Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for April 23, 2008 GUN CONTROL

...or is it classroom control by gun?

Hey, I'm not condoning the actions of Jeremiah Mandrell, but I bet that many of substitute teacher (and regular teacher, and administrator, and teacher aide, and secretary, and custodian, and cook) empathize!!!

Many a school personnel, while mentally counting to ten before responding to the latest incident of verbal abuse by some smart as, uh, aleck student, has contemplated a variation of the following monologue...

"I know what you're thinking...you're thinking, 'Is that gun loaded?' Now, to tell you the truth, I've forgotten myself with all this excitement. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and will blow your head clean off, you gotta ask yourself a question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya?"

"Go ahead, make my day!"

Sure would cut down on referrals and I bet it would raise the hell out of test scores! More "bang" for the education buck...

Oh, well...in my dreams!

Substitute Teacher Brings Gun to School

By Rachel Gartner

FRANKLIN COUNTY-- A substitute teacher faces felony charges in Franklin County after police say he brought a handgun to school. The investigation found that 26-year-old Jeremiah Mandrell kept the pistol in his waistband while he taught class.

It's a law in Illinois: citizens are not allowed to carry a concealed weapon. Its also illegal to have a weapon within 1000 feet of a school zone. Police say Mandrell did both. But this teacher allegedly took the gun right into classrooms.

A sign hangs in the window of the West Frankfort Junior High School: "Warning- School Zone."

"Anytime you're in a school environment, that school is a safe zone and those children need to be safe and protected."

While Superintendent Greg Goins says he stands behind the message. There is a question as to whether one of his substitute teachers, Jeremiah Mandrell, understands its meaning.

"He had concerns that the staff was also gonna be checked, and in his mind, before we could check him, he wanted to come in and disclose that he had the weapon on him."

That's when school officials called the police...

"We arrived on scene, met with the substitute teacher, and began an investigation with him and witnesses."

West Frankfort Police Chief, Jeff Tharp, says that's when he found out this wasn't the first incident involving a gun and Mr. Mandrell. Tharp says just a few days before Mandrell exchanged words with a student while subbing at the High School.

"As a result of this altercation he decided to go to his vehicle and get the pistol out of his vehicle and stick it in the waistband of his pants and carry it there the remainder of the school day."

Goins says he suspects that incident is what led the teacher to bring the loaded 40-caliber pistol into the junior high school.

"I think we're all shocked and very disappointed that, in his mind, he felt like he needed to protect himself, if that's indeed his rationale for having the weapon."

Goins says the school is treating this as an isolated incident. As for Mandrell, he now faces two felony counts of unlawful use of a weapon. If convicted Mandrell's substitute teaching career would be over.

Substitute Teacher Arrested for Bringing Gun to School

By: Arnold Wyrick

WEST FRANKFORT, Ill. - Police say an argument with a student led to the substitute teacher packing a loaded handgun in his waistband at West Frankfort Junior High.

Now 26-year-old Jeremiah Mandrell faces two counts of unlawful use of a weapon.

The story begins at the Frankfort Community High School on Friday. That''s where Superintendent Gregory Goins says Jeremiah Mandrell allegedly got into a confrontation with a student.

Goins says Mandrell tells him he went to his car and got a gun. But no one knew about it at the time. It was found Monday at the junior high school.

"We were doing student safety checks that day and I think he was concerned about that staff was going to be checked as well. And so he basically admitted to having the weapon on his person," Goins said.

Now some parents and students can hardly believe that a substitute teacher would carry a gun into their school.

"What'a guy doing with a gun anyway carrying it around with him. And why does he have it in the school? I don't think it's right," said one parent.

And neither do some students.

"That's serious as far as like especially at the junior high school that's bad," said one student.

"I think it's crazy all the teachers are like always watching the students to have like guns in the school. But they never check the teachers. Like so the teacher could be bringing in guns at any time and going crazy at any time," another student said.

Mandrell's charged with two counts of unlawful use of a weapon.

The superintendent says he won't ever be allowed to teach again in West Frankfort.

"When you talk about having a firearm around children in a school setting, that's not a good career move," Goins said.

Jeremiah Mandrell was in court Tuesday. Right now, a judge is denying a bond for him so he remains behind bars.