(From WEEK News 25) - A bomb threat at East Peoria High School three weeks ago.
A handgun at Limestone High School last week.
Thursday morning, a Pekin Community High School student was escorted away by Pekin Police for bringing an unloaded BB gun on school premises.
Fortunately nobody was harmed in any of these scenarios, unlike April 20th twelve years when two young men in black fired an arsenal of weapons at Columbine High School in Colorado, killing 13 people and injuring 21.
Still, students at area high schools say they feel safe with school security.
"I feel that administration does a good job with some of the security measures that they go through," says Limestone Community High School senior Charlie Shempf. "You know, I'm not scared to wake up in the morning and come to Limestone High School."
Shempf says he feels safe knowing that visitors must check in and that there are security cameras in every hallway.
Pekin Community High School vamped up security in 2000 by providing students with name-tags and again two years ago by starting an intruder alert drill, preparing students for any situation requiring a lockdown.
District 303 Superintendent Paula Davis says the students and staff responded appropriately and professionally when the BB gun was found and no lockdown was required.
With cameras in schools, name-tags on students and other measures in check, it would seem that a lack of security is not an issue with local schools.
Rather high school students today just don't recall the tragedy of Columbine or realize the consequences of making violent threats.
Legal penalties aside, the two students arrested for allowing a handgun in Limestone Community High School also face disciplinary action from the school district.
"Any student that brings a weapon into a building allows for a two calendar year expulsion from school, so that's a disciplinary hearing these two students will be facing," says Superintendent Allan Gresham of Limestone High School District 310
Gresham says security is important to ensure safety but gives more credit to the students who saw something and said something.
"We are a small community here and just like any neighborhood or community we have to be sure that we're watching out for each other and have people stepping up and do the right thing," says Gresham.
If not for the good sense and bravery of students who report weapons on the property or proper security measures taken by school administration, any of these situations may have escalated into something far more serious.
