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PAGE 6A - THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 20. 2008
16-Year-Old 'Bomber' Gets 3 Years In Prison
By Angela Gary
Andrew Criswell, 16, the
student who took a bomb to
Jackson County Comprehensive
High School in April 2007, was
sentenced Thursday to serve
three years in confinement. He
will continue to be housed at
the youth detention center until
he is 17-years-old. After that, a
hearing will be held to determine
whether he will be moved to
an adult prison to complete his
sentence.
Superior Court Judge Joe
Booth heard from witnesses and
family members for three hours
Thursday morning before sen
tencing Criswell, who did not
testify. District attorney Rick
Bridgeman had asked that the
teenager serve seven years, and
public defender Barry King
asked for a two-year sentence.
Criswell was charged with pos
session of a destructive device,
possession of a destructive
device with intent to intimidate,
false imprisonment and terroris
tic threats and acts.
Judge Booth said Criswell
“made a terrible decision" but
then he made the right decision
when confronted by the sheriff
and by entering a guilty plea. He
surrendered after talking with
Sheriff Stan Evans.
“I do not believe he intended to
hurt anyone," Judge Booth said.
“I believe it was a cry for help."
The judge also sentenced
Criswell to 15 years proba
tion. He will be banned from
the Piedmont Judicial Circuit,
which includes Jackson, Barrow
and Banks counties, while he is
on probation. Criswell will also
receive mental health evaluation
and treatment.
“That gives him the best chance
... and meets the concerns of the
state," the judge said.
After the sentencing, Criswell’s
father said he was pleased that
his son will be given the opportu
nity to complete his high school
education while at the YDC.
“Andrew has had a harsh life,"
Mr. Criswell said. “He had harsh
home conditions. I love my son. I
haven’t always provided the best
environment for my son. I think
the judge took all that in consid
eration ... I love my son. I want
the best for him."
Mr. Criswell said his son is
sorry for the taking the bomb to
school.
“Andrew is very sorry for what
he did," he said. “It was a cry for
help. People need to understand
that. He was sick. It wasn’t an
act of malice. It was a cry for
help ... Even though Andrew isn’t
mature, he is very highly intel
ligent. Andrew is really smart.
He was reading college books
when he was in sixth grade.
Intelligence and maturity are two
different things. When you are 15
and don’t know how to cope with
your problems, you don’t see the
outcome."
Witnesses Called
Bridgeman called three wit
nesses to testify, including school
superintendent Shannon Adams.
Adams talked about the impact
of the bomb scare on the school
system.
“That day, just about everybody
did the right thing," he said. “Even
though things went well, the com
munity confidence was shaken."
Pat Stueck, the principal
at JCCHS when the incident
occurred, also testified on the
impact to the school.
'We need to send
a clear and strong
message that it
is not acceptable
for students and
faculty not to be
safe/
— Dr. Pat Stueck, former
principal, Jackson County
Comprehensive High
School.
“It looked like a crime scene,"
she said. “It did not look like a
public school... It took us a while
to recover ... What they (par
ents and students) thought would
never happen happened.”
King asked Stueck what the
sentence should be. The princi
pal didn’t specify a number of
years that Criswell should serve
in confinement but she did say
“there should be consequences"
for his actions.
“We need to send a clear and
strong message that it is not
acceptable for students and fac
ulty not to be safe," she said. “I
want to ensure that our schools
are safe. I want to send a very
strong message about that.
Schools are for teaching and
learning. They should not be
crime scenes ... I think there
should be a severe consequence."
Jefferson police chief Joe
Wirthman testified on the impact
to the city of Jefferson, where
traffic was shut down as parents
attempted to pick up their stu
dents at the civic center.
“It shut down the city," he said.
The police chief was also asked
what he thinks the sentence
should be.
“If we don’t set the bar high, we
will have someone else who will
believe they can get away with it
too," he said.
King called three witnesses,
including Dr. Harvey Gayer, an
Athens psychologist who evaluat
ed Criswell after the incident. The
doctor said Criswell was “pretty
fragile" when he talked with him.
