DRUG SWEEP CONDUCTED AT JACKSON

VIENNA - The message was clear to students at Jackson Junior High School
Wednesday: Drugs are not welcome.

Two classrooms and a gym locker room were searched Wednesday by the Vienna
Police Department's drug-sniffing dog, King, during a lockdown at the
school. The dog found no drugs, but did smell something in one of the gym
lockers, which police believe may have contained a faint smell of
narcotics. The locker was not assigned to a student and was unlocked, said
police.

Drug-sniffing dogs are capable of detecting the slightest odors of
narcotics, even if the substances are not present at the time, said D.W.
Lindsay, the department's K-9 handler. Those odors can linger for long
periods, he said.

"There has been something in that locker at some point, I'm sure of that...
Even if you touch narcotics and then touch something else, the dog can
smell what you touched," Lindsay said.

Principal Richard Summers said this is the first such sweep at Jackson
Junior High, but not the last. School officials plan to use it as a
deterrent to keep drugs out of the school, he said. Vienna police are eager
to help, said Sgt. Mike Deem.

"This is not a one-shot deal. We are going to do this again. The mere fact
we had the dog here today will scare anybody who is remotely thinking of
bringing drugs," he said.

Summers said the reason he asked Vienna police to conduct the search and
plan future searches was not because drugs were suspected, but as a measure
to make students think twice about bringing controlled substances to school.

"This is not really a drug raid; it's a more preventive approach. I believe
Jackson has one of the best student bodies, but it only takes one student
to make a choice to bring drugs or alcohol to school," Summers said.

King, a German shepherd, was born in Doddridge County four years ago and
was trained by Vienna police. The department was able to obtain the dog
when he was six months old without cost.

King has been trained to associate the smell of narcotics with a chew toy
and responds to commands in a mixture of work and play. While King searches
for narcotics, he is actually looking for his chew toy, which an officer
keeps out of sight, Deem said.

"He will work hard, as long as he knows he'll get that toy in the end," he
said.

School lockdowns are a planned response to protect students in a variety of
emergencies, Summers said.

This is done to provide "a safe environment for kids whenever predators
have an opportunity to get to a child," Summers said. The school conducts
lockdown drills throughout the year, he said.

During the lockdown, teachers were instructed over the intercom to keep
students in class until further notice and ignore the dismissal bell. They
were instructed to check their e-mail accounts, to which Summers sent an
e-mail message giving details of the situation.

Summers said the lockdown was a successful training exercise.

"The kids and staff did everything the way we modeled it and expect it to
be," Summers said.