Mayor to implement safe school initiative

KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Retired Stevens Elementary School teacher Kathleen Stiber speaks from the heart about keeping school students safe during a news conference in Williamsport Mayor Gabriel J. Campana’s office, when he announced an initiative for school safety, on Friday morning.
As a retired teacher of second-graders, Kathleen Stiber said her heart is broken.
Stiber was among the officials gathered during a late Friday morning news conference called for by Mayor Gabriel J. Campana at his office.
A friend and confidant of the mayor, Stiber said Campana invited her to share her perspective as he establishes a new school safety initiative and school safety commission in the city.
Williamsport Area School District was not immediately notified of the initiative, Superintendent Dr. Timothy Bowers said.
The retired teacher wants to do her part.
“I want to be part of the solution,” Stiber said. She retired 20 years ago, after spending 31 years teaching.
“Parents, get ahold of your children, and children need to love each other,” Stiber said. “This bullying has got to stop.”
Stiber said she is not in favor of arming teachers with firearms.
“Some of our nation’s schools have become a house of horrors,” Campana said.
The mayor said he wants to schedule a meeting for all Lycoming County residents to take part in. One might be held at 6 p.m. March 7 at the Trade and Transit Centre II, he said.
Campana said he supports having metal detectors in schools, locking doors, assuring mentally ill don’t access firearms, monitoring surveillance and adding guidance counselors.
While police Chief David J. Young was not in attendance at the conference, city Police Lt. Brian Womer stood in support of the mayor’s idea. Also joining the mayor at the conference was city Fire Chief Todd Heckman, who said the department has ongoing safety initiatives with the city school district but can’t talk about them.
Chelsea Myers, city planner, and Joseph Gerardi, city codes administrator, also attended the conference.
From the public, Ron James, executive director of the Williamsport/Lycoming Crime Commission and Jeffrey Reeder, president of the Williamsport Citizens Corps Council, joined the mayor.