DA ‘Pleased’ with Drug Search Results at Central Mountain

BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP—Clinton County District Attorney Dave Strouse said today he was pleased with the findings of an unannounced drug sweep conducted at Central Mountain High School this morning.

Officers and two dogs from the Union County sheriff’s department K9 unit conducted the sweep as part of a lockdown at the high school. Strouse said the effort was done in conjunction with the Keystone Central School District police department and coordinated by county detective Jim Edwards.

He said the dog-sniffing sweep of student backpacks produced a “small number” of incidents which are under investigation. Strouse said there was “no evidence of significant drug activity” ongoing at the high school.

Strouse noted the district conducts periodic lockdowns for reasons of security and the drug sweep was coordinated with today’s lockdown at the request of the school district. The hour-long procedure led to unsubstantiated hearsay on social media and Strouse responded by saying there was “absolutely no threat involved” in precipitating the lockdown and, “I can state unequivocally no weapons were discovered as part of the search.”

District superintendent Kelly Hastings, upon completion of the lockdown drill, released a statement on the district website and circulated to the media in which she said the partnership with the district attorney’s office is part of the school district’s “continued effort to keep our schools safe and drug free. These unannounced drills are an important part of the district’s overall safety and security plan. The health and wellbeing of our students continues to be our top priority.”

Strouse in his successful bid for district attorney last year had campaigned on a “zero tolerance” policy in keeping local schools and their vicinity drug free. He said today there have been isolated reports of controlled substances in the district and saw this morning’s sweep as a deterrent to any such future occurrences.