Nolin

Heightened awareness for schools

By Leigh Anne Butler

Tallassee City Schools implemented new security measures Friday evening at the first home game held this season at J.E. “Hot” O’Brien Stadium. This comes after the Aug. 30 Tallassee/Elmore County football game was suspended during the third quarter after threats of gun violence occurred.

“That was a blessing in disguise, believe it or not,” Brock Nolin, superintendent of Tallassee City Schools stated. “That made not only us, but surrounding schools examine their athletic policies and their event policies.”

Tallassee City Schools has administered a clear bag policy for all home athletic events and metal detection devices are being utilized upon entrance into the football stadium.

“You can never be too safe,” Nolin continued. “You can’t put a price on someone’s life. It’s that day and time. We’ve got to do the best we can to protect our staff, students and spectators at athletic events.”

All spectators will now enter through the main North gate on the Tallassee Recreation Center side of the field.

“We are implementing a wanding policy,” Nolin explained. “You’ll also be asked to place your bag on a table for a quick look through it and then you can move on through and enjoy the athletic contest.”

New parking procedures are also being enforced at home football games. Parking in front of the Tallassee Career Center will be reserved for visitor buses and band parking only. The old locker rooms under the visitor bleachers have been remodeled, allowing the south gate to be used by the visiting team only. All Tallassee fans are being asked to park on the North gate side.

In recent weeks, numerous schools across Alabama, including several neighboring schools, have been the target of threatening online posts targeting schools or school systems. Following the deadly school shooting in Georgia earlier in the month, threats have been reported in neighboring counties, including Elmore, Autauga, Montgomery and Chilton. With this, Tallassee is looking into applying new security measures.

Home opener on Friday night Photo by Kyle Thornton

“We are looking into a product called Open Gate,” Nolin explained. “It’s a portable metal detector that has two towers. It’s a system that several venues use. We are going to demo one of these units next month and looking at possibly having those as pop-up metal detectors at sporting events and possibly in school to use randomly. It is supposed to detect any kind of weapon.

“It’s no longer the old bomb threat written on the stall in the bathroom type deal like it was 30 or 40 years ago. Now, it is one little type. Take your thumbs and throw a text message out to your buddy and then they’ll take it and run with it and post it on social media and before you know it you’re having to shut school down because you have no choice.”