Posted on 11/11/2004 11:12:27 PM PST by flashbunny
Germantown - A high school band fund-raising effort has been halted by School District officials because the fishing kits that were to be sold contain 6-inch filet knives.
Knives are not allowed on school property, and what started out as a donation from a parent has turned into a sticky situation.
Band leader Jim Barnes didn't expect the fishing kits, manufactured by Shore Lunch Inc., to pose a problem, he said. Barnes was delighted when a band student's father offered to donate the merchandise, he said.
"It seemed like a kit with a fishing lure, fish batter, a recipe book and a videotape," he said. "We were not aware of the filet knife. It was there, but it wasn't obvious. I didn't realize it until the truck came around."
The truck was hauling 2,200 of the kits, and Principal Janet Barnes (no relation to Jim Barnes) said she learned about the filet knives after the truck driver brought it to her attention.
"The semi-driver was the one who said, 'Do you know that there are filet knives in those?' " Janet Barnes said. "I immediately said, 'They're not coming in the school.' "
The kits are now being stored in the garage at Jim Barnes' house.
District Superintendent Victor Rossetti temporarily halted the fund-raiser after learning about the 6-inch knives on Monday. Nobody consulted him before acquiring the merchandise, he said.
School Board President George Sloan said he's baffled why anyone would organize a fund-raising project that involved knives as one of the items being sold.
"You can't have an arsenal on school property. And 2,000 knives is an arsenal," Sloan said. "It was meant as a good thing. But it was an act of extreme dumbness."
Based on available information, no disciplinary action is planned against anyone connected to the project, Rossetti said. He will meet with the organizers today at 6:15 p.m. to decide whether the fund-raiser should proceed, he said.
One way to handle the problem may be to allow the fishing kits to be sold by adults to other adults, he said.
Ted Stephenson, a salesman for Shore Lunch, said he was trying to help band members raise money for a trip to Scotland at the end of March. That prompted him to donate $10,000 worth of the kits which go by the product name Catch'Em, Cook'Em and Eat'Em.
"As a businessman, I was trying to help the community," Stephenson said. "And here it is backfiring. It's very hurtful. We thought were doing something good for the school."
Janet Barnes said she feels badly that Stephenson's generosity is being challenged. The controversy over the knives "is much ado about very little," she said.
Ted Lind, president of the Wisconsin Council of Sport Fishing Organizations, said the fuss over the knives is silly. He said he opposes allowing knives on school property but sees nothing wrong with selling them to raise money for a worthwhile project.
"It sounds good if it's getting the kids involved in fishing," Lind said. "Let's face it, these knives are everywhere. You can walk into any sports store in the country and buy a 6-inch filet knife."
While no one is allowed to bring knives to school, students have access to knives in classes that teach cooking, biology and woodworking, Janet Barnes said.
"We have students selling Mr. Z's Pizzas that come with sharp cutting wheels, and nobody says anything about that," she said.
"I think this is being blown out of proportion," she added.
Jim Barnes said he could not remember discussing the fund-raising project with Janet Barnes before the shipment arrived.
"There are a thousand things I talk to her about, but this was probably not one of them," he said.
Rossetti said he will make it clear to fund-raising organizers that administrators need to be consulted before merchandise is ordered in the future.
Good thing the truck driver was so alert! He should receive some kind of commendation for preventing a certain blood bath at the school! [/sarcasm]
Woah, hope that's not at the school ... it's got pointy ends!
In a rage over the cancelled event, Barnes picked up a school chair and busted it over Sloan's pointy head. From his hospital bed, Sloan said the school's 214 chairs constituted an arsenal and ordered them removed.
Or a very deep silverware drawer...
BTTT
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.