The war on drugs was brought to Kettle Run on Wednesday, January 11. Students were put in a modified lockdown as drug dogs were brought in by the police to search for any illegal narcotics.
Teachers were allowed to continue their lessons; however, everyone was required to remain in their respective classrooms.
The purpose of the drug dog searches, according to Ad¬ministrator Reed Gillespie, is “to ensure a safe environment”.
Principal Warner stated that the school division is committed to making sure that our school’s environment is a drug-free one.
“I don’t see why anyone would bring drugs to school,” senior Greg Morris said. “Drugs are bad.”
Employing random drug searches is one method used by the school to discourage students from bringing illegal substances onto school property.
Around 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, Principal Warner made an announcement putting the school in lockdown. The drug dogs were then brought in to begin the search.
“We had to leave the classroom because they didn’t want us to interfere with the dogs,” junior Catherine O’Meara said.
The dogs and their handlers searched the hallway lockers, random classrooms, and even cars in the parking lot.
“Everything is fair game; school lockers, gym lockers, parking lots, and randomly selected classrooms,” Admin¬istrator Linda Lee said.
The well-trained dogs were the most important part of the random drug searches. Officer Tindle provided plenty of information on the dogs used. Generally, German Shepherds are the breed of dog used. They begin their training in Europe, and are then sent over to the United States. The dogs are trained to find narcotics, explosives, or firearms. When the dogs find something, they either bark and scratch if they are an active dog, or sit and stare if they are a passive dog.
“My uncle used to have a retired drug dog,” Senior Taylor Campbell said. “Her name was Tessa.”
When the dogs get too old, they are retired and adopted as pets.