thursday,march 21, 2013 - County Times - Southern Maryland Online
thursday,march 21, 2013 - County Times - Southern Maryland Online
thursday,march 21, 2013 - County Times - Southern Maryland Online
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Spotlight On<br />
School<br />
Security<br />
Issues<br />
Debated<br />
By Guy Leonard<br />
Staff Writer<br />
The Board of Education and the Board<br />
of <strong>County</strong> Commissioners hashed out details<br />
of the schools system budget including what<br />
kind of security personnel should be walking<br />
the halls of middle schools and elementary<br />
schools.<br />
Commissioner Todd Morgan (R-Great<br />
Mills) said deputies in high schools and middle<br />
schools, school resource officers, made<br />
sense but having security assistants in elementary<br />
schools did not.<br />
“I’m advocating two more SRO’s, that<br />
makes one in each high school and one in<br />
each middle school,” Morgan said. “I’m<br />
not advocating anymore for the elementary<br />
schools.”<br />
The addition of security assistants,<br />
specialists who monitor the schools but are<br />
not sworn police officers, was too much to<br />
consider, according to Morgan, especially in<br />
light of the elementary schools implementing<br />
best practices restricting volunteers from<br />
giving children hugs and bringing homemade<br />
food into the school for parties and<br />
celebrations.<br />
“I think we’re going too far,” Morgan<br />
said of the national move to make elementary<br />
schools more secure. “It really looks like<br />
were trying to turn them into little gulags.”<br />
Many have expressed worries that elementary<br />
schools are vulnerable to attacks<br />
like the one last December in Newtown, Connecticut<br />
where a gunman killed 20 school<br />
children at Sandy Hook Elementary School.<br />
Commissioner Daniel Morris (R-Mechanicsville)<br />
is concerned whether or not<br />
schools have enough money this year to address<br />
the security issue.<br />
The consensus on the BOCC seemed inclined<br />
increasing the funding to the school<br />
budge by 3 percent as opposed to a six percent<br />
requested.<br />
Morris supported the idea of school resource<br />
officers in high schools and contract<br />
security employees in elementary schools but<br />
thought they had no place in middle schools.<br />
Former police officers could provide security<br />
and be armed at the discretion of the<br />
school system, and they would be a less expensive<br />
alternative than hiring deputies.<br />
“You wouldn’t have to provide them a<br />
vehicle and they wouldn’t have to recertified<br />
by the police training commission,” Morris<br />
said.<br />
School Board member Salvatore Raspa<br />
said “It’s just another set of eyes,” Raspa<br />
said. “Parents are concerned about the safety<br />
of schools and safety is one of the board’s top<br />
priorities.”<br />
guyleonard@countytimes.net<br />
The <strong>County</strong> <strong>Times</strong><br />
Advertising Design:<br />
GOLD : Rebecca Mace – North Point<br />
SILVER : Nikolas Wood –<br />
Forrest Center<br />
BRONZE : Samantha Scott – Forrest<br />
Center<br />
Architectural Drafting:<br />
GOLD : Katrina Quade –<br />
Forrest Center<br />
SILVER : Brandon Kurley –<br />
Forrest Center<br />
BRONZE : Jesse Marsh –<br />
Forrest Center<br />
Automotive Service Technology:<br />
GOLD : Aaron Burke – Calvert CTA<br />
SILVER : Ian Williamson –<br />
Forrest Center<br />
BRONZE : Brandon Adams –<br />
Forrest Center<br />
Aviation:<br />
GOLD : Gabe Sarlo – Forrest Center<br />
SILVER : Michael Toscano –<br />
Forrest Center<br />
BRONZE : John Byram –<br />
Forrest Center<br />
Carpentry:<br />
GOLD : Zach Rister – Forrest Center<br />
SILVER : Garrett Harim –<br />
Forrest Center<br />
BRONZE : Mike Moore –<br />
Calvert CTA<br />
