New Amish school to open after shooting:
On Monday, a new school for the Amish children of Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania will open.
The new school replaces the one where Charles Carl Roberts barricaded himself inside and shot many of the students inside, killing several before turning the gun on himself.
The new school has been aptly named The New Hope Amish School.
Do you remember last year when I posted about this dumbass from Hilton Head who got into hot water for calling in threats to a local high school? Well, the dumbass has pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year served.
Michael Hatcher Cochrane, 24, formerly of Hilton Head Island, was sentenced to one year in prison. Because he already had served 13 months in the Beaufort County jail awaiting trial, he has been released. He will be on probation for the next five years.
Cochrane had been held in the county jail on a $1.22 million bond since his arrest Feb. 14, 2006. In October, an inmate stabbed a pen through his nose, according to his court-appointed attorney Dudley Ruffalo. His attacker was charged with high-and-aggravated assault and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Cochrane now is staying with his family at their new home in Jasper County and must meet regularly with a mental health counselor. As a condition of his sentence, Cochrane will serve 10 years in state prison if he violates probation.
The charges stem from eight phone calls Cochrane made to Hilton Head Middle School and 911 between Jan. 5 and Jan. 20, 2006.
Cochrane claimed to have planted bombs that would kill or injure teachers at the school and threatened to shoot all of the school’s students, arrest warrants stated.
Most of the calls were made from a courtesy phone on the 17th hole of the Sea Marsh Course in Sea Pines, where Cochrane lived.
Sheriff P.J. Tanner said the calls were detailed, graphic and reminiscent of the Columbine basement tapes, videotapes in which the two students involved in the April 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., discussed their plans.
Tanner said Cochrane made the calls to try to improve his relationship with his then 14-year-old brother, who was a student at the middle school. Investigators said Michael Cochrane thought his younger brother would be impressed and glad that he didn’t have to go to school.
I bet his brother is really impressed now that he’s an ex-con.
Principal says ‘extra step’ not taken before stabbing:
Yesterday, the principal of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School and the superintendent said at a school board meeting that the school psychologist who confiscated a knife from John Odgren then gave it back at the end of the day should have reported it to authorities. You don’t say.
John M. Ritchie told the school board in a meeting last night that he didn’t think that there was “flagrant neglect, disregard for the welfare of the school, or irresponsible ignoring of school policy.”
Still, he said, “Some additional effort had to be made that wasn’t made to determine whether this was a pattern, to call it to someone’s attention, to determine whether it was completely innocent.”
“That was where people did not execute reasonable expectation on my part,” Ritchie said. “I think that in a school setting with safety being of paramount concern to us, an extra step had to be taken.”
Ritchie did not single out any school staff, and he declined to say whether disciplinary action would be taken, citing confidentiality.
If that school employee doesn’t lose his or her job, then there’s seriously something wrong with that school system.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s report on the Platte Canyon High School hostage crisis and shooting can be viewed or downloaded here. (.pdf file)
It’s just basically a more detailed description of what we already knew. That this was a random act of destruction carried out by a sick individual.
Keyes family statement regarding CBI report on the Platte Canyon High School shooting:
The parents of Emily Keyes, the lone victim fatality in the Platte-Canyon High School siege, have released a statement about the CBI’s report on how the police handled the situation. Normally, I don’t like to post whole articles, but this is something that needs to be read and if the Rocky Mountain News page expires, I’d think it should be out in the public longer.
For some it may be difficult to accept. The right actions at the right time by the right people may not have the right outcome. When what we hoped for didn’t happen, some may want to find fault. But there is no fault to be found in the command decisions made given the information and behavior presented. There is no fault to be found in the courage and speed of their response.
From our family, there is only respect. Our review of the CBI report confirms this belief.
Tonight our family met with Sheriff Fred Wegner, agents of the CBI and other officials to review the summary report, being released tomorrow, March 27th, regarding the events of September 27th.
Our family read the summary and viewed other materials being released.
A tough read: but still reaffirming.
Law enforcement and school administration did all of the right things.
Law enforcement response, not just to the school but to the classroom was around 3 minutes from the first 911 call.
The kids at the school were on top of things also. Several were on their way to the office to report a stranger in their midst, before the first shot was fired.
There were seven heroes in that room. And a coward with a gun. The Awesome Six are still with us. Please respect their grace, beauty and privacy as these young women continue with their lives. It is OK to let some details of that day fade.
In the months since Emily was killed, some extraordinary good has occurred. And that is Emily’s legacy. Random and Deliberate Acts of Kindness continue to occur. The community of Bailey is a little more tight knit. And sometimes it feels like our town lines extend shore to shore.
When we remember September 27th, it’s the text message Emily sent: “I love u guys.” It is our hope that’s the message you remember as well.
We ask the Press that, if possible, during the upcoming coverage of this report you don’t highlight the actions of a deranged gunman. His name doesn’t need to be mentioned; it is there enough in the report.
The best people did the best of things. The outcome could have been far more grave. We as a family know this and appreciate this.
Real life doesn’t always have a happy ending.
John-Michael, Ellen and Casey Keyes
The CBI report should be out later today.
Doc: Teen stab suspect competent to stand trial:
John Odgren, the 15-year-old suspect in the fatal Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School stabbing of James Alenson, was ruled competent to stand trial yesterday. A psychiatrist informed the court that Odgren is competent and no longer needs to be housed in a psychiatric facility. Odgren swore at the judge when he was told that he was going back to juvenile lockup.
“(Expletive) it,” Odgren said. “(If you) send me back to Plymouth, I’m not coming back.”
Odgren’s attorney, Jonathan Shapiro, argued that Odgren’s Asperger’s puts him at risk in lock up.
