June 14, 2006
By Kevin Hanson
The Courier-Herald
Uniformed police officers spent a day at White River High School, watching for the type of trouble that kept many students away.
In the end, June 6 was uneventful on the rural campus.
The vague threat of violence, however, kept some students away. Principal Dan Anderson said the second-period attendance report showed 25 percent of the student body absent. That's much higher than normal, he reported.
The absences, and the police presence, stemmed from the high school rumor mill. There was reportedly talk that some students might be planning to “shoot up the school,” Anderson said.
The principal had addressed the entire student body a week earlier, sharing the rumors and letting students know officers would be on campus June 6.
White River was not alone in worrying about trouble. Stories flowed nationwide about students planning trouble that particular day, due to the Biblical referenced to 666. Regionally, Anderson said, a male student was arrested in Tacoma for carrying a hatchet to school and a girl in the Bethel School District was arrested after posting online threats.
Anderson said White River officials began addressing the issue about six weeks ago, when middle school students were overheard at both the Buckley and Bonney Lake skateboard parks. Their comments involved possible violence at area schools, and White River High was mentioned specifically.
The kids were identified and interviewed by WRHS administrators, who heard of no specific plans.
About a month ago, Anderson said, another report was received by the administration. That account came directly from a student, he said, prompting a call to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. Representatives from the department visited the school May 31, June 1 and June 2, Anderson said, eventually questioning about two dozen students.
Again, he said, the only determination was that the rumor mill was active among the student body.
With nothing to go on but rumor, district officials met to chart a course of action. “You can't just let it go,” Anderson said. “In this day and age you have to take things seriously.”
In the end, the decision was to alert all students, via a schoolwide television broadcast. Administrators decided against sending a notice home with students.
Pierce County volunteered to maintain a police presence. Two uniformed officers stood outside the main building as students arrived in the morning, then remained in the building all day. Another officer, in plain clothes, remained until school started. Their police vehicles were highly visible, sitting in the loop in front of the school.
Kevin Hanson can be reached at khanson@courierherald.com.
