we want it to be reviewed every year with new teachers and principals. Turner said that this year the Davis Schools Safety Coordinating Council conducted a survey of the school district's staff relative to their safety concerns. "Were trying to prioritize some training for them he said. PREPARATION is the key to controlling guns and other school problems. Photo by Marv Lynchard Mayors give "state of the cities" assessments BY Davis County may test pilot lots primed for development with the city coming in currently second in percentage of growth across the state, up to 10,000 residents. TOM BUSSELBERG 500-60- 0 Clipper Today News Editor - "I HILL AIR LORCE BASE feel like the little fish in the great big pond." said Jay Ritchie, mayor of West A new Smiths and Maverick are among recent business additions of note, he said, adding that the city can benefit economically from the 300,000-plu- s visitors who travel through town to Antelope Island. Point. He was referring to what some other city leaders had said about the state of businesscommercial development in their communities. The mayors addressed members of the North Davis Chamber of Commerce at their monthly meeting, here, recently. It's e.. to count on one hand all of the businesses we have, he said "We have one business. We're very proud of our golf course (Schneiter's Bluff). I know this will probably offend M ine of you golfers, but I'm doing all I can to get sales tax on the governor to golfing." he added. Ritchie noted that seven substantial parcels" have been identified for possible commercial development. However, it will be up to the city council to decide what direction they want to take with a new zoning mapgener-a- l plan something that has taken painstaking hours of work over the last year to prepare. We cannot continue by financially living only off of homeowners," he emphasized. "I'll do everything I can to make W'est Point viable, he said. With a current population of 7,000 and anticipated eventual 27.000 residents. I believ e we will "ble to develop a substantial base of people that will be loyal to West Point businesses. "It's exciting and fun the mayor continued. We're workwith two developers to bring in ing business. Developers are waiting to see if the council members have the courage to bring in substantia business. to rezone property to commercial. We w ill do our part to take care of t, first-ter- m preparation. Other mayors speaking were Jan Galbraith of Sunset.Tom Waggoner of Clearfield. DeMar Mitchell of Clinton. Bob Thurgood of Layton, and HAFB's mayor! Kenneth Page, com Layton's Stevenson called his 5 12 years as mayor very interesting! noting more than 600 new homes were built there last year with 550 approved so far this year. Speaking of the proposed county conference center, he said I'm very confident it will be completed. We hope to announce (details) in the near future. There are some very complicated issues. Speaking of new projects in the Ellison city, he spoke of the Park sports center, two other parks under construction, among other projects. But beyond that, he noted the cooperation with other cities, inauguration of the citys community council that has helped decrease crime, and the youth court, which has received state accolades. Mayors of South Weber, Fruit Heights and Kaysville were unable to attend. 40-ac- program for drug offenders - Davis SALT LAKE CITY (AP) County may test a new program aimed at helping drug offenders kick their habits. The Legislatures Crime Reduction Task Force has discussed the idea of a new sentencing regime for convicted drug offenders who violate their parole. Such drug offenders either end up back in jail, or are referred to treatment and therapy programs where they often end up on waiting lists. During the 30 to 60 days that they wait for treatment, they often slip back into their old habits. Criminal justice officials see this revolving door as a failure. So they are weighing a program designed specifically for the habitual drug user or seller. The program under consideration use. If they miss an appointment or fail a urine test, a judge can send them to jail. But drug court is an option only for violators who have not been sent to prison. The new idea, known as a drug board, would essentially duplicate drug court on the back end! in post-priso- n situations. Funding such a program may be a problem. Camille Anthony, executive direc- tor of the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, is expected to report this month to the Crime Reduction Task Force on the cost of the program. She's interested in taking the drug board idea statewide, but because of funding limitations, may opt for an experimental pilot program instead. That is why the program might begin is modeled after the drug courts in in Davis County. several Utah counties that handle the d specific problems of crime. In