Fenton Schools Increase Security with Buzzer System

All Fenton Area Public School buildings will have a single point of entry, monitored by school staff and video cameras.

Visitors at Fenton Area Public Schools won’t simply be able to walk in freely any longer. In efforts to create stronger security for the district, officials are installing buzzer systems in all buildings, forcing visitors to identify themselves before entering the school. Cameras will also be installed so staff can observe those coming to the door. All other doors of the buildings will be locked. After pushing the "call in" button, guests will be asked to state the nature of visit, their names and the student’s name. Once admitted, all adults in the building must check in at the office and wear a Visitor’s Badge. “It may be an inconvenience to some people that are used to running in and having free access, but being more cautious and …

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)

Richard Smith

4:01 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013

Well, this measure will help appease the "wont someone please think of the children" crowd but if I remember correctly, the gunman in Sandy Hook shot his way through the security entrance. It's a feel good measure that will at least stop the average ne'er-do-wells from freely entering the building. I'm just trying to be realistic.   more ›

Oakland County Teachers Will Receive Active Shooter Training

The sheriff's office, Oakland Schools and the county's Homeland Security division will collaborate on the training program.

Teachers and school staff from across Oakland County will receive expert training in the next two months on how to react in an active school shooter situation. County officials said Friday that the Oakland County Sheriff's Office and the county's Homeland Security Division will conduct five training sessions for school personnel starting in two weeks. In addition, Sheriff Michael Bouchard will give active shooter presentations on site at various schools in the county. Bouchard has received numerous requests for the presentations, he said. "Active shooter situations are unpredictable and evolve quickly, which requires people on the scene to be prepared both mentally and physically while waiting for law enforcement to arrive,” Bouchard said …

• Photos (1)

The Newtown Shootings: Patch, State of Michigan, to Take Part in Moment of Silence

Our Patches across the country will take part in a Web Moment of Silence on Friday, and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has requested that state residents pause to remember those lost last week.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has asked for a statewide moment of silence at 9:30 a.m. Friday, and Patches in Michigan and across the country will join in a Web Moment of Silence to mark the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. Snyder said the moment of silence was requested by Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, who issued a proclamation calling on the citizens of Connecticut to observe December 21, 2012, as a day of mourning. Malloy sent a letter to all the nation's governors asking them to observe a moment of silence in remembrance of the fallen. Patch sites across the country will mark the tragedy at 9:30 a.m. EST. Among other sites taking part in the Web Moment of Silence are AOL, Adobe, Foursquare, Hacker News, Duke …

•  32 Comments
• Photos (1)

Fenton, Lake Fenton Schools Increase Security After Sandy Hook Shootings

Lake Fenton superintendent Wayne Wright said schools have been implementing a modified lockdown. Police have been monitoring both Fenton and Lake Fenton Schools.

Fenton and Lake Fenton Schools have taken extra security measures since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Lake Fenton superintendent Wayne Wright said schools have been implementing a modified lockdown. He said classrooms doors are usually equipped with a magnet that prevents them from latching, however, those magnets have been removed and the doors have been locked. Wright said West Shore Elementary school's main doors have been locked and people have been entering through a buzzer system. “We have had heightened security. We are keeping a close watch on everything that is going on,” Wright said. He added that officers from Genesee County Sheriff’s Department have been around the building much more since the …

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)

Fenton Native Survives Sandy Hook Shooting

Parents have organized a candlelight vigil tonight in Holly to honor the memory of Newtown victims.

A Fenton native hid in a tiny supply closet while a gunman killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary in Conneticut last week. Lisa Marlin, an educational assistant at Sandy Hook, who graduated from Lake Fenton High School in 1987 according to her Facebook page, huddled with a co-worker and prayed during the massacre, reported Click on Detroit WDIV Channel 4. "I am very sorry for all of their parents. They were all wonderful, wonderful kids. They didn't deserve this," she said in the video. A total of 20 children and six adults were killed in the attack, according to Newtown Patch. Marlin knew many of them, according to WNBC New York. "For a half hour every day I work in the lunch room with those first graders and I know 15 of them very …

• Photos (12)

Woman With Fenton Ties Survives Sandy Hook Shooting

Lisa Marlin, a former Fenton resident, is a teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT. She survived Friday's shooting and described her experience to WDIV-TV.