Posted on 03/01/2006 9:16:01 AM PST by kiriath_jearim
2 More North Greene Students Expelled; Rifles Found In Truck
By: By Bill Jones/Staff Writer
Source: The Greeneville Sun 02-28-2006
Dr. Joe Parkins, director of the Greene County School System, confirmed on Monday that two more North Greene High School students were expelled from school recently after a pair of hunting rifles were found in their truck’s locked toolbox while it was parked at the school.
Dr. Parkins said in an interview that he only became aware of the hunting rifle incident last Friday afternoon, although it apparently occurred “about the same time” that another NGHS student was found to have an unloaded 9 mm pistol locked inside his truck at the school on Feb. 16.
The student was expelled and faces charges in Juvenile Court
The Greeneville Sun reported the incident involving the pistol last Friday after a concerned citizen alerted the newspaper to the incident, and a report filed by North Greene’s School Resource Officer (SRO) surfaced at the Greene County Sheriff’s Department.
But no one mentioned that a separate discovery of hunting rifles in a vehicle parked at the school had been made at about the same time.
No report on the second incident had surfaced at the Greene County Sheriff’s Department as of Monday.
Parkins said on Monday afternoon that, unlike the incident involving a pistol, there are no allegations that any threats were made to other students by the two boys whose hunting rifles were found locked in a toolbox in the truck they had used to travel to school.
Parkins said he was told that the hunting rifles were in the toolbox because the two boys had been “working on them.”
Another student apparently became aware that the boys had brought the rifles to school and told an assistant principal, who searched the boys’ truck and found the firearms.
As was the case with the youth in whose truck a pistol was found by school authorities on Nov. 16, Parkins said, the two boys found to have brought hunting rifles to school were expelled from school under the state’s “zero-tolerance” law concerning firearms on school property.
In the case of the two boys in whose truck the hunting rifles were found, Parkins said, he did not know if any criminal charges had been filed in Juvenile Court.
Capt. John Huffine, the Greene County Sheriff’s Department’s chief detective, said on Monday afternoon that he had been unaware of the second recent discovery of firearms at North Greene High School.
But he also noted that he had been unaware of the first incident as well until a reporter raised the issue.
Discipline Hearing Today
Parkins said school authorities, in response to requests from the parents of all three boys, had agreed to convene a meeting of the Greene County School System’s Discipline Hearing Authority (DHA) at 1 p.m. today.
The county director of schools said the DHA is a panel of four school system administrators and a “community member,” who convene to hear discipline cases, determine the severity of the incident involved and make a punishment recommendation to the director of schools.
Parkins explained that once he receives a recommendation from the DHA panel, he can “modify” the year-long expulsions from school to a lesser punishment, if the circumstances justify such an action.
On Monday afternoon, Parkins said he expected that a decision regarding the year-long expulsions of all three students would be made by late this afternoon.
Why isn't this a case of illegal search and seizure?
"Another student apparently became aware that the boys had brought the rifles to school and told an assistant principal, who searched the boys’ truck and found the firearms."
I wonder if a search warrant was involved, or was this a warrantless domestic spying search?
hmmm. Due process? I don't think so.
Zero tolerane is zero intelligence.
I graduated in 1988. One the Friday before the opening weekend there were so many trucks ready to go hunting we could have held a gun show in the parking lot.
Because it's "for the children"?
no more easyrider rifle racks?
In Texas, if your kid parks on school property, you sign an agreement that they can search the vehicle at any time. My kid parked on the street.
If the kids were parked on the school parking lot at the time, the searches were probably legal. If the kids were parked on the street, the searches were probably illegal.
On the one hand, you would hope the school would know better, and that a rifle locked up out of sight in a vehicle is not the next Columbine.
On the other, you would hope the student would have the sense to realize that schools are insane, and of course they don't know better.
Public schools are prisons, and the same rules apply.
The school authorities believe two rifles in a locked box fixed to a pickup are wrong, despite the fact the owners did not intend any mischief and were of legal age to possesses the rifles.
Why, because one of the students may well grow up and become our nation's vice president.
Where is the NRA and GOA defending these guys?
That was a reeely reeely dangerous situation and mayhem and murder were just barely avoided. Those guns were just waiting for some innocent student to walk by the vehicle so they could leap up out of their resting places and shoot her. The rifles were probably awaiting an opportune time to fire through the school windows to mow down an entire English class.
huh?
I was being sarcastic.
What were you asking me?
More senseless zero-tolerance horse manure! You can thank Klebold and Harris (hope the AC's working, a$$holes!) for their little stints. I bet these boys will be found to be upstanding young men with no records of mischief and intent on helping one another to repair or clean or hunt with their rifles. The fact that they were unloaded and in a locked container indicates to me that they had no intent to shoot up the school. May I eat my socks if things are found to the contrary.
And oh yeah, thanks a LOT Clintoon for your non-sensical anti-gun laws that still plague us today.
The state has a law against firearms on school property.
It was not legal for them to have those firearms there.
I personally do not think it should be illegal to have hunting weapons locked up in a vehicle on a school parking lot.
I think it's an example of a bad law created by people who have an irrational fear or firearms instead of a rational fear of criminals.
However, the school authorities can't simply ignore that these students broke the law.
You signed up today to post a stupid question, troll?
hehehe
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