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Updated: County schools were on lockdown Thursday
by KARISSA STEWART
Aug 12, 2010 | 4678 views | 28 28 comments | 20 20 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Red Bud Elementary and Sonoraville Middle School were placed under lockdown Thursday following advisement from the Gordon County Sheriff’s Department, officials stated.

“All Gordon County school principals were notified earlier this (Thursday) afternoon that, due to a domestic dispute involving students, Red Bud Elementary School and Sonoraville Middle School were placed under precautionary lock down status on advisement from the sheriff’s department,” said Gordon County Schools Superintendent Bill McCown.

“No other schools were involved,” he added.

Red Bud Principal Jennifer Hayes said the temporary lockdown ended around 1 p.m. and classes resumed normally.

School officials at Sonoraville Middle School confirmed that the school was no longer under lockdown around 2 p.m.

Gordon County Sheriff’s Office Chief Dep. Robert Paris said he could not elaborate on either situation at around 2:15 p.m. Thursday.

“We’re still in the aftermath of the incident,” he said.

CLARIFICATION: Parents were not notified of the situation due to it being an external lockdown. Law enforcement officers did not go inside of the classroom and check on students during the lockdown.
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Comments
(28)
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jkelley05
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August 14, 2010
wtf...you mean I "wouldnt" have had heard the phone ringing over "lifetime" channel? hello grammer?!! and sorry but what exactly does DUD mean? little confused on that part...But in all seriousness I would have liked to have had a phone call WHILE I WAS AT WORK BY THE WAY NOT WATCHING LIFEIME..letting me know that the school was involved in a lockdown and my child was safe and there is no reason for any concern..btw it does say above police WERE NOT going in and out of the classrooms to check on the students to see if they were safe or not.. little more details is what I wanted.
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CBM129
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August 14, 2010
Jkelley05--I DID read what you said and as I said before...you were not given the "option" because it was a LOCKDOWN...again, like I said before...no one is allowed in OR out of the school until it is over...and parents do not have to be informed while the lockdown is in progress because there are other concners going on at the time besides picking up the phone and calling 700-ish parents...everyone was busy making sure doors were locked and all students were accounted for! Again...you have to look at the WHOLE picture...not just the parts you want to
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jkelley05
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August 14, 2010
CBM... I did not say I was upset that my child was not able to be checked I said "I was not informed of a lockdown and did not have the option. I didnt find out about this until I received a letter in my childs folder at 6 that evening. ..I was not insulting the school or the way they handled the sitution. I was insulting the mislead facts that were on CT website. Read before you speak
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GAGIRL2010
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August 13, 2010
Well put CBM! I'm glad that someone is willing to take up for the wonderful school our children attend! It's easy for people to sit and make uninformed judgements, however the truth of the matter is that RBE did exactly what they should have done, and that's to put the safety of the students first. I've never felt that RBE would let us down as parents. The entire staff "Reaches Beyond Expectations" everyday and I know without a shadow of a doubt that my children are safe there! I think this town needs more optimistic people who are willing to be supportive rather than critical. I'm just sayin ...
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CBM129
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August 13, 2010
Ok rocitryder...I did NOT say that I was not upset by the situation...I said that I was NOT upset by how it was handled...read it more carefully! Ofcourse the situation is upsetting...but in an unfortuante situation the school handled it beautifully and followed protcol perfectly...and ALL parents were informed of the situation the SAME day...and jkelley05 the reason no child was able to be checked out was because it was a LOCKDOWN...that means no one in or out until it is deemed safe by school personel and the police (which to me is very reassuring because that means ALL students are safe). By the time the lockdown was over it was time to go home anyway...we need to look at the whole situation people!
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jkelley05
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August 13, 2010
hey newgirl2010, yeah thats the reason I didnt vote for him to begin with. I think its a little rediculous that they did let the parents know the "details" of the domestic dispute. I am very pleased with red bud it did upset me I didnt get an option to check my child out. However calhoun times needs to get their facts straight..just saying.
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rocitryder
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August 13, 2010
Hey CBM,I'm quite sure that your source is very reliable.But I for one and it's becoming apparent that a few other people would like to get the facts from "The Times" since they were so quick to run with a story that they did not have all the facts or were reluctant to offer up the facts assuming we out here would just accept what we were reading were indeed the facts.CBM you say that you're not upset at the situation.You should be for the simple fact that Parents were involved in this "Domestic Dispute".Where was this taking place? On school grounds?What we're asking for are the facts.What was going on?????
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Welltraveled
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August 13, 2010
The taxpayers that pay for the schools and police DESERVE TO KNOW THE TRUTH!!! Especially taxpayers with students in the schools. It is the duty of the school system and the sheriff's dept. to make sure that the facts given are correct and truthful. As elected officials, that is their duty. NOW TELL US THE TRUTH! It wasn't between students, now was it?
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Ltgordon
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August 13, 2010
The Calhoun Times is 100% WRONG on the facts relating to the situation at Red Bud. If you are going to take the time to write an article you should at least take the time to report true imformation. But the Calhoun Times has never let the truth stand in the way of a good story. I think the Times should print an apology to the school and try a litte harder to be correct on the facts in the future.
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CBM129
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August 13, 2010
I heard from a very reliable source that the lockdown involved a domestic situation between parents. The lockdown was precautionary to protect the children involved in the family. School resumed as normal, even during the lockdown, and police were on campus as a precaution. Parents were informed by letters sent home that same day. I have family at Red Bud and I am not upset by how the situation was handled. In fact, I am glad that the safety of ALL children was taken into consideration and lockdown happened. I would hope this is standard procedure in this type of situation!
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rocitryder
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August 13, 2010
Hey HNIC, Read the friggin articule it says and I quote."Due to domestic dispute involving students".The articule is pretty staight forward it has somthing to do with students beening locked down.WHY?Ok moving on.You folks don't get it.For years things that have been put to print in the Calhoun Times have been held as gospel and most people have accepted it.As far the Times having real reporters I think not.If they did you would here more in depth reporting.What is put in print is only what the powers to be what they want you to know
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HNIC
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August 13, 2010
This is just a guess (and I should probably know better than to speculate), but it sounds like there was some sort of dispute between the some of children's parents. Maybe there was some fear of an ugly situation where a parent tried to take a child from the school without authorization or even a threat to kidnap or harm a child. It wasn't reported as a dispute among the students, it was a dispute INVOLVING students.
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thepoint
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August 13, 2010
Oops. A fight a domestic dispute.
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thepoint
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August 13, 2010
I know, I would like some.... oh I don't know... information. Please, come on like for reals. Was the "domestic dispute" a custody issue where a parent was trying to check out a student and it wasn't their day or they didn't have custody? Or are we calling a domestic dispute a fight?

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rocitryder
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August 13, 2010
Hey dale couldn't have said it better myself!!!!!!
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rocitryder
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August 13, 2010
The schools were on Lockdown for a Domestic Dispute among the students!!! Just what does that mean?? What were they doing??.Were they fighting,Rioting.I mean come on.A domestic dispute is when Fred and Ethel are beating the snot out of one and the other.I for one would like a little clarity on the subject. We're talking about Elementary and Middle school kids here.
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kcl92480
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August 12, 2010
Thank you CT for clearing that part up.
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rocitryder
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August 12, 2010
Here's the reason that most of the bad news never gets printed or reported.The powers to be in Gordon County don't want to ruin the reputation of this sleepy little city.
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