2nd Grader violates weapon policy

You must read the AP article about a Providence, Rhode Island, second grader, David Morales, 8, who is accused of violating the no-weapons policy of the Tiogue School in Coventry. David wore a cap to school that he had made in connection with a class assignment. http://www.projo.com/education/content/hat_ban_18_projo_06-18-10_B3ITSPE_v11.3c473e1.html

The cap? It was decorated with toy soldiers carrying tiny toy guns. The school district does not allow images of weapons on clothing.

This is yet another of the absolutely stupid decisions made by people in power who have lost touch with reality.

I played with toy guns when I was a kid. I handled real guns, also, as a kid, young adult and adult. Toys were toys! Toys were not weapons.

What has happened in this country???

Check out http://schools.coventryschools.net/ti/ You'll see "Tiogue School, where everybody is somebody."

In the meantime you can comment to Denise Richtarik, Principal, by emailing her at richtarikdenise@coventryschools.net

Common sense.... have they lost that at Tiogue School?

D200 Parent Handbook: "weapon"

On Page 25 of the Parent Handbook for Woodstock District 200 schools is found its definition of "weapon." Parents should read this and discuss it among themselves and with their children who are students in District 200.

"A 'weapon' means possession, use, control, or transfer of: (1) any gun, rifle, shotgun, a weapon as defined by Section 921 of Title 18, United States Code, firearm as defined in Section 1.1 of the (Illinois) Firearm Owners Identification Act, or use of any weapon as defined in Section 24-1 in the (Illinois) Criminal Code; (2) any other object if used or attempted to be used to cause bodily harm, including but not limited to, knives, brass knuckles, billy clubs; or (3) 'look-alikes' of any weapon as defined above. Any item, such as a baseball bat, pipe, bottle, lock, stick, pencil, and pen is considered to be a weapon if used or attempted to be used to cause bodily harm..."

It would seem, from this definition of "weapon", that a pocket knife, in the pocket (or even in the backpack or locker) would not be deemed to be a weapon. Of course, this is a black-and-white view. However, be sure to read Section 921 (U.S. Code), Section 1.1 of the FOID Act and Section 24-1 of the Criminal Code, too.

Other than firearm, "any other object" seems to become a "weapon" only if it is "used or attempted to be used" to cause bodily harm.

However, don't count on my interpretation. If you have a question about what would happen to your child if he or she took a knife to school (ex., to cut a sandwich in half in the lunch room), contact the principal at your child's school and, if high school, the school resource officer.

Have a nice, polite, kind, gentle, inquiring conversation about this. Then follow it up with an e-mail to confirm your understanding of the conversation. Ask for a response in writing, if your understanding is not correctly stated.

And then print and save the e-mail(s).

Zero Tolerance = Zero Common Sense

"Here we go again. In yet another case of over reactive, one-size-fits-all, "zero-tolerance," zero-common sense enforcement, Marie Morrow, an honors student and drill‑team commander in the Young Marines, was recently expelled from school. Her crime? She left three rifle shaped drill team props in the back of her car at Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora, Colo. Colorado law mandates expulsion for any student found with a "dangerous weapon" on school grounds, which includes "a firearm facsimile that could reasonably be mistaken for an actual firearm."

"The non-operative rifle props are used during drill routines, where the facsimiles are spun and tossed. The props are made of wood and plastic, are heavily duct‑taped and, of course, cannot function and were never intended to. Morrow had brought them to school because she was preparing for a competition at the Air Force Academy in April and planned to attend a practice right after school."

Source: NRA Institute for Legislative Action
NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert Vol.16, No. 6 2/14/09

This reminds me of the elementary school student who was kicked out of school for a tiny, plastic pistol less than 1" in size that was on his keychain. And the kid who took an empty cartridge to school that had been given to him by a vet on Veterans Day.

What in the world is wrong with School Boards and school district personnel??? Instead of teaching gun respect and gun safety, they adopt stupid rules that don't even address situations correctly.

If you want to write to the principal of Cherokee Trail High School, send your email to Brooke Gregory, Principal, at egregory@cherrycreekschools.org Please be polite. I'm sure she feels she was just following School District policy at the risk of her own job. At least, I hope so.

Could something like this happen in Woodstock?

Special Traffic Enforcement Operations

The Woodstock Police Department announced today a special effort during the month of February to curtail aggressive driving. Its moniker? ROAD = Reduction Of Aggressive Driving.

Bravo!

The goal, according to publication of a Departmental Memo to Deputy Chief Steve Bozer from Sgt. Dennis Leard, is to effectively and efficiently manage aggressive and inattentive driving behaviors.

Heck! Let's not "manage" these; let's stop them!

Examples listed in Sgt. Leard's Memo include following too closely (tailgating), failure to adjust speed while merging (you know ... like those who speed up to cut off a driver who is attempting to merge), improper overtaking on the right (for example, on Lake Avenue in front of Wal-Mart, on eastbound U.S. 14 by Culver's, and in several places on Route 47 through Woodstock), and failure to signal when required.

Woodstock police officers on this detail are to adopt a "zero tolerance" for these violations. To me, this says that, if you get stopped for one of these, you will get a ticket. That's what "zero tolerance" means to me.

February is too early to use the Harley-Davidsons that are locked up for the winter in the garage by the P.D. Let's hope this Memo is refreshed in May and put back in effect for the summer.

Good publicity will go a long way toward changing drivers' habits. If officers write 50-60 tickets a day and the names and violations get printed in the Northwest Herald and The Woodstock Independent, even if the Woodstock Police Department has to pay for publication, the word will get around really fast.

Here's an offer. Provide the names and violations to The Woodstock Advocate. They'll be printed every day!

Ever Hopeful

As I drove into Maryland on U.S. 301 on Saturday and spotted this sign, I hoped (at least for two full minutes) that I had entered a state that took safe driving seriously.

And you know something? Two minutes of hope on a Saturday morning ain't all that bad.

But then I realized that the speeders were still flying by and that maybe this sign didn't really mean anything. On the other hand, maybe drivers were driving more slowly than they did in an unaggressive enforcement zone.

In Ontario the warning signs are bigger. All the U.S. driver has to remember is to convert MPH to kilometer and then figure out which number to obey.

And somewhere, even in the U.S.A., zero-tolerance is the standard for speed limit enforcement.

Definitely not in Illinois!