Greenbrier East High school received two bomb threats in five days, with the most recent one on Tuesday afternoon.
The first one was on Saturday, Oct. 22, interrupting an ACT testing class. The school was evacuated following a threat made against the school by a student, who’d been disciplined the previous day.
On Tuesday, students were sent home early and the school grounds were closed to all activities after handwritten notes insinuating the there would be a bomb in the school were discovered in two to three separate bathrooms at the end of the school day by GEHS administration, said Greenbrier County Schools superintendent Jeff Bryant.
On both occasions, West Virginia State Police bomb dogs searched the school. Private security was brought in to reinforce safety throughout Tuesday evening. Bryant said Greenbrier County Schools is in the process of working with law enforcement to seek out who left the notes, and he is confident they will discover the culprit.
“The consequences of being found guilty of a threat against the school is very severe on the school level and from law enforcement,” Bryant said. “[Students] need to understand there are dire consequences for doing things like this.”
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For the past 28 years, Run For The Wall (RFTW) has stopped in Rainelle during its annual pilgrimage to Washington, DC.
On Saturday, Oct. 22, at least 32 bikers came to Rainelle to give back with over 200 pairs of gloves, 200 coats, 253 hand-knitted hats from the Lowlander Yarn Shop knitting group in Missouri, and pillows and pillowcases donated by the Navajo Nation.
After the June flood, RFTW Board member Ken Ward and his wife Jenny set out to help those affected. Jenny came up with the plan to have a coat drive for the children of Rainelle Elementary School and contacted riders, participants and friends of RFTW.
“This town was hit so hard; many of these families lost everything. We just had to do something,” she said.
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A Ronceverte native was honored for 74 years of service with the Ronceverte Volunteer Fire Department on Wednesday, Oct. 19. E.B. Hodges, now a resident at the Brier Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, was presented with a lifetime achievement pin at a reception held in his honor by Ralph Bonnier, from the fire department.
Hodges began chasing the fire truck in 1942 at the age of 16. He said he used to live about a mile and a half from the fire station, and when he would hear the fire whistle, he would jump on his bike and ride until he caught up with the fire truck. During his time with the department, he served as treasurer and assistant fire chief.
