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Vol. 120, Issue 73
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Colin James delivers great show Page 3
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Superintendent praises quick response during school lockdown
Sunny and safe Silver City Days
LIGHTING UP THE NIGHT
Two schools impacted Friday; hospital access temporarily cut off BY SHERI REGNIER
BY LIZ BEVAN
Times Staff
Times Staff
The superintendent for School District 20 is praising the actions of staff and students at J.L. Crowe Secondary School following an incident on Friday that resulted in a facility lockdown. Calls to the police about loud bangs near Fourth Avenue in East Trail prompted emergency response action in two schools Friday afternoon. Just before 1 p.m. a 911 dispatcher contacted the high school to initiate lockdown protocol as well as St. Michael's Elementary School. “The school handled the situation wonderfully as it was a more complicated situation that occurred over the lunch break,” Greg Luterbach, SD20 superintendent, told the Trail Times Monday. “Staff and students responded appropriately and we appreciate the local RCMP and how seriously and quickly they responded.” Minutes after the 911 operator contacted the school, officers arrived on the scene while the school was in lockdown, explained Principal David DeRosa in an email. “We practiced our lockdown procedure and students and staff reacted in a very timely fashion,” he said. Based on the RCMP's immediate investigation, police confirmed the noise was made by a firework, and had determined there was no rifle, said DeRosa. “I updated staff and students with the information that we had,” he continued. “And that the RCMP had determined that our safety and the school was secure.” He acknowledged to staff and students that a lockdown and related circumstances can be traumatic, and if anyone was feeling anxiety or wished to debrief with a counsellor or call home, they were encouraged to do so. “Once students returned to classes, I thanked staff and students for their patience and cooperation,” DeRosa added. Emergency response plans, including fire drills, are practised multiple times during the course of a year in all School District 20 (SD20) schools. Cpl. Darryl Orr from the Trail RCMP detachment explained that officers immediately went into action when the call came in. “We had two or three calls with one reporting fireworks and a couple of others saying there were loud bangs,” he said. See POLICE, Page 3
LIZ BEVAN PHOTO
Silver City Days celebrations were aglow Saturday evening with the annual Festival of Lights fireworks display at Gyro Park. See more photos from Silver City Days on Page 2.
Monday May 18 is
Victoria Day Shopping hours 11am-4pm
www.wanetaplaza.com 5 min. east of Trail on Hwy 3B
It was a successful and safe Silver City Days in Trail this year, with crowds gathering on the food mall for mini donuts, strolling the midway trying to win a stuffed animal at the skee-ball game, taking in the sounds of Canadian blues music and much more. The RCMP also had an easy weekend with no major service calls, and officers credit the steady sunshine and the warm temperatures for the incident-free festival. “It must have been the nice weather keeping everyone happy,” said Corporal Darryl Orr from the Trail detachment, saying that other years have kept officer busier. “There were a couple of liquor tickets handed out and stuff like that, but nothing huge. Usually you come in Monday morning after Silver City Days, or even Sunday morning, and you have a bunch of people in the drunk tank, and this year, there was nobody. “We also just looked at some of the stuff that happened over the weekend, we really didn't have any major incidents this year.” Trail's spring festival ran smoothly from the beginning on Wednesday afternoon with the midway and See BIG, Page 3
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