Dropping the Bomb and Expecting More

[XLFD]

On noon of Tuesday, an E-mail was opened by the principal of Covenant Christian School (in Amber Township), Rich Ambrose, which indicated that there was a bomb placed at his school.  As per the usual bomb threat protocol, police authorities were notified and all school personnel evacuated the campus.  This was related in the City of Ludington Daily News in Emailed bomb threat to Covenant Christian meant evacuation, investi... and other local media. 

“I called the (West Shore) ESD and reported we were evacuating the students and five minutes later the buses were there,” Ambrose said about getting the students away from the school. “And the sheriff’s office had secured the school and had secured the church.  The kids absolutely behaved well and the staff just performed perfectly as far as the evacuation was concerned.”

Sheriff Cole oversaw the police response, assisted by the Michigan State Police, the State Department of Natural Resources, Scottville Police Department, Scottville Fire Department and Life EMS.  A bomb sniffing dog team was called in from Lansing immediately and arrived around 3:30 PM.  After finding nothing, the scene was cleared an hour later.

 

There were also bomb threats reported at more than 30 other schools Tuesday, according to Reuters, including 26 schools in New Jersey and other schools in Massachusetts, Delaware and Iowa.  Cole said they had no link that they knew of to other school threats other than coincidental timing.

 

This was the first time I ever heard of a bomb threat being delivered through an E-mail; sifting through the various media reports I was at a loss as to why the E-mail's specific contents were not divulged.  There was nothing to lose by telling the public about the contents of this E-mail, nothing to lose by showing the E-mail in full, so that the public could help the authorities with the investigation into finding the low-life that sent it. 

Whoever made the threat knows that it's in the possession of law enforcement and is being investigated; they may gain something from the police announcing what further investigation has found, but not from the E-mail's release.  The E-mail should have a sending address, and some members of the public may know whose E-mail address it is, however, they are out of the loop in this case since it hasn't been released.

A look at the other bomb threats made on the day after Martin Luther King Day in other places as noted in the article, has them either being made by text messages or by the traditional phone call.  The one made to our local private school was the only one made by E-mail.  In Newsweek's Bomb Threats Made at More Than 30 U.S. Schools, our local one was not even mentioned.  This was noted in the MCP's Bomb threat at Covenant Christian School may not have been isolated...

Even though there were dozens of false bomb threats made this day it was truly an outlier in two respects in that it was done by E-mail and it appears to be the only one sent to a private, Christian school.  This may mean that Sheriff Cole is right in that there may be no link to the other threats which seem to have mostly originated from somewhere in California, but wrong in not releasing the E-mail, for the public may know of someone who has a grudge with Covenant Christian and has a distinctive way of spelling or of grammar.

Cole not releasing information is nothing new, I personally have a FOIA Lawsuit against his office for not lawfully releasing records on four occasions that he should have by law, without giving any compelling reason for doing so.  Sheriff Kim Cole is an established opponent of transparency, and it does not serve the public well. 

But local media pundit Rob Alway, founder of the Mason County Press, could not sing Sheriff Cole's praises enough yesterday.  The protocol for handling bomb threats are very routine, trained chimps could do it.  Evacuate the building, call the bomb units, wait and prevent anybody from getting in the dangerous area, let the bomb sniffing team come and do their work, clear the scene and write the reports.  A lot of police/fire/medical officials tied up for four hours or more, a good reason why these hoaxers are prosecuted severely. 

Alway editorialized about how great everyone was in keeping those pupils safe.  Perhaps we should glorify some of what these people do, particularly those who did it as volunteers, or those caught in the middle, like the faculty and staff of this school.  But the rest are just doing the job they are paid good money to do, and keeping the public ill-informed-- which appears to be okay with the MCP editor.

His article:  Protecting our kids — a coordinated effort is little more than propaganda for his fellow public officials that he has historically idolized, unless they try to make the system more accountable, like former Scottville Commissioner Ed Hahn did.  Rob really should learn what ALICE is an acronym for (the 'C' does not stand for "County").  He should also learn the difference between "perimeter" and "parameter"

His article is best read with another article printed in the Detroit Free Press on the same day:  Teen testifies she was repeatedly raped by police officer interweaved with his praises of all people who are officials just like him.  Praise should not be heaped on a job title, but by the actual holder of the job doing praiseworthy efforts.