drug court, offenders plead guilty but are not incarcerated. Instead, they are placed under supervision by professionals who see them regularly and can test for drug Second District Judge Jon Memmott is leading an effort to establish a drug court in Farmington. Also, a day reporting center was set up recently in Farmington to provide counseling, drug testing and other services to substance abusers. drug-relate- CLEARFIELD Mayor Tom Waggoner outlined the many projects under way in his community, saying there are "great prospects" in store. mander of the 75th Air Wing, and a Davis High School graduate. Waggoner outlined the many specific commercial and residential projects under way in his community, including downtown and with Utility Trailer, saying there are "great prospects in store andor underway. "Quite a few exciting things is how Mitchell described activity in Clinton. The city's first supermarket, an Albertson's, is set to open in November, along with several other smaller businesses. He recounted how the city was named after Clinton, Tenn., because of a Utah resident who loved the people there. Page threw out statistics reminding his audience of the immense impact HAFB has on the area and state: eco- nomic impact, $1.4 billion, payroll, over $617 million, 20,457 employees, civilian, $572 milincluding lion impact for independent contractors. In addition, $51 million in construction has been let over the past year, while plans call for 3.000 to 4,000 new jobs to the base in the next few two-thir- years. Sunsets Galbraith noted that Main Street in her city has a long tradition of economic vitality, with some revitalizationclean up currently underway. Syracuses Thurgood spoke of his citys explosive growth that has seen Group to premiere in Davis County BY ADAM C OLSON dren with one on the wav; two degrees from BYU, one from the New England Conservatory of Music, and brand new knees. Bowden has won the Freedom Foundation Award, an Emmy and the Presidential Citation from BYU. He has made over 30 recordings. The Bountiful Community Theater has produced at least one Clipper Today Staff Writer Davis County residents will be the first to see and hear Robert Bowdens new orchestra and choir, Generations of Sound. Generations of Sound, created by Bowden, has scheduled its first performances Dec. as part of Bountiful Tis the Community Theaters Season concerts. 3-- show every year since 1976, when it was started by Shari Cole. In recent years the Theater has According to Generations of Sound Producer Brenda Homer, orchestra about a third of the and choir are Bountiful, Centerville and Farmington residents. This is a very professional group, said Flomer, a resident of Bountiful. Bowden hadnt even retired before they had five performances and a recording session scheduled. Bowden, retired from conducting the Mormon Youth Chorus and Symphony Wednesday, after 25 years bumped up at the helm. Generations of Sounds second scheduled performance is a free Christmas Concert for the Larry H. Miller entertainment group in the Delta Center. December 14. Tickets for the Tis the Season performances will be available Nov. 1. Tickets are always limited! said Homer, who was president of the Bountiful Community Theater until June of this year. Bountiful The Community Church always donates their building and we pack it all three nights with about 250 people. Bowden has been conductor of the National New Hampshire Symphony, productions, Homer said. Robert C Bowden the Salt Lake Chamber of music and Assistant Conductor of the Boston Pops and the University of Utah Orchestra and Chorale. He also spent I dont know how many years conducting at the Promised Valley Playhouse. Bowden has been an instructor at the Naval School of Music and a professor of music at Mount Ivy Junior College and the University of Utah. I'm still young and vibrant,said Bowden, now 65. Or was that old and vibrates? He has nine children, 21 grandchil- - Every month the theater puts on An Evening Out! featuring a variety of performers and acts that range from vocal and instrumental solos to readers theaters. For the past five years the Theater has usually done four productions each year a musical, a drama, a children's theater and Tis the Season, each Christmas. Past productions have included the King and I, Fiddler on the Roof, Carousel and My Fair Lady, featuring former Broadway star, Robert Peterson. Sandy Bush, president of the theater since June, and Angela Brown, assistant chair and daughter of founder Shari Cole, are focusing more on children than the theater has in the past. Last year the theatre put on a production that was written, produced, and acted out by children on a set the children built. This October, the Bountiful High School theater group will put on a Halloween Readers Theater for Executive Auto Sales Layton L o c a 1295 No. Main o tio 544-800- 8 POOR ( |