Shapiro argued Odgren’s Asperger’s syndrome puts him at risk in jail because he makes ‘inappropriate comments’ to other boys. “Frankly, it’s dangerous,” Shapiro said.
Shapiro also states that Odgren is at risk of suicide and that he has, get this, amnesia of the whole stabbing incident. Isn’t that convenient? So you’re going to tell me that someone who was joking with police and offered to assist the crime scene investigators all of a sudden has amnesia of the entire event. Amnesia, it’s not just for soap operas and cartoons anymore.
Shapiro argued that Odgren should still be kept at the mental facility, but the judge put a quick stop to that.
Judge Isaac Borenstein responded and said, “The very same doctor you quote said he does not need to be in the hospital.”
Well, since Odgren allegedly has amnesia, then he won’t remember where he is.
What a drama queen.
Hainstock case draws slew of feedback over whether he should be tried as a juvenile:
The bleeding heart soccer moms with pictures of big-eyed kittens on their coffee mugs are at it again. They’re sending more letters to the Wisconsin court that will decide the fate of 15-year-old Eric Hainstock. Hainstock is charged with first-degree murder for the shooting death of Weston High School principal John Klang. The soccer moms want him tried as a juvenile because he needs “help”.
Five of the letters appeal for his transfer to the juvenile court while referring to abuse at home and bullying Hainstock reportedly suffered in school.
“The young man has endured such overwhelming torment and abuse that he deserves another chance in life — through justice which provides rehabilitation,” wrote Jan Hirschy of Richland Center. “He doesn’t deserve a lifelong sentence to further torment and abuse, which will inevitably be his fate as a boy among adult male prisoners.”
In a telephone interview, Hirschy said her belief in the need for rehabilitation rather than simple punishment moved her to write. If Hainstock is placed in the juvenile courts he would not be released immediately.
“He would have the option and access to (rehabilitative) services, which he would not have in prison,” she said.
John Klang endured being shot in the back of the head. Unfortunately, he has no such chance at rehabilitation because you can’t rehabilitate the dead.
Stacy MacGowan of New York City is among writers from places such as Florida and Illinois who have expressed their support for Hainstock. She appeals for leniency because of his abuse at the hands of his father and school bullies.
“Your honor, I understand that this child has done the unthinkable and needs to be held accountable, but it should be done in the juvenile courts where he belongs,” MacGowan wrote. “He, too, is a victim.”
Let’s weigh the one so-called victim against the other. Eric Hainstock bullied but still breathing. John Klang, dead at the hands of Eric Hainstock. There’s really only one victim here.
At least the whole world hasn’t gone crazy…
Weston schools English instructor Lori Olson-Putz expresses the sense of outrage many of the opponents feel. She refers to the deep and lasting emotional blow Klang’s death on Sept. 29 has dealt to members of their rural community.
“Eric planned and carried out a senseless murder of a man who was actively trying to help him in every possible way,” she wrote the judge. “Why should Eric walk free after only a few years when the rest of us won’t be able to?”
Olson-Putz said by phone Friday evening that the school administration has asked staff to avoid making further comments on the case.
Other opponents say it would set a bad example for other troubled youths. They point to “anarchist” Internet Web sites where some postings praise the shooting of Klang as a blow against repressive school systems.
“There are a number of people around the country that are happy that a principal was shot and killed and admire Eric for his courage,” writes Lyle Lindholm, a teacher at Weston High School. “If he gets tried as a juvenile, this will only encourage people like that to do the same kind of crimes because they know they could literally get away with murder.”
You don’t even have to go to any other website. I’ve had enough people post comments here that said they were glad Hainstock did it.
I know this is common sense, but it needs to be repeated. Hainstock is not a victim. He is nothing short of a stone-cold killer and needs to be dealt with as such. Anything else would dishonor the memory of John Klang.
Platte Canyon High shooting report due:
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s report on the Platte Canyon High School shooting will be released by the Park County Sheriff’s Department on Thursday, March 27th.
If you remember, 53-year-old drifter Duane Morrison stormed the school, taking seven female students hostages, molesting some of them. Emily Keyes was shot and killed by Morrison when SWAT attempted to save the victims. Morrison then killed himself.
“By law, we are forbidden from releasing the identities of juveniles as well as any information that could identify the victims of sexual assault,” Wegener said in a prepared statement. “We are busily sifting through the massive amount of details to eliminate the restricted information for the protection of those individuals and their families.”
The report will be available on the Park County website on Tuesday morning. The families of the victims will get to see it beforehand.
Police seized apology note from Dawson shooter’s bedroom:
Or, as I like to call it, more proof that Kimveer Gill was the ultimate loser.
Montreal police seized a simple note of apology, the address of Villa Maria high school and five boxes containing 242 bullets from Kimveer Gill’s bedroom hours after he shot one student dead and injured 20 other people at Dawson College last September.
“Sorry Mom and rest of family…” read the note, dated Sept. 13 at 2:22 a.m. and written on note paper.
Investigators also found a handwritten note in which Gill praises Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the two students who shot and killed 12 classmates and a teacher at Colorado’s Columbine High School in April, 1990, before killing themselves.
Police also found 174 horror films on DVD and a disc entitled, “Shooting sprees ain’t no fun without Ozzy and friends LOL” in the CD player.
Just a loser living in mommy’s basement who thought he was a tough guy.
It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a year since I’ve heard anything about Michelle Dohm. She’s the teacher from Frederick, Maryland who is accused of threatening some of the students from her school.
She will be having a non-jury trial starting April 2nd. She’s set to plead not guilty to the 12 felony counts of threatening to detonate a destructive device and two counts of misdemeanor stalking.
Dohm is accused of sending threatening notes to some of the students that indicated that they were going to be blown up. She was also accused of sending additional threats after she was arrested the first time.