County students at St. Louis Zoo during bomb threat

May 19, 2008 03:05 pm

— By JEREMY HALL
jeremy.hall@register-news.com
ST. LOUIS — Students from three Jefferson County schools were among those present when the St. Louis Zoo received a bomb threat on Friday.
Summersville Grade School, Woodlawn Grade School and Waltonville Grade School all had outings at the zoo on Friday when a bomb threat led to evacuations of areas throughout the facility.
Waltonville Superintendent Craig Kujawa said his group was not aware of the bomb threat while at the zoo. Waltonville Grade School Principal Shlonda Horton was notified of the bomb threat Friday afternoon by someone who had seen media reports on the incident.
“They weren’t really informed of it,” said Kujawa. “They learned later in the day. The only thing they really know is that some of the exhibits were closed.”
Summersville Superintendent Steve Danner said his students and chaperones were unaware of the threat until the ride home from the zoo.
“They didn’t know a thing about it,” he said. “They saw the helicopters and the police but did not know anything until on the way back when someone from Mt. Vernon called one of the chaperones.”
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the bomb threat was received at the zoo at 9 a.m. Friday, and buildings were searched one by one by officers and bomb-sniffing dogs. The zoo was operating as normal by 1 p.m.
“Things went well,” said Kujawa. “There weren’t any problems. We didn’t have people panicking.”
Had the group been notified of the false alarm, Kujawa said, communication between those within the group and those back home would have been quick, as many parents were along for the field trip.
Woodlawn Grade School Principal Jerry Travelstead said roughly 20 of his students — members of the Scholar Bowl team and Honors Club — were at the zoo on Friday.
Travelstead said that based on reports from those who made the trip, students and chaperones did not know about the bomb threat until after police had intervened.
According to the St. Louis Zoo Web site, the 90-acre zoo located in Forest Park, Mo., attracts 3 million people per year.
Kujawa said as an administrator he would like to know more about the zoo’s policy regarding situations like the one on Friday.
“It’s probably something I need to contact the zoo about,” he said. “If something did happen, what kind of evacuation plan does the zoo have in place?”