Letters reference Amish massacre
By: Dick Brinster
EAST WINDSOR A letter threatening violence at one of the East Windsor Regional District’s elementary schools akin to that which occurred at a Pennsylvania school last month has resulted in beefed-up security that Police Chief William Spain and Superintendent Ron Bolandi say will continue as long as necessary.
The chief said Thursday that an officer and a patrol unit had been stationed at each of the district’s six schools, including its four elementary buildings.
"Continuation of that would be based on a number of factors, including progress of the investigation on the origin on the letter," Chief Spain said.
Mr. Bolandi said he has no plan to close the schools.
"I believe as the police do that it’s probably not a credible threat," he said. "But, unfortunately, we have to take it seriously."
Chief Spain said the threat, received Wednesday in a letter to the township Municipal Court staff, did not identify which of the district’s schools was the target. He said letters making threats against elementary schools also were received by the Middletown Township Municipal Court, the Milford Township Board of Education and The Times of Trenton.
A similar letter, of four handwritten sentences on lined notebook paper, was received at the Herald office on Thursday in an envelope with a Trenton postmark. It contended that the writer had been "harassed" by an East Windsor police officer identified with a badge number "because of our race."
"Racial profiling will stop," it continued. "We are going to take a walk through one of your elementary schools. It’s going to be Amish School House Week."
That was a reference to five children being slain Oct. 2 by a gunman who then killed himself in a one-room school near Lancaster, Pa.
The note to the Herald was signed by a person claiming to be named Dick Lewis and was followed with an identifying moniker that started with a racial slur and was followed by "Sniper from Hell."
Mr. Bolandi said he experienced a similar threatening situation when he was superintendent in Piscataway in 1999, a week after the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado. Two teenage Columbine students murdered 12 classmates and a teacher, and wounded 24 other people before killing themselves.
"People who write these letters create all kinds of anxiety for parents," Mr. Bolandi said. "If had I a child in school, I also would be upset.
"All I can tell the parents is we’re doing the best we can to protect their children. But if you stop operations, these kooks get exactly what they want."
His words and the actions of the East Windsor police and officials drew praise from Rodger Lippman, president of the Ethel McKnight School PTA and father of a second-grade boy. Mr. Lippman said the dedication of the authorities helps ease anxiety over the threat.
"It’s just a shame that we have to deal with these things in the world we live in," he added. "I just hope that things like this do not interfere with our children’s schooling as well as their everyday life."
Mr. Lippman urged parents to remain calm and reassure their children that everything will be all right. But he said dealing with questions from children is not easy.
"My child asked me, ‘Daddy what is this all about?’ and as a parent you ask yourself what answer you want to give and what answer you have to give," Mr. Lippman said.
Mr. Bolandi expressed confidence in the handling of the threat by the police departments of East Windsor and Hightstown and said he was grateful for the support and cooperation of East Windsor Mayor Janice Mironov. Three of the district’s schools are located in each municipality.
Casey DeBlasio, public information officer for the Mercer County prosecutor’s office, said the investigation would include police departments from the affected municipalities, the State Police and representatives from her office and it counterparts in Monmouth and Hunterdon counties. Middletown Township is in Monmouth County and Milford Township is in Hunterdon County.
"We’re going to meet with all the law-enforcement agencies this afternoon to coordinate and share information," she said Thursday.
"We’re very satisfied with the flow of information from the police departments," Mr. Bolandi said. "Everybody’s working together and on the same page. This will pass."
On Wednesday, Mr. Bolandi posted a letter on the district’s Web site, advising parents and staff members of the threat. He advised them that police did not consider the threat credible, and said he was largely basing his decision to keep the schools open on that information.
"While we will continue to rely on the expertise and professionalism of our law enforcement personnel, I will make all decisions based on the best interests of our children," Mr. Bolandi wrote.
Last month, he said, the district was doing all it could to improve security measures at schools, including placement of cameras at entranceways to the buildings.
Mr. Bolandi said at a Board of Education meeting Oct. 9 that school officials would try to a do a better job in enforcing proof of identification for entrance to the High School. But he said he could offer no guarantees.
"I can’t assure you that anybody will not get in this building tomorrow," he said at the time. "I can only tell you we’ll do the best we can.
"Any administrator who assures that anything is safe is not telling the truth in the whole country, not just in the East Windsor Regional School District. My hope is we’re diligent enough that we stop something originally, and we do make sure we have procedures in place."
A MySpace.com group name, "Kill the people of Hightstown High School," was found in July by a Herald reporter during a search of the popular networking Web site that is used by many teens in the area and throughout the country. The profile of the group, which indicated it had three members, included a posted forum titled "we are all gunna die pretty soon," and the comment "heil to hitler."
Mr. Bolandi said Hightstown police told him the posting wasn’t a credible threat.

