Central High School will have extra deputies on campus Friday in the wake of a social media threat discovered Thursday.
Classes were to be held as normal on Friday, school officials said.
Deputies searched the school twice and found no evidence of an imminent danger, Sheriff David Beth, who was at the school this morning, told westofthei.com.t
The school sent out an automated call about the situation Thursday evening and a follow-up Friday morning about the results of the Sheriff’s Department search, said R. Scott Pierce, district administrator.
The call this morning said:
Good morning. This is Peter Haubrich, Asst. Principal at Central High School. This message is a follow up to the message sent that reported a threat of violence to the school. Sheriff’s Deputies were alerted at around 10 o’clock pm and been investigating various leads looking for the source of the social media postings. Central High School has been searched twice with no evidence of any threat. Deputies will be at the school all day to ensure student and staff safety. Thank you to Sheriff Beth who personally came to the school this morning to work with school administration. School will resume as normal. Thank you.
Central has a school resource officer from the Sheriff’s Department that is at the school each attendance day, but there will be extra deputies present Friday, Beth said.
Beth added no evidence has been found yet that the “CHS” referenced in the social media posting was the school in Paddock Lake.
UPDATE 8:16 a.m. — Here is a news release issued by the Sheriff’s Department:
The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department is currently investigating a threat complaint at Central High School located at 24617 75th Street in Paddock Lake, WI. On October 18, 2018 at approximately 10:00 PM, an anonymous person using the social media outlet Snapchat posted a statement indicating “CHS School Shooting 10-19-18 Be Ready.” At the present time, the school is open for class and all activities. The Sheriff’s Department has posted extra personnel at the school. At this point there is no credible evidence to confirm the threat, or that Central High School in Kenosha County is even the school involved. When using Snapchat, a user is able to create a ‘post’ which disappears soon thereafter; making it hard to determine who the original sender is. This investigation is active and ongoing. Sheriff David Beth, the department, and the Central High School Administration and staff take all threats or potential threats extremely seriously to ensure the safety of all students and staff.
UPDATE about 8:45 a.m. — Central administration has decided to send students home due to a large number of absences, the Sheriff’s Department reports in a news release:
Central High School Administration has now made the determination to cancel classes due to a large number of excused absences. The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department requests that anyone who receives any kind of post or message related to this incident to take a ‘screenshot’ and forward it to the Sheriff’s Department website at http://www.kenoshacounty.org/548/Sheriff
.
UPDATE 9:08 a.m. — Sheriff Beth tells westofthei.com a second photo connected with this investigation has emerged and appears to be related to an incident in New Mexico from April at Cleavis High School.
Griffiths Grounds offers a variety of carving pumpkins in all sizes, specialty decorating pumpkins, pie pumpkins, small and large gourds, several varieties of squash, cornstalks and decorating corn. Contact us for special orders! We have provided pumpkins and gourds for weddings, anniversary and birthday parties, landscaping companies, and school parties.
Note: Wilmot Auto Service is a westofthei.com sponsor. — DH
Six Randall School students were published in the 2018 Rising Stars Collection, a collection of student poetry selected by Appelley Publishing for their annual book. This contest was open to students in grades 3-12. Their entries were submitted over a year ago for consideration in this publication.
The company that collects garbage in Salem Lakes is proposing a change to how bulk item collection is done there in exchange for a lower rate.
You will need a piece of land at least two acres in size if you want to legally keep chickens in Salem Lakes.
Note: Village of Salem Lakes is advertising this event with westofthei.com. This is a paid announcement. — DH
The National Weather Service flood warning for the Fox River in Western Kenosha County has been canceled, with the river below flood stage again.
Have you heard about our feature at West of the I called Deal of the Day? It offers you great values on goods and services from local businesses. Here’s how it works. We offer a gift certificate or gift card from a local business for half price of its face value. For example, you get a $50 gift card but only pay $25 for it. Now that’s a deal!
Note: The village of Paddock Lake is advertising this leasing opportunity at westofthei.com. This is a paid announcement. — DH
Note: Sankulpa Yoga Center is a westofthei.com sponsor. This is a paid announcement. — DH
Wilmot Union High School in conjunction with BloodCenter of Wisconsin will host a blood drive Monday, Oct. 22 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Note: Glenda and Butch Dupons, of Bear Realty, are westofthei.com sponsors. This is a paid announcement — DH
The Paris School Organization hosted its annual Panther Prowl fundraiser Saturday afternoon at the school.
