GUNNISON—An outcry among parents on social media about a gun found in a restroom, a routine drug screening and student athletes being involved in an alleged theft at Gunnison Market vastly overstated what had really happened, according to school administrators.
School administrators said that on the morning of Friday, Feb. 4, a weapon was left in the restroom prior to the start of school.
“We have identified the owner of the weapon, who was not a student, and it appears it was inadvertently left in the restroom before school hours,” Principal Eugene King told the Messenger.
He said the administration would continue to investigate the situation, along with law enforcement, and was taking appropriate action. Since the gun was left before the school opened and discovered before school started, students were never in danger, there never was a threatening action, he said.
Superintendent Ralph Squire of the South Sanpete School District acknowledged the administration at the high school acted in a manner to protect student safety. He said “It takes time to gather the factual information before notifications can be sent out. Factual information dispels rumors.”
“Mistakes happen, we are all human, and one thing to remember is everyone is innocent until proven otherwise,” he said.
Meanwhile, on Jan. 26, the Gunnison Valley Police Department brought drug-sniffing dogs to the high school for training. The dogs did not discover any drugs.
Having drug dogs come through the school “is a periodically scheduled safety precaution throughout the school year,” King said.
Squire said, “We want to send the message to all our schools,” he said. “We want our schools to be drug free.”
Squire added that precautions are followed when the searches are conducted. Students may be asked to place their backpacks in the halls, but the dogs are never in any contact with the students.
“We took the dogs through the school and by the time we got finished with the training, it was rumored that we had brought out several students and bags of marijuana,” said Chief Seth Hendrickson of the Gunnison Valley Police Department. The rumors were false.
Finally, last week (Jan. 31-Feb. 4), some players on the varsity basketball team were caught allegedly shop lifting from the grocery store. A Gunnison Market store employee told the Messenger he didn’t want to talk about the incident. He declined to say what was taken.
But false rumors circulated that the boys had been caught with drugs.
After parents complained that the school was not following its policy regarding illegal behavior by athletes, the boys involved were suspended from the varsity game against North Sevier. It is possible that the players will be suspended for the remainder of the season, but the situation is still being investigated.
Nonetheless, parents posted statements on social media and called into the Sanpete Messenger and Gunnison Valley Gazette complaining they were being “left in the dark” about what was going on at the high school.
While there are parents who are frustrated with the situations, Squire said that everyone needs to be reminded that most of the time, incidents at schools involve juveniles, whose identities must be kept confidential.
Laws must be followed, investigations need to take place, and time must be allowed to do things correctly, he said. If there are questions or concerns, parents and students can reach out to administrators.
“Everyone wants answers sooner than they can be made available,” Squire said. “There are steps that we have to take. We need to first find the facts and then verify information before any action is taken.”