School district and law enforcement work together

    During Friday?s school lockdown in Washington, the police stayed in close contact with the school to alert them of any new developments. The police department was informed earlier in the day by the Waterloo Police Department that someone on Facebook was threatening to take a gun to ?Washington High School in Iowa.? Police and school officials alike breathed a sigh of relief when they learned later that afternoon that the schools in Washington were not in danger and that they could return to their normal classes.

    Washington High School Principal Shane Ehresman said that the school and police worked well together to ensure the safety of students and faculty.

    ?When I got a call from [Police Chief] Greg Goodman advising us to lock down the school, I didn?t ask a lot of questions,? said Ehresman. ?He gave me the information about the threat on the Internet, and I made the decision to go into lockdown.?

    All of the schools in Washington were locked down for approximately half an hour. Ehresman said Goodman stopped at the high school later that afternoon to tell him the threat did not pertain to Washington, Iowa, and that it was safe to resume regular operations.

    ?The lockdown was a success,? said Ehresman. ?The police stayed in constant communication with us and closely monitored our schools.?

For more, see our March 8 print edition.