By Sgt. David McVey

Cornersville Police Department

Special to the Tribune

The Cornersville Police Department, along with Marshall County School Resource Officer Deputy Mauro Edwards, and Cornersville High School faculty, performed a walk-through active-school-shooter drill at 1 p.m. April 18. The officers watched the students as the Code Red was announced to make sure they did what they had been taught to do. The students were supposed to go to the classroom closest to their location, and then the teacher had to cut the room lights off and lock the door.

All of the officers checked the doors to see if any of them was not locked, and pulled on every door to make sure no one could get in by tugging on them.

This drill was a success. The students now have a better understanding of how to react in an active-shooter scenario. A few deficiencies were found during the drill, and those issues have been addressed.

Principal Bob Edens, members of the police department, and Edwards have been working diligently to formulate a plan to protect the students during a potentially tragic event. This plan will cut down on confusion or panic if such an event occurs.

Cornersville Police Chief Todd Bone has performed several mock runs to the school from different locations throughout town to get precise response times. The Town of Cornersville's Police Department already has personnel trained on High Risk Entry and has scheduled training to get the rest of the department certified.

We are blessed to have faculty that care so much about our children's education and welfare. With the school year winding down, our goals will focus on training and finalizing emergency plans for the start of the new school year in August.

Seniors will be graduating next month, and this is a time to celebrate, but please remember these simple rules: do not drink and drive; do not ride with anyone who has been drinking; and, do not text and drive. If the message is that important, pull over and text or have your passenger text.