Throughout this week, the scenes painted from the awful events in the Blue Ridge of Virginia leave a deep scar on the American soul. As we write, 33 persons, including the gunman, have died as a result of the senseless shootings on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg.

Now a school and community grieve. Students, parents and friends are beginning the long healing process. And once more, we as a nation ask the one-word question.

Why?

Here in our county, and elsewhere, school administrators ask the question no one wants to hear.

What if?

The schools the Voice talked to this week have plans and steps in order, in the event something like what happened in our neighboring state should ever occur, God forbid.

“Do we have a security plan? Absolutely,” said Tim Johnson, who’s the Safe Schools Coordinator for the Breathitt County School system. “In fact, we have plans that cover not just persons invading the schools, but for weather events like tornadoes and floods, earthquakes, and even falling aircraft. It’s a sign of the times, but we’ve had “lockdown” drills, and have practiced them, ever since the Columbine school shootings in Colorado back in 1999.” Johnson added that those lockdown drills are rehearsed regularly, as an attempt to limit an intruder as they enter the school premises. “We’ve got personnel who are screened to watch for unusual activity from anyone suspicious, we have video cameras in place at key locations. Most of all we have a plan to take action, and who to contact and work with, to keep our students, our teachers, and our staff safe. Just in case.”

“We were the ones that initiated the lockdown proceedures, and we passed it on down to (State Representative) Ted Edmonds in Frankfort. He made that mandatory at schools statewide,” said Jackson Independent Schools Superintendent Tim Spencer. “We practice lockdown drills at City School, and we’ll do another one in a few days. All doors are locked except the main door, and you have to use a keypad to get in. We have cameras to keep an eye out on suspicious activity, and codewords that teachers know. I hope and pray we never have to do it in real life, just in a drill.”

“We’re a safe campus, thanks to students, faculty, staff and the community at large. However, we do understand that we’re not exempt from catastrophic events like the one at Virginia Tech,” noted Doug Fraley, who’s the Vice-President for Student Services at Hazard Community and Technical College. The Lees Campus in Jackson falls under Fraley’s watch, and he told the Voice, “We’re constantly revising and updating our safety and security plan as circumstances change. We have three active work groups to address those needs - the Safety Committee, the Crisis Management Team, and the Pandemic Flu Team. We have excellent working relationships with police, fire, and sheriff’s departments. Our classrooms have a phone where students can dial 9-1-1 from. And we have a safety manual that will be reviewed, as will all our proceedures due to the recent events.” Fraley also said that the Lees Campus dorms have electronic key passes and security cameras, to monitor unusual activity.

The need for security has also worked its way down to smaller schools, such as Oakdale Christian Academy. “The majority of our buildings have alarms, and we do have a campus-wide Neighborhood Watch,” said Chris Peterson, who’s the Business Administrator at Oakdale. “When a visitor checks into the office, they are given a badge, so we can tell right away if they’re supposed to be there.”

Responses from Riverside Christian School, Mt. Carmel High School, and Kentucky Mountain Bible College were unavailable at press time. The schools were contacted by the Voice on Tuesday morning, in order for them to be part of this story.

Like the rest of the nation, the educational community in Breathitt County continues to reach out to their bretheren in Virginia, as more about the events on Monday continue to play out in front of us. “It is an unbelieveable tragedy at Blacksburg, and our hearts and prayers go out to all those affected,” said Johnson. “The events at Virginia Tech have reminded us just how fragile life is. We hold a heavy heart, and pray for those affected to find comfort in these trying times,” added Spencer. “We have placed bows with Virginia Tech colors - maroon, orange and white - on doors of the Lees Campus, and we’re circulating a banner to be signed by our community, expressing our condolences,” noted Fraley. “We will send that to Virginia Tech. We realize their pain, and wish them peace and hope over the coming weeks, days and years.”