Ilion High School - Class of 1974

Source pdf file is here Herkimer NY Evening Telegram 1973 03042.pdf on fultonhistory.com

Boards Probe Ilion Brick Toss Incident

By Bob Kelder

ILION - The recent local brick-throwing incident involving a school bus sparked off a long discussion by the Ilion Central School Board of education last night, concluding with formation of a committee to come up with potential solutions.

George Anderson, board president, named the following the boards building and grounds committee, Herman Stubley, is chairman, and Miss Shirley Hoeschele is a member, along with Jon Fifield, board member.

Also named to the committee were Leo Sammon Jr., high school principal, and the Student Council president. Anderson named himself and Schools Superintendent James Dunn as ex-officio members.

The committee will seek suggestions and alternatives that will block off any possible repetition of the Friday night brick-throwing incident in which five Westmoreland High School girls were injured.

The girls were cut by shattered glass at about 10:20 pm. Friday when a spectator bus was the target of bricks thrown by a crowd standing on the west side of Otsego Street The bus was returning students to Westmoreland after a basketball game at Ilion High School.

The five girls were treated for glass cuts, but were at their Westmoreland classes this week Clifford Baker, supervising principal, said the injuries were not serious and none retained any bandages.

The committee formed last night will consider alternatives to night sports, such as possibly daylight games. Meanwhile, the plan during current night sports is to call police before the end of the game.

The discussion indicated that school officials and Ilion police have determined that the throwers are currently registered in the school, and the investigation is continuing.

Dunn, who after the incident, urged students to come forth with information concerning the attack, told the board the school will enforce "appropriate discipline in the matter.

"It happened off school grounds, but we have a moral obligation and responsibility here," Dunn said "We intend to follow it up."

Stubley commented, "The board has the power to bring these persons to trial, so it won’t happen again. It will happen time and time again unless the school board and village board act."

Stubley said he would advocate giving students the chance to submit the names of the guilty ones. "And if not, we should curtail activities at the school. Someone could have been killed. We are concerned, the mayor is concerned." He added that the incident was pre-meditated, which made it worse.

Dunn said he felt "it would not be appropriate to punish the whole student body" by curtailing activities He pointed out there are few recreation activities available "and 99 per cent of the events are well conducted and well chaperoned". He said incidents usually happen afterward, but have never been on the scale of the Friday incident.

Dunn added that although he would not advocate curtailing of events because it would reduce student morale, he said that he "would agree that there should be total community action" to see that it never happens again.

Stubley asked that a report be ready by the next meeting to see what action should be taken next.

Dunn said that Sammon and the Student Council have sent letters of apology to Westmoreland. The basketball game was a non-league event.