OREGON, Ohio — Vivid memories are lasting after students and community members went through ten terrifying minutes at last week's Clay High School Football game.
"They were screaming for their lives full-fledged,” recalled one parent at the meeting. “I'll never forget the terror in their eyes the adults ripped the gates down."
It’s because of the fear that changes are coming to the remainder of the Clay High School home football games to ensure safety for everyone.
On Wednesday, the school board and superintendent took questions from parents and also laid out their plan for changes to enhance game experiences at a special board of education meeting.
Police say it was a rumor that created panic last week at Oregon's home opener against Waite. Students said they saw a gun and ran for their lives.
"We started to see kids jumping over the fence,” said Hans Giller, an Oregon parent. “It's heartbreaking."
Police found no gun and say there were no shots fired, fights or reports of injury, yet still the terror left a lasting mark on the Oregon City Schools community. That's why they are making changes to their home football games from here out.
"The safety of our kids is paramount and our fans that come out to football games,” explained Oregon City Schools Superintendent Hal Gregory. “Obviously, the situation we went through last Friday was new to us. There was a lot of great discussion tonight that debated a couple of the decisions that were made. We're clearly going to look at those decisions and analyze them and see if they were right or wrong, but in the end, you use the information that you have and you make the best decision you can and we did that. "
A big sticking point for one parent was that the game last Friday proceeded after police gave the all-clear. The game was stopped for a little more than 30 minutes as police searched the stadium.
"How important is the game? When you heard the word gun and listen I don't have nothing against, there was plenty of cops there,” explained one parent at Wednesday’s meeting. “But there's no way you know it's safe in thirty minutes and it isn't worth it."
Gregory said he can't change what happened that night, but they can change how they prepare and they are.
School leaders, police and others have met several times since Friday's game to create a list of changes fans can see this Friday. The changes include:
- Locking and unlocking gates during the game, exit strategy for fans
- Security/personnel at each gate
- Lighting in the north end of the stadium (Student area)
- Increased supervision in the north end of the stadium (Student area)
- External police patrol of stadium and grounds
- Re-entry policy
- Communication for internal game personnel/fire/police
- Limited access to the home side by visiting students and vice versa
Below is a letter and a post from the Oregon City Schools district further outlining protocols to be implemented at Friday's game against Lime Senior:
While some parents raised concerns Wednesday, others at the special board meeting felt they needed to focus on the good moments from the scary night. They shared stories of students recalling their training, helping others exit and going the extra mile after to help their classmates. It’s these moments several wanted to focus on and not point the finger of blame.
"We should be proud of that instead of arguing like we are doing,” said one grandparent at the meeting. “We should look on the positive things and we shouldn't blame Waite High School."
"I'm just really grateful that nothing happened and because of the Alice they knew to run, don’t stand there like a sitting duck, " said one parent whose children followed their years of training.
School leaders said they have also spoken to their students, are providing mental health support and going to offer Alice training for their community so everyone can grow from this unfortunate incident. That's something some parents are thankful for.
"They are immediately saying this is important we have to address it and I can't ask for more from our district," Oregon parent Hans Giller said.
Oregon City Schools also received wand metal detectors that they will now have at their games.
All the changes being made will be given to students ahead of this Friday’s home game as the Eagles take on Lima Senior.
While they have so many plans ready, leaders in Oregon said this conversation is far from over. They want to continue to cultivate these discussions and evolve their process to prove that safety is their top priority.
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