http://glencove.patch.com/articles/school-bus-threat-not-credible
School Bus Threat 'Not Credible' Glen Cove School District and transportation companies take extra precautions. By Joe Dowd <http://glencove.patch.com/users/joe-dowd> and Charleen Famiglietti <http://glencove.patch.com/users/charleen-famiglietti-2> | April 6, 2011 While school districts took extra precautions this week in the wake of an emailed terror threat against school buses <http://plainview.patch.com/articles/terror-threat-made-against-school-buses > , the State Education Department said it is "not considering this a credible threat at this time." Glen Cove Superintendent Dr. Joseph Laria <http://glencove.patch.com/articles/live-from-boe-laria-named-as-glen-cove-s uperintendent> said the district has enacted heightened security procedures. "The New York State Police, the State Office of Counter Terrorism, Federal Bureau of Investigation and other officials are devoting their resources to this matter and are working with other law enforcement agencies. As recommended by the SED to all school districts, the Glen Cove School District is emphasizing safety precautions with our bus drivers and attendants, including pre and post trip inspections," Laria said. "We remain watchful for any suspicious activity and will continue to monitor the situation and follow the recommendations as set forth by the SED." The threatening email made references to the terrorist organization al Qaida and the recent shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. <http://huntington.patch.com/articles/giffords-shooting-to-change-how-congre ssmen-meet-and-greet-public> The chilling <http://huntington.patch.com/articles/terror-threat-made-against-school-buse s-2> two-page screed, in part, said: "If we attack a school bus full of kids, it may have no effect on the hardened criminals that rule Albany. But it will put the public in an uproar. Our goal is to create anarchy. You'll have to kill us to stop us." U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-Massapequa, chairman of the House Homeland Security committee <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_Committee_on_Homeland_Secu rity> , issued a short statement Wednesday on the alert, saying "I am confident that law enforcement officials, particularly the Nassau County Police Department, <http://plainview.patch.com/articles/nassau-cops-taking-part-in-high-profile -safety-campaigns> will do everything possible to prevent any attack from happening." A King spokesman, Kevin Fogarty, said King was not informed of the threat by the state Education Department. King's district includes parts of Plainview and stretches across eastern Nassau County from Long Island Sound to the Atlantic. In a follow-up letter to school districts issued Wednesday, the state Education Department said that while law enforcement authorities are taking the threat seriously and continuing to investigate, they are "not considering this a credible threat at this time." The state Office of Counter Terrorism said that other than reporting suspicious activity or communications to the state Intelligence Center there is "currently no information that suggests a change in planned activities." "Should this change, we will notify you as soon as possible," the correspondence said. The state's follow up email did not elaborate. The anonymous threat was received in Albany on April 1. The untraceable email made terrorist threats against state office buildings, the state Legislature and specific references to attacking school buses, authorities said. The state Education Department alerted school districts across the state to the threat on Tuesday. At least two districts, Syosset and Huntington, <http://www.hufsd.edu/> posted the warning on their websites. The state's message urged school bus drivers to take additional safety precautions, saying bus inspections should be conducted with "an added sense of caution and urgency." Drivers were told to report any suspicious individual who attempted to board a bus. Bus companies have taken added safety precautions since the Sept. 11 attacks <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks> on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, said Carmen Tomeo, vice president of We Transport Inc <http://plainview.patch.com/listings/we-transport-towne-bus-corp> ., Long Island's largest school bus company. "After 9/11 We've been getting alerts and we've heightened our safety procedures both inside and outside the vehicles," Tomeo said. The procedures are taught to all drivers during training classes. Those measures include a "pre-trip" safety check of lights and other equipment and a "post trip" inspection primarily designed to look for sleeping children or items left behind. Both inspections require a driver to check off a list of safety items for each inspection. Drivers are required to walk around the vehicle on both inspections. The recent alert caused We Transport and other bus companies to increase the security measures, Tomeo said. Drivers have been instructed to look for suspicious packages and report any suspicious people in the vicinity of company vehicles. Tomeo said that since 9/11, it's important to remain vigilant: "You can't let anything drop off the table," he said. "We didn't want to alarm the parents but we told the dispatchers to make sure they are doing their pre- and post-trips and implementing all their safety checks," Tomeo said. Tomeo stressed there have been no incidents reported by any of the company's drivers since the alert was issued. Plainview-based We Transport Inc. and it's affiliated companies employ 1,200 drivers who make about 1,000 routes daily in Nassau and Suffolk counties, New York City and Bridgeport, Conn. In it's April 1 warning to school district's statewide, the state Education Department said the "threatening email was sent from an unknown email account to members of the media and various state officials." The anonymous author made threats of violence in state office buildings, against the state Legislature and made "a specific reference to school buses. The State Police, state Office of Counter Terrorism and the FBI are investigating the issue along with other local law enforcement agencies. The state's warning urged bus companies to increase their usual safety precautions: "We encourage all drivers and attendants to be watchful for unknown individuals or any suspicious or unusual behavior along their routes or at bus stops as well as individuals approaching the school bus," the state's message said. "Drivers should be particularly strict about unknown or unauthorized individuals attempting to board the school bus." <http://glencove.patch.com/articles/school-bus-threat-not-credible> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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