Evacuation of Piggott Schools

Hundreds of parents and guardians surround the gates of Parker Field Wednesday as students were picked-up following the evacuations of Piggott High and Piggott Elementary. Thankfully, the threat was found to be a hoax, and despite the nature of the incident school officials carried out an orderly evacuation of students and staff. (Times photo/Tim Blair) [Click to enlarge]

Both campuses of the Piggott School District were evacuated late Wednesday morning, after a custodian discovered a threat on the wall of a restroom at the high school. Authorities were summoned as students and staff moved to the football field, but nothing was found during a subsequent search of the building.

The threat was reportedly discovered around 10:20 a.m. and the evacuation of students began a short time later. "It was fortunate that the weather was good, and that's why we chose to move the students and staff to the football field," Superintendent Ed Winberry said Thursday morning. The district also activated the "School Alert" system which automatically contacted parents and guardians by phone with a message that the students were subjected to a mandatory evacuation and should be picked-up at the football field. Unofficial sources indicated that the note said that the incident would occur at 10:45.

Cooks in the two cafeterias were forced to walk away from the mid-day meal, leaving thousands of dollars in food to spoil and members of the Marching Mohawk band were in the middle of marching practice, and carried their instruments to the football field with them. The evacuation also forced the cancellation of Mohawk football practice for Wednesday afternoon, although as of Thursday morning everything was back to normal.

As the evacuation of students and staff was completed members of the Piggott Police Department, along with personnel from the Arkansas State Police and Clay County Sheriff's Department began the effort of searching the building. Law enforcement also received mutual aid from the Piggott Fire Department and a variety of other city employees. During the initial response officials also closed-off Main Street in front of the high school, along with both South Garfield and South Taylor on either side of the campus. Main Street remained closed until just after 11 a.m. while the side streets remained closed until the all-clear was given just after noon.

Meanwhile, at the Parker Field hundreds of parents, grandparents and guardians interrupted their day to retrieve students while buses lined-up at the back of the PES campus to run their regular routes. The steady influx of motorists also caused some problems with traffic flow, as vehicles were backed-up for several blocks along East Poplar. The process of picking up students was also a bit slow, as teachers and aides insured that each child was accounted for, which led to some frustration.

But, although the episode caused some tense moments, and fear among some of the younger students, the professional response of the school staff and administration accounted for an orderly process. "Our staff did an excellent job," Winberry noted, "I was tied-up a lot in the building with the search of the lockers and such, but our staff really came through in a bad situation. I hate that this happened, but we're really proud of the way our people responded."

Following the search students were allowed to retrieve personnel possessions, but were escorted to classrooms and lockers. Classes resumed Thursday morning as the investigation continued, and that afternoon a special meeting of the Piggott School Board was held to discuss the incident and response.

At last report the matter remained under investigation, and anyone who has information that may lead to the person responsible was encouraged to contact the Piggott Police Department at 598-2295.