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Letter to the Editor: Schools need more security, not gun bans

Here are my thoughts on the recent Silver Falls school board decision to reject the proposed ban on concealed carry. They made the correct decision, albeit just barely. 

The school shootings epidemic deserves more than just a symbolic band aid. This needs to be treated like the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001, because this is domestic terrorism.  

Have you seen the list of recent school shootings? Politics won’t solve the problem because the two parties cannot or will not find the common sense middle ground.  

Here is a common sense solution.  First, severely restrict access to school grounds. Install numerous security cameras at access points and around the school.  They don’t all have to be live.  It is a deterrent. 

Second, hire a minimum of two armed security guards per school, larger schools may have 3 or 4.  One guard is monitoring the cameras, the other is patrolling the grounds.  

Also, train 10% of the teachers on use of firearms to assist the guards if necessary.  The firearms are locked up in the security monitoring station. The goal is to make the students, their families and teachers feel safe.  

Expensive? You bet it is.  But what is the value of just one student’s life?  You know the answer – Priceless!  

We’ve spent the money on airport security.  Students are the future and they deserve to know they are safe in school.

Mike Haasken
Silverton resident, father and grandfather