Vandalism Forces Officials To Close Local Elementary School
FROM THE DOPPLER 10 FORECAST CENTER… A HEAT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES UNTIL 7 PM FRIDAY… McLENNAN, WILLIAMSON, AND SAN SABA…AFTERNOON HEAT INDEX VALUES TODAY AND FRIDAY WILL RISE TO BETWEEN 105 AND 110 DEGREES...WHILE OVERNIGHT LOWS TONIGHT WILL STRUGGLE TO FALL BELOW 80 DEGREES…PERSONS INVOLVED IN VIGOROUS OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES ARE URGED TO TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER…
Vandalism Forces Officials To Close Local Elementary School Save Email Print
Reporter: By Paul J. Gately
Email Address: paul.gately@kwtx.com
12 comments
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(January 12, 2009) - Hanna Springs Elementary School in Lampasas was the target of vandals over the weekend and the damage forced officials to move almost 1,000 students to other campuses for classes on Monday.

Lampasas Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Brant Myers told News 10 that about a dozen fire extinguishers were discharged all over the building sometime Sunday between noon and 5 p.m.

Myers said the juveniles responsible, who are students who attend schools in the district, have been identified and are being dealt with.

The school normally has a student body of third, fourth, fifth and sixth graders, all of whom were transferred to gymnasiums at other campuses in the district.

Myers said normal classes will resume at the school on Tuesday.

Myers said an abatement company from Waco was on hand at 11 p.m. Sunday to begin clearing the building of the chemicals used in the extinguishers.

The vandals "pretty much just sprayed that stuff all over the inside of the building," Myers said.

"It got all over the place."

Officials believe the vandals broke in through s door.

The fire extinguishers used were of the dry chemical type.

Students and teachers used the day out of the classroom to accomplish other things, such as mandatory bus training and physical training requirements.

"That's what teachers do," Myers said.

"They've made the best out of a bad situation and it ended up being a positive thing for us. These teachers did a great job.

"We have been able to get the entire 3rd and 4th grade classes, which is almost 500 students, through the bus training in one day," Myers said.

That training usually takes a week to accomplish.

Myers said there has been no estimate of the cost of cleanup yet.
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Posted by: Katrina Location: Lorena on Jan 14, 2009 at 02:23 PM
CPS is worthless. Don't count on them to help at all.
Posted by: Teacher Location: Local on Jan 14, 2009 at 09:15 AM
Yes, parents need to return to the way THEIR parents were raised..... Good old fashioned and REAL consequences. If a spanking is done right the first time.......There probably won't be a need for a second one!
Posted by: TR Location: Kempner on Jan 13, 2009 at 03:26 PM
The ultimate sad thing about this is that we tax payers will be left to foot the bill. I am in Lampasas County, and for different reasons, my property taxes have doubled in the seven years since I bought my house. So much for living where the schools are safe and the taxes are lower than the relative cities. We need to have laws in place to allow us to actually punish the little brats instead of just sending them to In School Suspension or detention. Thank goodness my kids never did anything like this, but CPS or no, they would get a good old fashioned whipping.
Posted by: Merlin Location: Underway on Jan 13, 2009 at 11:30 AM
250/500 hours, 2-3 years community service. Wow lets look outside the county lines. Is this upsetting yes we think that Lampasas is one of the last places where we raise our kids right and we need a stern hand when they do bad. Its to bad that society has taken that option (ALMOST) out of our hands. Kids today are not afraid of the consequences because we have come up with time outs and its not his fault, but "parents" are still responsible for the actions of their minors. DWI first offence 40 hours community service. TYC where is the closest and which judge is going to pay the cost.
Posted by: Irritated Mom Location: Waco on Jan 12, 2009 at 10:50 PM
Hmm...you know, my child is in the fifth grade and she is with me 99% of the time when she is not in school. The other 1% of the time, she is either next door playing at a friends house or at a cousins house..with people I trust and know don't let thier kids run the streets and go wild. Why is it so hard for parents to keep an eye on thier kids these days?? Do they not realize that when thier kids do this, it costs tax payers more money and it interrupts our kids' learning time?? Valuable time wasted because parents aren't stepping up and keeping tabs on thier kids..one of them was A THIRD GRADER?!!That kid is like 8 or 9, right?? Thats just sad. No parental guidance whatsoever...it makes me mad because this is the reason kids these days are doing things like drugs and having sex at the age of 9 or 10..even younger...WAKE UP you careless people! Keep up with your kids or let someone who actually cares take them!
Posted by: LISD Student on Jan 12, 2009 at 08:20 PM
To Someone Near-hear, that is completely impossible. If they attended the elementary school, they are likely of age 8-11, completely out of reach to be forced to do community service, the only thing they can do is put them in a juvenile detention center or the AEP buildings in town.
Posted by: Rob Location: Texas on Jan 12, 2009 at 02:05 PM
Have any of the schools thought about installing burglar alarms? Sounds like they need them now. Those kids sound like good candidates for TYC (teen prison).
Posted by: Yoe1966 Location: Temple on Jan 12, 2009 at 01:25 PM
I think that from 250-500 hours of supervised community service should do it. This would make them think about doing it again in the future.
Posted by: Texas Location: Texas on Jan 12, 2009 at 12:49 PM
The kids had the residue from the fire extinguishers all over them. Who wants to bet the ignorant parents of the vandals will try to sue the school for exposing the kids to harmful chemicals? LOL
Posted by: Texas Location: Texas on Jan 12, 2009 at 12:47 PM
We showed up for school this am only to be rerouted across town to the other schools. Apparently the little vandals were found inside the school yesterday where they were watching cartoons on a tv in a classroom. The youngest was in 3rd grade and another was in junior high. They wont do anything to them. Give them AEP and slap their wrists. The parents live on Medicaid and AFDC so it isnt like they can make them pay for the cleanup and damage. BTW, where the hell were the parents of these hooligans? At home drinking.
Posted by: Someone Location: Near-Here on Jan 12, 2009 at 11:55 AM
After they are identified, make them clean all of it up, then pay for all the damage done they can not clean up!!! Then give them about two/three years of Community Service Volunteer work!!!!!
Posted by: DLB Location: Kempner on Jan 12, 2009 at 11:08 AM
Truly amazing. I am glad that LISD was able to get things moving quickly. I am sorry for the children of these schools. After a long holiday break, a few days at school and then another break, they can not get back to their regular school day..... As to the cost, the parents of the children who did the vandalism should pay and then have the children do community service to repay what they have done. Just goes to show that even with curfews and such, a group of children still exists that can and will cause mischief.
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