The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday February 24, 2007 - 11 Classes quiet Friday at Iroquois Ridge High School By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Friday, Feb. 23 -- the date an unknown individual threatened to harm students at Iroquois Ridge High School -- passed without incident although a significant number of students did not attend classes. Last Tuesday a threatening message was found in the men's washroom of the school promising, what many students said, a mass shooting for Friday. This was not the case. "There were no incidents at all at the school," said Sgt. Peter Payne, Halton Regional Police Public Affairs Officer. "We had security measures in place and it was a normal day of school for the kids, or as normal as one would expect given that there was so much attention brought to them and the school environment." School attendance however, was anything but normal with only about a quarter of students coming to class. "Nobody's really in there, it's empty," said Brandon Alderson, Grade 9. "I had six people in my first class so we combined classes and then we had nine." Alderson noted that the usual class complement is 28. Jillian Reynolds, Grade 9, also noticed a reduced number of classmates yesterday. "There's like no one in my class," she said. "My drama class had like five people in it out of a class of like 30." Many of the attending students said they did not believe the author of the threatening message was serious about what he wrote. "To be honest I think it's just somebody being stupid or pulling a prank or wanting a day off or something like that," said Robert Noseworthy, Grade 11. Noseworthy says his parents allowed him to go to school after reading the letter that the school released on the matter. "My parents got the note that informed them that the students are very safe here and everything is protected so they had faith in the school to let me go today," he said. The media attention that had surrounded the school when the message was found returned yesterday with vans from CityNews and Global News parked in front of the school. Broadcasting antennas stretched high into the clear blue sky. One good thing that came out of this potentially frightening day was an Oakville restaurant owner who delivered free food to the officers inside the school who in turn shared it with the students. "There was quite a nice little informal gathering at the lunch hour in the school and the kids enjoyed some cheeseburgers and pop," said Payne. "If there was anything positive that came out of this it was that the police officers and the students had a very nice experience at lunch." The police are continuing to investigate by interviewing witnesses in an effort to discover the identity of the message writer. Payne explained that criminal charges could be laid against the individual, but says that's not the only possible outcome. "If it is determined to be a young man that is calling for some attention because they're feeling some distress and it would be more appropriately dealt with through either counselling or some form of medical intervention then that's the route we'll go," he said. etaway? G l a c i p ro T a ng i n JAS has a fabulous selection n Pla of new spring sandals and flats to slide into your suitcase. shoes handbags&more 350 Lakeshore Rd. E. (In Downtown Oakville) www.jasshoes.ca 905.845.8983 Mon.-Wed. & Sat. 10am-6pm, Thurs. & Fri. 10am-8pm, Sunday 12pm-4pm Cabinet Refacing With A Lifetime Limited Material Warranty BEFORE We can transform your existing cabinets with new doors and laminate in your choice of style & colour. Select complimentary hardware & have the kitchen of your dreams. AFTER No Payments, No Interest for 6 Months O.A.C. Visit our showroom or call for your FREE In Home Consultation 1313 Speers Road, Oakville · 905-847-8964 Mon. - Fri. 9am-5pm, Sat. 10am-4pm www.granitetransformations.ca