Saturday, February 16, 2013
Access to guns, mental health covered in Virginia rep's report by the National Science Foundation — topics he says need to stay part of the conversation.
Days after President Barack Obama used his State of the Union address to call on Congress and the country to act on gun control, U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10th) has released a report that examines driving forces behind mass shootings, including violent media and mental health issues — topics absent from the president's address, Wolf said. The 41-page report, “Youth Violence: What We Need to Know,” includes several studies compiled by an advisory committee to the National Science Foundation (NSF). It will come before a U.S. House subcommittee later this spring. Among the study's findings: exposure to violent media is a significant risk factor in shootings, but also "one of the easiest risk factors to change,” the report says. Its suggestions…
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Find out how Fairfax County Public Schools and the police department work to keep students safe.
- POLICE & FIRE
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Thursday, February 7
After the December shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., it's natural for parents to have questions about their children's safety at school. School resource officers from the Fairfax County Police Department and safety experts from Fairfax County Public Schools will be on hand at the Sully District Governmental Center this month to answer those questions. During the monthly meeting of the Citizens Advisory Committee, on Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m., officers will talk about how parents can help keep schools safe, and the measures the school system has in place. Anyone with questions can contact Crime Prevention Officer Tara Fruecht at 703-814-7018 or SulCPO@fairfaxcounty.gov. Find Herndon Patch via:
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Educators don't support arming teachers or principals, but would welcome more trained, armed School Resource Officers "if money was no issue."
A group of educators from one of Fairfax County's largest teachers' unions says it doesn't want guns in schools, according to a survey released Thursday morning by the union, which goes on to say security personnel "can help address a portion of the issue (of school security), but they cannot fix the entire problem." The results come after nearly 500 members of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers responded to a survey on school safety and security — in an effort to make teachers' voices a larger part of state and nationwide conversations about gun control and schools, according to the federation's president, Steve Greenburg "The issue of guns being brought to schools and the issue of making our schools more secure is a complex effort…
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Group charged with evaluating school safety says it'll focus on experts and fact, not emotion.
- GOVERNMENT
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Tuesday, January 15
Members of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s School and Campus Safety Task Force vowed Monday their recommendations on keeping Virginia’s schools safe would be based on fact and not emotion. The task force – charged with evaluating the safety of schools and campuses throughout the state – was assembled by McDonnell in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting last month in Newtown, Conn. “I thought in the wake of that terrible tragedy, it would be prudent to get all of our leading experts from all disciplines together to gather around a table or two, and talk about what can we do better,” McDonnell said. After a gunman shot and killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary, some called for immediate measures, such as …
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
In light of Sandy Hook shootings and ahead of Virginia General Assembly kickoff this week, union turns to members to get opinion on guns in schools and what safe schools should look like.
In the weeks since the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., politicians and advocacy groups have issued recommendations for how schools can try to prevent the tragedy — which killed 26 students and school employees — from happening again. A voice so far largely absent from those discussions in Fairfax and Northern Virginia: teachers. One of Fairfax County's largest teachers unions is hoping to change that, launching Tuesday a security and schools survey asking its 4,265 members about the use of guns in schools, where the system could use extra security personnel, how safe schools are now and how to make them safer, among other topics. "What I see more and more of is politicians posturing up and taking positions …
Monday, December 17, 2012
In wake of Newtown shooting, Gov. Bob McDonnell wants to look at all resources to keep campuses from kindergarten through college safe.
In the wake of Friday's school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has announced a state plan to review school safety in Virginia at all levels. McDonnell said Monday he plans to identify statewide and locality, school division, college and university resource needs to "ensure that we are doing everything humanly possible to keep our children, young people and educators safe while they are in the classroom." "Just as public safety is the bedrock responsibility of government, the safety of our young people must continue to be the top priority in our schools and our campuses," McDonnell said in a statement. In Fairfax County, there are regular safety and lockdown drills, and there was increased …
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Drivers should be vigilant as students go back to school.
The Fairfax County Police department is urging area drivers to be vigilant for pedestrians and bicyclists as Fairfax County Public Schools begin their school year today. Commuters can expect to see increased traffic congestian and should build extra time into their schedules for commuting. Residents may also see police officers posted in school zones and near bus stops to help make sure pedestrians are safe and students are getting on and off the bus safely. The police want residents to remember that when a bus has its lights and stop sign activated drivers are required to stop in both directions unless they are separated from the bus by a median. In 2011 Fairfax County officers issued 1,364 citations for speeding in school zones, and …
James
3:12 pm on Saturday, February 16, 2013
I found it ironic when there was Hollywood crowing on about responsibility, and a movie called "Bullet to the Head" came out recently. more ›