| READ ADDITIONAL STORY ABOUT CLAY SCHOOL THREATS
By Bob Weaver
UPDATE - Calhoun Superintendent of Schools Tim Woodward said Thursday that the "soft lockdown" of Calhoun Schools will remain in effect through Friday.
Woodward said the extra precautions have been taken primarily because of the serious threats to kill children and staff at Clay Middle School.
"The proximity of the county and that we want our students and parents to understand that the security of our children is our focus," said Woodward.
"We also had an issue earlier in the week where our students and Wirt County students were involved in some social media disturbances," he said.
"With all these issues combined we felt the precautions were in the best interest of parents and children."
Woodward said things have been very positive and students seem to be content that we are staying alert to their safety, with normal school days.
He said he appreciates the support of the WV State Police who have been in the county's three schools, highly visible.
ORIGINAL STORY 5/4/2016 - Calhoun school officials issued a statement Wednesday morning with a robo call to parents from Transportation Director Curtis Garretson regarding precautions being taken by Calhoun Schools after threats were made toward a Clay County school last week.
"Due to information received from a neighboring county, Calhoun County Schools will be observing increased security measures at all schools the remainder of the week. The safety of our students is paramount and we believe this precaution is necessary," said Garretson.
The extra precaution was earlier called a "soft lockdown."
Clay County schools have closed for the rest of the week following Columbine anniversary threats toward students. (See additional story)
Calhoun Superintendent of Schools Tim Woodward said, "Because of the proximity to Clay County and the issues we had earlier this week with another neighboring county, school officials felt it was best to be on a more heightened state of alert and make parents aware."
Woodward said, "We also wanted to make staff more aware of the ongoing issues surrounding us. When it comes to safety we want to always be overly cautious."
He said the main thing is "that we keep students inside the building during these times. We do not go outdoors for activities and make certain all entrances remain secure and use only one entrance for visitor access."
"We ask our staff to be on a alert to any issues that may need to be reported to administration and attend to needs of our children who may be worried or concerned to reassure them that there are no direct threats to us or our schools, we are just implementing a greater level of awareness," he concluded.
| 
