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By John Dobberstein, Editor
Union Public Schools officials said that the district received additional bomb threats over the weekend but there were no actual Union schools listed in the latest incident.
Supt. Kirk Hartzler said schools would be open Monday but facilities would be swept by Union security, administrators, building engineers and other staff as a precaution.
The most recent threat mentioned every Oklahoma school, airport, university, store, mall, bus station, highway, police station, courthouse and city hall. Hartzler said the threat was similar to those received by the district in the past week.
“We are continuing to work with the Tulsa Police Department, the Broken Arrow Police Department and other agencies,” Hartzler said in a post Sunday evening.
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In a post from Union on Saturday, Hartzler said the district was notified by a local media outlet that Anderson, Peters, Moore and Ochoa, along with other non-district businesses and locations, were threatened.
He said authorities were actively investigating the threats and noted that “other organizations and businesses across the country are receiving these bomb threats as well. These messages are similar in nature, and the authorities anticipate these threats will continue and additional locations will be listed.”
“We will continue to respond to future threats and communicate with you as we work through these situations. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding during this time,” Hartzler wrote. “Our district has outstanding and dedicated teachers, staff members, counselors, and administrators who are all committed to the safety of our students.”
In a statement Monday, Rep. Ross Ford (R-Broken Arrow) vowed to help track down those who have made recent bomb threats made against several schools in the Union Public Schools district.
Ford, a former Tulsa Police officer, served as director of security for Union Public Schools and was a former school board member. His House district includes the Union Public Schools district.
“I will work with law enforcement in any I can way to help protect the young people and teachers in our public schools and to ensure these perpetrators are punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Ford said. “I take very seriously the matter of school security and will not abide threats made against our children or our educators. Students, parents and all educators deserve schools that are free from violence and the threat of violence.”