Michigan Police Officer Troy Estree (in orange), sodomizer of underage relatives, is a hero to some, indistinguishable from other public servants who dutifully do their jobs to the best of their ability

MCP:  Firefighters, paramedics and law enforcement personnel, along with school staff, put their lives on the line to protect the children of the school — our community’s children.

DFP:  A 17-year-old girl testified Wednesday that she was repeatedly sexually assaulted nearly two years ago by a former Emmett Township police officer Troy Estree.

The parameter [perimeter] of the school was surrounded and protected until a bomb squad from [the] Michigan State Police arrived from Lansing. Scottville Fire Department personnel stood by in case the unthinkable happened to the school, as did Life EMS personnel. Law enforcement personnel stood at the school (must [most] of them were off duty and called in to the scene). They also stood guard at the school, guarding the entrances from a potential threat, but also kindly greeting worried parents as they arrived — asking for identification, which was naturally prudent.

The girl, who was 15 during much of 2014 when the alleged assaults occurred, testified for nearly five hours... The teenager told the jury she had been estranged from Estree for 13 years before re-establishing contact in the summer of 2013... “It started with him touching me up my leg and closer to my thighs and then my private areas."

Sheriff Kim Cole was at the church coordinating the effort, and also taking time to speak with school personnel and parents, calming their nerves. He also spoke with the media, as he frequently does, providing us with the information to inform the public.

 

“I didn’t know what to do. He started rubbing my thighs and up to my vagina.” 

“I didn’t know what to expect, and I didn’t want to let him down," she said. "If I said no he might walk out again.” 

He gave her a phone and they began exchanging messages, and she spent more time at the house including overnights. He began to give her alcohol, she said.

Kudos to those who protect our children! I am thankful to live in such a great place and to know that these people are here for us. I am thankful to know that our sheriff isn’t just an administrator who sits at a desk, but instead is someone who is leading his troops.

One night, the girl said, others in the house were asleep and she and Estree were on a couch watching the television show, "Family Guy."   She said he pulled down her shorts and had anal intercourse.

"I don't remember what he said, but he was probably kissing my neck," she said. "I said I didn't want to do it anymore. I felt like trash. He said OK."

I’m thankful for Mason County Sheriff’s Office, Scottville Police Department, Ludington Police Department, Michigan Department of Natural Resources (conservation officers were on scene) and Michigan State Police.

But a few weeks a later, she said, he wanted to show her a camper in the yard and said he wanted to have oral sex, and she said he did.  "I blocked out what I was thinking," she said.

She told the jury she began to think of the relationship not between relatives but more like dating.

While I do not have school-aged children, I am thankful for the professionals at Covenant Christian School (and again, all our county’s schools), for how much they truly care about our kids.

God bless each and everyone of you!

She described several other assaults, including in a basement bedroom and later at a construction site and at Bridge Park while she was riding with him while he was on patrol for the department.

While on ride-alongs, the girl said Estree assaulted her while wearing his duty belt on a park bench and another time on the trunk of the patrol car...

Earlier Wednesday, pediatrician Colette Gushurst said she examined the girl on Aug. 19, 2014, and found she had herpes. Gushurst testified the girl told her she had anal intercourse with Estree.

[Willy]

It's possible that one of the gamers he was familiar with may have told the 13 year old that he was thinking about doing what he reported and he was just trying to warn people. Who knows what goes on in a 13 year olds mind. Was it a threat or a warning. I'm also assuming the accused is a boy since on line gaming is mostly a male dominated activity. The public wouldn't have to speculate this way if law enforcement would release more information.

[XLFD]

I finally received the E-mailed bomb threat (attached) sent to the school back in January, suitably redacted (blacked out), as a consequence of my current civil action with the Mason County Sheriff' Office.  Can somebody explain to me why any of the material that isn't redacted, such as the body of the e-mail pictured, was originally kept from the public?  

Think about it:  whoever sent the e-mail knows what he/she sent, there's nothing to be gained from keeping that secret and a lot to be gained with the help from thousands/millions in the public who may have received similar e-mails or may have heard somebody boast of such things.