Cosmetology:<br />
GOLD : Emily Foreman – North Point<br />
SILVER : Kyenna Robinson –<br />
Calvert CTA<br />
BRONZE : Payton James –<br />
Calvert CTA<br />
Crime Scene Investigation:<br />
GOLD : Emily McKoy, Mark Rickson,<br />
Briana Carter – Forrest Center<br />
SILVER : Sabrina Scott, Megan Anderson,<br />
Alexus Brandon –<br />
Contests results are as follows:<br />
Forrest Center<br />
BRONZE : Emani Jackson, Brittany<br />
Goode, Scott Watts – Forrest Center<br />
Criminal Justice:<br />
GOLD : Ashton Brown – North Point<br />
SILVER : Tiffany Butler – North Point<br />
BRONZE : Zach Forschen –<br />
Calvert CTA<br />
Culinary:<br />
Gold: Ambrea Green – North Point<br />
Silver: John Sulhoff– Calvert CTA<br />
Bronze: Breana Hill– North Point<br />
Digital Cinema Production:<br />
GOLD : Sara Moore & Grant Kelly –<br />
Forrest Center<br />
SILVER :Joe Ambort & Tristan Sams –<br />
Stethem EC<br />
BRONZE : Michael Balazs & Kyle<br />
Wilson – Forrest Center<br />
Early Childhood Education:<br />
GOLD: Kerry McLaughlin – North<br />
Point<br />
SILVER: Kimberly McClosky –<br />
North Point<br />
BRONZE: Jessica Cruz – North Point<br />
Firefighting:<br />
GOLD : Brad Darmstead – Calvert<br />
CTA<br />
SILVER : Matt Montgomery – Calvert<br />
CTA<br />
BRONZE : William Carter – Forrest<br />
Center<br />
First Aid/CPR:<br />
GOLD : Amber Major – Forrest Center<br />
SILVER : Haydee Ruiz – Forrest<br />
Center<br />
Thursday, March <strong>21</strong>, <strong>2013</strong> 12<br />
SkillsUSA <strong>Southern</strong><br />
Regional Competition Results<br />
The <strong>Maryland</strong> SkillsUSA <strong>Southern</strong> Regional Competition recently took place at the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and<br />
Technology Center in Leonardtown, Md.<br />
Students from the Forrest Center in St. Mary’s <strong>County</strong>, the Career and Technology Academy in Calvert <strong>County</strong>, as well<br />
as North Point High School and the Robert D. Stethem Educational Center in Charles <strong>County</strong> participated in a wide variety of<br />
skilled trades’ competitions. Students receiving 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each contest advance to the state competition along<br />
with students whose contests are state only competitions. The SkillsUSA <strong>Maryland</strong> state competition takes place April 19-20,<br />
<strong>2013</strong> in the greater Baltimore area.<br />
BRONZE : Rachel Crouch – North<br />
Point<br />
Internetworking:<br />
GOLD : Kevin Whitley – Forrest<br />
Center<br />
SILVER : Frederick Taylor – Forrest<br />
Center<br />
BRONZE : Austin Profitt – Forrest<br />
Center<br />
Nurse Assisting:<br />
GOLD : Hannah Bolan – Forrest<br />
Center<br />
SILVER : Aspen Higgs – Calvert CTA<br />
BRONZE : Lorraine Lagana – Forrest<br />
Center<br />
Plumbing:<br />
GOLD : Brandon Walker – Calvert<br />
CTA<br />
SILVER : Tyler Fluhart – Forrest<br />
Center<br />
BRONZE : Glenn Roemer – Forrest<br />
Center<br />
Residential Wiring:<br />
GOLD: Nick Wiegand – North Point<br />
SILVER: Chris Lobas – Calvert CTA<br />
BRONZE: Alex Gantt – Calvert CTA<br />
Team Works:<br />
GOLD: Paige Wood, Kelley Ingram,<br />
Kelsey Bovard, Erica Canales – North<br />
Point<br />
SILVER: Austin Barnhart, Jacob Atkinson,<br />
Jerry Delph, Andre Bagwell<br />
– North Point<br />
BRONZE: Erick Goshen, James<br />
Adams, Jacob Franciso, Ryan White –<br />
Calvert CTA<br />
Technical Drafting:<br />
GOLD : Alex Morris – Forrest Center<br />
SILVER : Matt Bauman – Forrest<br />
Center<br />
BRONZE : Adam Tschupp – Calvert<br />
CTA<br />
Welding:<br />
GOLD : James Brady – Forrest Center<br />
SILVER : Levi Filler – Forrest Center<br />
BRONZE : Jason Guy – Forrest Center<br />
For more information, contact Bonnie Skinner or Eric Millham at 301-475-0242 or bjskinner@smcps.org or epmillham@smcps.org.