Central Ohio School Setting Example In Fight Against Terror

Worthington Schools are leading the way in schools being prepared for potential terrorist threats.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security calls having improvised explosive devices or bombs the No. 1 terrorist act.  In the past, schools were less prepared for handling those types of events.

"It's the things that cause you not to sleep at night," said Jeff Maddox, a Worthington Schools spokesman.

Kathy Crandall, who is Franklin County's manager of Homeland Security, told CrimeTracker 10's Jeff Hogan that schools were good at having a plan.

"They weren't good at remembering to change the plan - update the plan - practice the plan," Crandall said.

Last year, a group of maintenance workers was spotted looking for a possible threat outside a central Ohio school building.

"I saw a bunch of guys outside kicking leaves, holding arms and I said, 'What are you doing?' said Pam Sturiano with Worthington Schools.  "They said we're looking for a bomb and I said, 'When you find the bomb, what are you going to do?'  They said, 'We're (going to) call on a cell phone.  I said, 'I think we're (going to) stop right there."

Columbus Bomb Squad Capt. Steve Saltsman said that the issue was taken seriously for many reasons.

No bomb was found, Hogan reported.  The event convinced the school district to become a leader in bomb threat readiness, joining with the Columbus Bomb Squad and other local agencies.

With funding from Homeland Security, a bomb drill was staged. Every contingency was discussed with general protocols set.  A video was created that is now considered the standard for readiness will be released to more than 700 schools regionally, Saltsman said.

Maddox said that waiting for lights and sirens is not an option in this day and age.

"We're the first responders here at school," Maddox said. "We're the people who recognize when things are out of place."

When authorities receive a call, they are now armed with more information than ever. Ohio mandates that schools provide updated building blueprints that can be accessed on demand as rescue crews pull up to the site.

"We know every corner of that building," Crandall said. "We know every exit in that building.  We know the HVAC in that building."

They also know where the students should be in the building, according to that school's plan. 

"Our most valuable population -- our most valuable resource -- our most valuable everything are our children," Crandall said.

The aftermath of a catastrophic event has also been taken into consideration, Hogan reported.

Between Cleveland and Cincinnati, Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus is the only facility appropriately equipped to handle massive numbers of injured youngsters. 

Central Ohio Trauma Systems has used Homeland Security dollars to create caches of equipment that are now warehoused in every hospital in the region in case of mass pediatric casualties. Franklin County Commissioners supported the use of the money.

"It is a good return on investment to have that cache as they call it," said Franklin County Commissioner Paula Brooks. "You never know. We hope it never comes. God forbid it comes."

The same sentiment is shared by law enforcement in every town and educators in every school.

"I would spend my entire career developing these plans never to use them," Maddox said. "I would be very happy about that. I never want to use one of these plans."

The video is prepared for distribution on a Web site within the next few months.  The goal is to make sure 100 percent of school districts have access to it, Hogan reported.

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