Investigation into student threats at CHS still open

By Julie Fann
star staff
jfann@starhq.com

   An investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Carter County Sheriff's Department into two threatening notes found in the hallways of Cloudland High School in November and December 2003 is still open but no progress has been made, Carter County Sheriff John Henson said Tuesday.
   "The investigation by the TBI and our department is still open, but no charges have been made yet. Michael Carlock (CHS resource officer) said they haven't been able to do anything since school is out for summer," Henson said.
   In March, Henson said the TBI and CCSD officers were studying handwriting in the notes that were found.
   "The TBI has a specialist who's studying handwriting samples. The method they use is supposed to be 98 or 99 percent effective in confirming for sure who the handwriting belongs to," Henson said at that time. Yesterday, Henson said that, as far as he knows, the handwriting analysis still isn't complete.
   A student found the first note on the hallway floor near lockers in November around the Thanksgiving holiday and turned it in to school staff. Approximately two weeks later, another note was found, according to school officials. Henson said the notes physically threatened other students, teachers, and Resource Officer Michael Carlock.
   Cloudland Principal Roger Hollifield suspended the student who wrote the first note, a male seventh grader who confessed to writing the note but then later withdrew his confession. According to Hollifield, the student will be able to return to school this coming academic year. But school staff believe the student didn't act alone.
      "We think there were others involved and that's why the investigation is still open. I don't think it was anything serious. I think it was more of a bad joke the way it started off," Hollifield said in March, adding that he thought anywhere from six to 12 other students may have been involved.
      Henson would not release the name of the student who was suspended or names of others who were threatened besides Carlock.
      School officials and police are still trying to determine a motive, but most agree with Hollifield that the student and/or students weren't aware of the seriousness of their actions.
      "I don't know what would have led them to do this. Carlock indicated that the one student there who they knew for sure had written the note was in the DARE program and he was a really good kid. He (Carlock) couldn't figure out why the kid would have done that and it surprised him," Carter County Schools Superintendent Dallas Williams said.
      Williams and Hollifield both said they weren't aware of any kind of hostile environment at the school and said the school regularly holds character development seminars that involve bringing in guest speakers.