ALSH
Above: Andrew Cashin from the
ND Highway Patrol (Left) and Jim
Kosmatka from the Walsh Coun-
ty Sheriff's Department secure
the "shooter" in the hallways of
Park River Area High School.
Blanks were used in the active
shooter exercise held last Tues-
day, but the smoke was real.
By Allison Olimb
of The Press
PARK RIVER, N.D. --As
school doors open for the fall, par-
ents put the safety of their children
in the hands of teachers and ad-
ministration. The last thing anyone
involved in a school system wants
to think of is an active shooter sit-
uation, but on Tuesday, Aug. 19, that
active shooter training exercise
is exactly what took place at Park
River Area School.
In a Critical Incident Scenario put
into play by Wenck Associates, an
emergency preparedness consulting
and engineering firm based out of
Mandan, teachers and administra-
tors were taught how to act in an ac-
tive shooter scenario and law en-
forcement and first responders were
put on the scene to assess the situ-
ation. Only a handful of students
were on scene to serve in an acting
capacity as "victims" of the shoot-
er.
Following a briefing, the staff
was inslructed to go about their busi-
ness as if it were a normal school
moming. Some teachers nervously
fiddled with their keys, trying to
lock the doors to their classrooms.
Walsh County Emergency Man-
ager Brent Nelson explained that
more and more schools are going to
a standard of having locked doors
during the school day as a safety
precaution.
Not long after the teachers had
taken their places, the announce-
ment was made that the school
was in lockdown. A masked man in
a hooded sweatshirt emerged from
the men's room near the high school
gym. He started tearing down the
hallways with purpose.
"Where are you, Kitty?" he
shouted as he tried kicking in each
door as if searching for a girl-
friend.
Each shot echoed through the
Shooter Exercise
Cont page 8
Park River Area School to discuss construction concept with community
By Allison Olimb
of The Press
PARK RIVER, N.D. -- At Park River Area
School's regular board meeting held on Monday, Aug.
19, the topics of discussion included pending plans for
facility improvements and additions. FJJ Solutions, the
company who did acomprehensive assessment of the
school building including staff, student, and stakeholder
interviews, presented another plan to the board.
At the initial FJJ Solutions presentation in July the
board expressed their concern about rushing into the
construction phase without getting it right.
Park River Area Superintendant Kirk Ham said that
this time the board was able to narrow their focus and
"we've put some dollars to it."
No board action was taken regarding the future of
the school building, but Ham said they would be hold-
ing a public meeting at 7 p.m. on Sept. 11 in the PRA
Alumni Room to present the findings of the compre-
hensive study and try to get some feedback from the
public.
With the addition of the financial pieces to the puz-
zle, Ham said that it would help to prioritize the plan.
The main parts of the plan are to renovate the low-
er lever, converting the current classrooms to larger
sizes; renovate the elementary gym to classrooms; add
a main entrance, gym and administrative offices to the
west part of the school; renovate the elementary en-
trance to go from four entry points to two; and add a
secure public entry to the library. Additional funding
has been budgeted in this plan for reroofing the gym
and the 2000 addition as well as mechanical and elec-
trical concerns. Ham said that items such as sprinklers,
fire alarm updates, and heating and cooling are all items
up for discussion.
The plan would address the top two concerns ad-
dressed in the study done by FJJ Solutions -- securi-
ty and space in the elementary.
"We'll see what the reaction is on the 1 lth," Ham
said.
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