Students locked down, parents locked out.During the Colonie Central High stink-bomb scare (see above), students were locked down for two hours while police examined John Pompeii's crudely constructed device. Patriot Act-inspired emergency protocols in place at many schools provide for prolonged lock-downs in the event of an actual emergency. In early 2003, reported the February 14, 2003 Washington Post, Virginia's Loudoun County school district added "a 'shelter-in-place' plan against chemical attacks to their usual emergency procedures. Schools would be locked down and signs posted on the doors in Spanish and English saying that nobody would be allowed to enter or exit." Schools in the region stocked up on food and water, flashlights, batteries, and walkie-talkies. Elsewhere, school administrators "said regular lockdown Lockdown A specified period when an employee of a public company is barred from selling - and occasionally buying - their company's stock. Notes: These types of equity transaction restrictions can be imposed by securities regulators or underwriting firms if a company has drills are planned to prepare for possible chemical attacks...." Those preparations were prompted by "intensified but still vague warnings of terrorist attacks in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. " issued by the Department of Homeland Security Noun 1. Department of Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States . An emergency response plan implemented in Nashoba Regional School District in Massachusetts informed parents that in the event of a terrorist attack they were "not to come to the school site but rather await instructions on where and how to pick up your children.... If it becomes necessary to evacuate e·vac·u·ate v. 1. To empty or remove the contents of. 2. To excrete or discharge waste matter, especially of the bowels. the area, students may be bused to another location. We cannot publicize pub·li·cize tr.v. pub·li·cized, pub·li·ciz·ing, pub·li·ciz·es To give publicity to. publicize or -cise Verb [-cizing, -cized] our evacuation sites as it may jeopardize jeop·ard·ize tr.v. jeop·ard·ized, jeop·ard·iz·ing, jeop·ard·izes To expose to loss or injury; imperil. See Synonyms at endanger. the safety of our students and staff." |
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