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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday April 6, 2007 - 3 Police downplay WOSS washroom graffiti Writing in washroom not deemed to be threatening By Krissie Rutherford OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Two messages found in a boy's bathroom at White Oaks Secondary School Tuesday are so mild that police are hesitating to classify them as threats. The incident is being treated as mischief and a defacement of school property, says Halton Regional Police spokesperson Peter Payne. "There is no cause for alarm," he told The Oakville Beaver on Wednesday. "What this is, is a very, very mild threat, if you will. I hate to even call it a threat." But in the wake of a serious threat issued less than two months ago at Iroquois Ridge High School, media ­ mainly CH News ­ descended on White Oaks on Wednesday to investigate the situation. Payne says media outlets were notified of the messages after a student found them and told a parent, who then told the media without first notifying the school's principal or another official. "It's unfortunate that happened," said Payne, who added it publicized something police "are not even willing to categorize as a situation." School carried on as usual on Wednesday, with the only difference being news vans parked in one of the school's lots and the presence of a Halton Police liaison officer investigating the scene and dealing with the "mischief aspect" and the defacement of property in the washroom, said Payne. When asked whether she'd seen anything unusual going on at the school that day, a student told The Oakville Beaver "Something was written," but she didn't know any other details. The two messages were found in different areas of a boy's washroom in White Oaks on Tuesday afternoon. Police say the author is the same and is believed to be a student at the school. The fact that it was found in the washroom and was likely written by a student are the only things this incident has in common with the threat issued in late February at Iroquois Ridge. The Iroquois threat named a particular day in which its author would harm students at the school. The messages found at White Oaks, Payne says, don't compare. "It is not what we could categorize as a message we have attributed any need for concern to," he said. A letter from the Halton District School Board detailing what happened at White Oaks was sent home with students to make parents aware of why media were at the school on Wednesday, Payne said. Police were notified of the incident after the vice principal contacted them Tuesday afternoon when the messages were found. ...Redefine Your Living Space We design and build Bathrooms . Kitchens . Basements FAMILY OWNED & RATED OPE More than 20 years of experience 198 Speers Road, Oakville 905-845-9675