ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, May 16, 1996                 TAG: 9605160146
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
DATELINE: PULASKI 
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER 

PULASKI STUDENT SUSPENDED AFTER LOADED GUN FOUND

Somehow, the message is just not getting through.

It's plain enough: Don't bring firearms or any other kind of weapon to school in Pulaski County. If you do, you will get kicked out for at least a year.

But a 16-year-old student has been suspended, pending a hearing, for having a semiautomatic .25-caliber pistol among his belongings in a Pulaski County High School locker. Even worse, the pistol had live ammunition in its clip.

School administrators found the weapon early May 9. The county Sheriff's Office was notified and is investigating.

There have been two other firearms incidents in county schools this year. An elementary school pupil had a BB gun in his possession, and a Dublin Middle School sixth-grade student had a firearm. Those guns were unloaded, but their possessors were still expelled and cannot return to school for 365 days.

As recently as Monday, the School Board disciplined three students for possession of pocket knives, which also fall into the category of dangerous weapons.

In the latest incident, a School Board hearing will be held next week. The student will then have 30 days to appeal.

So far, since the School Board adopted the get-tough expulsion standards regarding dangerous weapons on school property, those decisions have been consistent. The minimum 365-day expulsion penalty became effective with the current school year.

Superintendent Bill Asbury has called the incident serious and Karen Clymer, coordinator for pupil personnel services, agrees.

She said all the teachers, at the start of the current school year, talked with their students about the weapons policies. On top of that, principals reviewed the policies with students at midyear. They also have been discussed at DARE programs in schools and at PTA meetings.

Clymer admitted that the discovery of yet another weapon is frustrating. They are looking at other ways to bring the no-weapons message home.

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