Police at Warden schools following non-specific threat

WARDEN — Security was heightened at the Warden School District joint campus following the report of a non-specific threat late Thursday. The threat was later determined not to be credible, according to Warden Police Chief Rick Martin.

“Staff ran down a rumor, and law enforcement contacted the kids,” said Martin, who is also a member of the Warden School Board. “We don’t believe there’s any danger, but there is a heightened state of awareness.”

Martin said the initial report came from a student who heard something, and after an unspecified amount of time, reported it to their parents, who then told district officials Thursday evening.

“We tracked it down to the source, and are still comfortable there is no threat,” Martin said.

According to a statement from the Warden School District, the WSD would conduct school as normal Friday but additional WPD and Grant County Sheriff’s Office deputies would be on hand just in case. The district’s three schools – Warden Elementary, Warden Middle School and Warden High School, as well as its district offices, share the same large campus on the south side of town.

However, a notice on the district’s website noted classes would start two hours later than normal because of icy roads Friday morning.

Martin said he wanted Warden residents to understand he and WPD take any threats to the schools seriously.

“I have a lot invested at the school. My children teach there; my grandchildren attend. We are always attentive to goings-on at the school,” he said.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.