Posted on 04/05/2002 12:59:31 PM PST by ThreeYearLurker
BEAVERTON -- A science instructor who told police she wanted to play hooky Thursday tried to cancel her class by phoning two bomb threats to a Beaverton elementary school.
"The only excuse was she just wasn't up to teaching a class today -- just didn't feel like it," said Officer Mark Hyde, Beaverton Police Department spokesman.
Kimberly F. Haggard, 39, was to teach students kitchen chemistry during an after-school program run by a contractor at Scholls Heights Elementary in the city's Murray Hill area, Hyde said.
Haggard, of 3333 S.E. 39th Ave. in Portland, was arrested about 3 p.m. when she arrived at the school.
Haggard was released Thursday after she was cited in connection with four misdemeanors, including menacing, disorderly conduct, telephone harassment and initiating a false police report.
She works for Mad Science, a Montreal company that puts on "entertaining science education for kids" in after-school programs, said Brad McLean, sales and marketing manager for the company's Northeast Portland franchise.
Hyde said a woman called the school's front office at 12:35 p.m. to report a bomb in the school. School staff called police and the Beaverton School District's security force.
Students left the school at 16400 S.W. Loon Drive as part of a fire drill. Five police officers and school staff searched the building but found nothing unusual.
Police also began work to trace the phone calls.
Minutes after the first call, a woman who didn't identify herself called to ask whether the Mad Science class had been canceled.
A half-hour later, a third call was received. Again, a woman said a bomb would go off at 3 p.m., the same time Haggard's science class was scheduled to start.
Police traced the phone call to Haggard, who school staff members recognized as the instructor.
Students were dismissed on schedule at 2:30 p.m. As a precaution, the school was evacuated before the caller's 3 p.m. deadline.
Haggard was stopped by police when she arrived at the school about that time. She admitted to Beaverton officers Dan Bortolin and Craig Coleman that she made both threats.
"There is a positive note in that everybody did the right thing down the line," Hyde said.
McLean of Mad Science said he was unaware of any complaints about Haggard's work. She has no prior criminal record and passed the company's background check, he said. McLean said he didn't know what other schools she might have taught at.
"My guess would be that, no, she won't" return to work, he said. News researcher Kathleen Blythe contributed to this report.
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Stay Safe !
I think its hilarious that they published her address. Her house is located on a busy street corner, far away from this school. I had to drive by it every once in a while, as it is located on a major arterial. It's a dump!
So she got her wish.
Hmm 39th and SE Franklin/Powell-ish… I used to live in the neighborhood of 29th and SE Alder. Couple of blocks south of Stark and east of Laurelhurst park. That area wasn’t bad at the time, just a little beat up. That was 20 years ago though.
It's funny to watch how a place changes over time. Some areas clean up real nice while others just turn into dumps.
Her 13 year old daughter agreed, saying "Mom has acted strange ever since I was born."
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