Schools to close in the Richmond VA area on Monday

CNN

[newsperson999]

Not sure how many schools but I thought I heard in 3 counties..if one sniper can do this to us think of what 20 could do

[mrsmith]

http://www.wric.com/Global/story.asp?S=979539

"The latest possible sniper shooting prompted superintendents from around metro Richmond to hold an emergency meeting. Every school in the metro Richmond are including Richmond, Henrico, Hanover and Chesterfield will be affected by some immediate safety changes. After yesterday's possible sniper shooting in Ashland, school administrators realized we are not immune to an attack.

There will be high police visibility, officers could be posted at some school entrances.

There will be a lockdown of individual schools. This means exterior and interior doors will be locked and all traffic will be directed to a single entrance.

Also, there will be a follow-up discussion of this plan on Wednesday. That's when administrators will decide if Friday night football games will be rescheduled or postponed.

The following school districts have opted to close schools for Monday:
- Richmond
- Chesterfield
- Hanover
- Henrico"

I don't see the logic. Maybe to make people feel safe.

[Palladin]

Des anyone have a link to a timeline for all the sniper shootings since Oct.2?

[John W]

If the supt. doesn't go on tv today,just lets things proceed as normal,I don't think the avalanche of calls happens.But,some people have been paying attention and do not think sending their 5-18 year olds to school should be the equivalent of front line military duty.

[BuddhaBoy]

It's the wise thing to do. I only wonder why they haven't closed the schools up to now.

Are you nuts?

Even if another kid gets shot tommorow, this nation cannot afford to show enemy nations that it can have its routines disrupted by what many consider to be a single gunman.

Should Congress close down next, should someone start shooting around the Capitol?

Should Bush hide in the Oval Office if some bozo starts shooting on Pennsylvainia Avenue?

Americans have lost their balls and their nerve.

[XLurk]

3/11/2003
DATELINE: Washington DC, The Whitehouse

"Earlier today it was alleged that a bored twelve year old boy in Des Moines posted an internet message to the affect that he planned to switch all the salt & sugar in the dispensers in all of the Dennys restaurants in the the greater Des Moines area.

President Bush, along with VP Cheney and other top advisors were in closed-door conference all morning in order to determine how to deal with the threat. An administration official made an off-the-record comment that: "A full nuclear response has not yet been ruled out...".

Sorry, but our civilization has become too stupid to survive.
Start digging.

[nicmarlo]

Americans have lost their balls and their nerve

American CHILDREN are never put into a battlefield. Period.

[John W]

Uh,that is exactly what WOULD happen regarding Congress and Bush under your scenarios.

[SCalGal]

There will be a lockdown of individual schools. This means exterior and interior doors will be locked and all traffic will be directed to a single entrance.

I've never seen the logic of this. All it takes is a bomb threat or a fire, and the kids will be everywhere.

[Dog Gone]

Fine. I'm the sniper. You've now issued me a fun new challenge by closing the schools. I'll stay away from the Richmond area as long as the schools are closed, but the first day they re-open, I'll be back.

You've challenged me by saying that you can keep your kids safe from me. But you can't, because I am God.

(Just in case anyone is wondering, I was ROLEPLAYING there)

[BuddhaBoy]

There was a time when teenagers were storming beaches in Normandy in pursuit of our Freedoms.

Now one guy starts shooting and children those same ages will be stuck indoors hiding behind their Nintendo.....

We have come a long way.

[BuddhaBoy]

Right on, dude.

[SarahW]

Your kid may be the next president, but I know the Mom across the street does not think of her five-year old as ruler of the free world; and doesn't think she has to use him to prove terrorists aren't winning.

[Diddle E. Squat]

Funny, somehow I missed that History textbook chapter about how school was cancelled for the entire length of WWII.

This is a dumb overreaction. Yeah, yeah, if we can save just one child, blah, blah, blah. The sniper has shot a dozen persons in an area with 9 million people. About the odds of being struck by lightning. If they haven't caught the sniper in a couple of weeks, how likely is it that they'll catch he/she/it in the next couple of days?

Bad precedent, and a bit of denial. Even if this is the work of a loner nut or two, sooner or later terrorists will pick up this sniper technique, since it is so effective in disrupting our lives, hurting the local economy, and tying up law enforcement. We are at war, get used to it. Cowering at home may be a very, very, very slightly safer option for the short-term, but you can't hide under the covers forever. And overreactions like shutting down the schools just make the sniper tactic more appealing to terrorists, and thus more likely.

I can respect the parental instinct to protect children. But the response must be weighed the reality and dynamics of the situation. Like it or not, we are experiencing a paradigm shift, to a war that will likely include the homefront. Prudence and caution make sense, but in adjusting how we get basic functions and duties done, not by quitting and withdrawing.

[GOPJ]

You make a good point. This type of over reacting could encourage sniper wannabes. What reaction to war on our soil can be assumed from these responses? Would 6 snipers close down the country? Americans should be made of sterner stuff.

But if you use that logic, you shut down the whole metropolitan area. It's not like kids have been the primary target.

[BuddhaBoy]

The defense of our Freedoms is the responsibility of EVERY American, not just those in uniform.

That mom's child is learning that it is better to hide indoors against INCREDIBLE odds of being shot, in order for MOM not to be worried.

The price of Freedom is ETERNAL vigilance. Not just when the shooting stops.

[nicmarlo]

I don't see the point of forcing children to go to school tomorrow.....they are justifiabily frightened. A child has already been shot, now it's in their town. It's not like our country has adapted to the evil which goes on daily in the Middle East, Jewish children (and Palestinian children), growing up amid bombings and shellings. And if that's what we're just "going to have to get used to," then it'll take some time to do that. We don't have the resources to outfit every police department, school, bus, etc., with security. I'd keep my child home, who would be emotional distraught right now if it were around us.

[John W]

Does anyone who thinks the final decision was wrong think the initial ANNOUNCEMENT of being open was a very bright move by the supt.?

[BuddhaBoy]

Exactly right. Great post!

[nicmarlo]

No information is better. [Hindsight works wonders for stupidity]

[Dog Gone]

Will it all be safe on Tuesday, or are you prepared to keep the children out indefinitely?