He added that the action was a
result of the teenager’s inability to
cope with his life.
“He had a lot of responsibility
on his shoulders," he said. “He
was having a hard time dealing
with it."
He added that Criswell was
a “social outcast" who had a
history of being “taunted." He
also served as the caregiver for
three young siblings. Gayer said
Criswell suffers from “multiple
clinical disorders."
“It was his way to escape an
overwhelming burden of stress,"
he said. “... It was a terrible mis
take. It was a colossal screw-up
on his part."
The psychologist said the sev
en-year sentence recommended
by the district attorney “seems
extreme for a child with mental
illness."
'Seven years
seems like overkill
... I'm worried
that he would be
extremely victim
ized and might
not survive an
adult prison.'
— Dr. Harvey Gayer, psy
chologist
“Seven years seems like over
kill," he said. “... I’m worried that
he would be extremely victim
ized and might not survive an
adult prison."
Bridgeman asked the doctor
whether or not the “dead-man
switch" on the bomb showed an
intent on Criswell’s part to harm
others.
“This was all about trying to
escape overwhelming stress," he
said.
Criswell’s aunt, Marjorie Snow,
who is now the guardian of the
three younger Criswell children,
testified on the conditions at the
home.
“It wasn’t a livable situation,"
she said through tears. “It wasn’t
clean. It wasn’t warm ... There
were rats in the home. There
were roaches in the home."
The third witness called by King
was Chuck Yeater, the JCCHS
ROTC instructor. Criswell was
in the first-year ROTC program.
Yeater said he never had a disci
plinary problem with Criswell.
“He was very quiet," he said.
Family Members Speak
Two family members asked
for leniency in the sentencing.
Criswell’s grandmother said the
teenager is a “victim of circum
stances."
“From the time he was a tod
dler, he has taken responsibil
ity (for the younger siblings),"
she said. “... Andrew is not a
violent person. It seemed like
everything Andrew believed in
and trusted was taken away from
him. Andrew is a victim. They
(the parents) are the ones who
need to be punished ... I don’t
think sending Andrew to an
adult prison will do any good. I
don’t think he would survive ... I
ask for your understanding. I ask
for your mercy."
An uncle, who lives in South
Carolina, said that Criswell could
live with him when released. He
is a minister and worked 10 years
in law enforcement.
“I would do anything I could,"
he said.
School Board Finalizes Staff
For Gum Springs Elementary School
County Committee Trying
To Prepare For Flu Pandemic
By Kerri Testement
The administrative staff for the
new Gum Springs Elementary
School (GSES) in West Jackson
has been finalized.
On Monday, Feb. 11, the
Jackson County Board of
Education named Joy Cook and
Susie Walker as assistant prin
cipals of instruction at GSES,
which is located next to West
Jackson Middle School.
Cook is currently an EIP teach
er at West Jackson Intermediate
School and Walker is the instruc
tional coordinator of the county
school system.
Several months ago, the school
board named Alisa Hanley as
principal of GSES, which will
open for the 2008-2009 school
year. Hanley is also principal of
WJIS.
Diane Carr, assistant principal
at WJIS, was named as principal
of WJIS for the next school year
by the BOE last month.
The Jackson County Board of
Education also approved a num
ber of other personnel chang
es during its meeting Monday.
Those changes include:
New Hires
Melissa Chancey, child care
professional (80 percent),
Gordon Street Center (GSC);
Crystal Mitchell, custodian,
Jackson County Comprehensive
High School (JCCHS); and James
Thomas, custodian, JCCHS.
Transfers
The following transfers will be
effective during FY 2009: Resa
Brooksher, kindergarten teach
er, South Jackson Elementary
School (SJES) to assistant prin
cipal for instruction, SJES; Jamie
Hitzges, third grade teacher,
Maysville Elementary School
(MES) to assistant principal for
instruction, WJIS.
