POLICE FIND NO DRUGS DURING SCHOOL LOCKDOWN

ASHBURNHAM -- School officials at Oakmont Regional High School went into
"lockdown mode" for about 35 minutes Tuesday morning while police searched
for drugs, Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School District Superintendent
Michael Zapantis said Wednesday.

Four state troopers with dogs, two police officers from Ashburnham --
including Police Chief Loring Barrett Jr. -- and two Westminster officers
conducted the unannounced search around 9:15 a.m.

Faculty members told the students to remain in classrooms while the police
searched lockers and the parking lot. The officers did not search students
individually, according to Zapantis.

They found no drugs and made no arrests, according to school and police
officials.

Zapantis said he planned the search with police before the school year began.

"I think, periodically, superintendents like to be certain the environment
that kids are in continues to be a drug-free zone," he said.

"We don't want alcohol, tobacco or drugs on our property or involved with
our kids," Oakmont Principal Jeff Lawrence said Wednesday. "This is a 100
percent no-tolerance zone for alcohol, tobacco and drugs."

School officials did suspend two students later in the day, but those
suspensions were unrelated to the search, Lawrence said.

Lawrence did not disclose the reasons for the suspensions.

Zapantis told school committee members about the search Tuesday night.

Before that, only top level school officials knew it was going to happen.

A recorded telephone call from Lawrence notified parents about the search
Tuesday evening.

Lawrence said illicit drug use is a growing issue in the community, "and
that of course washes over into the school."

School officials have suspended twice as many students for drug and
alcohol-related offenses this year than they had by this time last year,
according to Lawrence.

The school has suspended 13 students so far this year. Nine of those
actions were drug-related, and four were alcohol-related, according to
Zapantis.

About 750 students attend the school, he said.

Two members of the Student Advisory Council, Jane Shenk and Justin Tate,
told the school committee Tuesday night that most students didn't have a
problem with the search.

Tate and Shenk agreed drug abuse is a reality among students.

"You can't pretend it's not going on," Tate said.

When approached in the parking lot after school Wednesday, a handful of
students said the search was unnecessary.

"It's a waste of time and money," said Jay Cormier, an 18-year-old senior.
"We lost a lot of class time."

"I think it invaded our space," said senior Whitney Gikis, 18.

"We're not really that bad of a school," said Sam Katz, a 17-year-old senior.

Katz said the search made him feel like he was in a "police state."

He and Cormier said the students who use drugs typically smoke marijuana,
and don't use substances such as heroin.

They said they know of several students who have smoked marijuana on school
property, during school hours.

Cormier said he didn't mind the search, because he had nothing to hide.

"It would have bothered me if I had drugs on me," he said.

School Committee Chairman David Christianson said the benefits of getting
drugs out of the school outweigh any privacy concerns from students. But he
is glad the police didn't find anything during their search.

"We've got a pretty good population at our high school," he said. "I want
to know that the kids are going to a school where they're not subject to
something like this (drugs). I think it sends a message to the community
and the parents that we're vigilant."

Stephen Cerasuolo, whose daughter Elysia is a sophomore at the school,
called the search "absolutely ridiculous."

"I'm all for catching the bad guys ... (But) it's just over the top," he
said. "They scream about the budget, and this is what they're spending our
money on? They're taking away sports, they taking away clubs."

The principal said he would answer critics by telling them it is crucial to
keep drugs away from teens.

"There is no place in the life of a healthy, successful teenager for
alcohol, tobacco or drugs," Lawrence said.

Although police didn't find any narcotics Tuesday, Lawrence said he is a
"realist," and knows some students bring substances to school.

Officials require any student who is suspended for drug offenses to see a
substance abuse counselor before they can re-enter the school, Lawrence said.