
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, November 1, 1994                   TAG: 9411010073
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: MELISSA DeVAUGHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PEARISBURG                                 LENGTH: Short

BRINGING GUN BRINGS LONG SUSPENSION

Two Giles High freshmen were suspended for the rest of the school year Friday after bringing a gun to school with the intention of showing and selling it to other students.

The boys, 14 and 15, concealed a pistol in a duffel bag and carried it to school Oct. 19; school officials did not learn about it until two days later. Assistant Superintendent Jim Wheeler said the boys did not intend to use the gun for violent purposes, but it did not lessen the severity of the offense. "We just cannot tolerate any type of weapons like this in our schools," he said last week.

Superintendent Robert McCracken said the suspension, which had been set for 10 days before it was extended, means the two boys will not be allowed to attend any Giles County school until next fall. "Each school district probably has its own policy," McCracken said Monday. The boys may be able to attend school out of the county if they receive special permission, he said.

A hearing between the students and their parents and administrators was held Friday. Wheeler said school officials confirmed that the gun had not been stolen from another residence. "The best we can determine is that the pistol actually came from one of the boys' fathers and the boy just didn't tell him," Wheeler said Monday. "The parents were very concerned about this, but the boys, as far as saying they were sorry, I'm not too sure they were. Their intent all along was to get as much money as they could out of the deal."

by CNB