Resignations For
End Of School Year
The following registrations will
be effective at the end of the
2007-2008 school year: Ward
Allen, health and PE teacher,
West Jackson Middle School
(WJMS); Ashley Allredge, fourth
grade teacher, MES; Erin Bailey,
English teacher, East Jackson
Comprehensive High School
(EJCHS); Cynthia Clark, fifth
grade teacher, North Jackson
Elementary School (NJES);
Makeba Clark, eighth grade
teacher, Kings Bridge Middle
School (KBMS); Meghan
Driggers, special education
teacher, Benton Elementary
School (BES); Frances Gay,
first grade teacher, BES; and
Veronica Harrell, paraprofes-
sional, EJES.
Also, Melissa Haynes, parapro-
fessional, KBMS; Galynn Hunt,
kindergarten paraprofessional,
West Jackson Primary School
(WJPS); Marylynne Leoncavallo,
special education teacher,
KBMS; Joe Miller, special edu
cation paraprofessional, NJES;
Gail Paulson, special education
teacher, WJIS; Renee Plaisance,
counselor (40 percent), NJES;
Franklin Roberts, custodian,
NJES; Ginger Snow, special edu
cation teacher, JCCHS; Sarah
Stark, math teacher, EJCHS;
and Wendy Weigleign, kinder
garten teacher, SJES.
Other Resignations
The following resignations
were also approved: Cindy
Hawks, special education para
professional, BES, effective Jan.
21; Darlene McClure, bus driv
er, MES, effective Jan. 14; and
Shelly Dickinson, elementary
math support teacher, system-
wide.
Retirements
The following retirements
were approved for the end of
the 2007-2008 school year: Jerri
Bailes, art teacher, JCCHS;
Joyce Barnett, media paraprofes
sional, East Jackson Elementary
School (EJES); Bob Covi, school
psychologist, system-wide;
Gloria Dyer, special education
teacher, WJPS; Chris Embrick,
science teacher, JCCHS; Pam
Evans, social studies teacher,
JCCHS; and Janet Thomas, EIP
teacher, BES.
Also, Deborah Riddleberger,
science support specialist,
system-wide, was approved for
retirement.
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The Jackson County
Pandemic Planning Committee
is working to develop a plan to
deal with pandemic influenza
should it occur.
As part of the planning
process the committee has
researched the history of pan
demic flu outbreaks, including
the following:
•There were three influenza
pandemics in the United States
in the 20th century, the most
serious of which was the influ
enza pandemic of 1918-1919.
•In America, over 675,000
people died from that pan
demic; 20 million worldwide
died. That pandemic occurred
in three waves; future flu pan
demics are expected to occur
in waves.
• In Georgia, state authorities
were overwhelmed as influen
za cases mounted.
•In Atlanta, the city coun
cil closed all public gather
ing places for two months;
schools, libraries, churches,
theaters and other places were
closed.
•The University of Georgia
stopped classes for two
months.
• Some towns had even more
severe restrictions, requiring
all places of business to have
adequate ventilation, requiring
all people to sneeze and cough
in their handkerchiefs, and
mandating quarantines of all
sick people and their families.
•There was a serious short
age of health care workers;
often, hospitals had to be
staffed by students nurses and
doctors for entire shifts.
•Economic effects: tele
phone services were halted
because operators were ill.
Garbage went uncollected as
garbage men were sick. Mail
was not delivered because too
many postal workers were
sick. State and local health
departments suffered high
absentee rates. Funeral parlors
ran out of caskets and bodies
were uncollected in morgues.
Claims against life insurance
skyrocketed, some compa
nies reporting a 745 percent
increase. Many small business
es went bankrupt.
• With the next influenza pan
demic on the scale of the pan
demic of 1918-1919, according
to the CDC County Projections
Tool, in Jackson County, with a
population of 55,778, estima
tions call for over 300 deaths,
over 1,000 hospitalizations,
and almost 17,000 sick. Many
more people will be unavail
able to work or provide ser
vices because they will be at
home, caring for sick loved
ones.
Sources: pandemicflu.gov and
the cdc.gov.
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