Mountaineer Middle School was placed on a “working lockdown” at the height of that police standoff Tuesday afternoon on North Willey Street.
That was the word from Mon Schools Superintendent Eddie Campbell Jr., who discussed it briefly during a Board of Education meeting later that evening.
“The kids were safe the whole time,” he said. “The lockdown meant that we weren’t letting anybody come in.”
Mountaineer Middle sits up from North Willey on Price Street.
The situation was resolved when a suspect who had barricaded himself in a house surrendered to police and was arrested.
The district, Campbell said, is also dealing with the possible arrival of the coronavirus, which has confirmed cases in neighboring states, but none in West Virginia — yet.
Chromebooks and digital lesson plans are already set up for distance learning, should Mon Schools be forced to close, he said.
For now, the district will also watch in coming days as WVU students embark for spring break to beachfront locales and other places that could mean a risk of bringing the virus to Morgantown.
The board, meanwhile, also helped honor a quartet of students from Morgantown High School who have been recognized nationally for their outreach by Prudential Financial, a financial services operation.
Angela Liu, an MHS junior, received Prudential’s Spirit of Community Award for her efforts in organizing a bone marrow transplant awareness campaign, which benefits people suffering from leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cancers.
Such patients need such transplants for their survival, she said.
“Without a transplant, they have less than a 10 percent chance of survival,” said Liu, who reported that her campaign is already adding people to local registry lists.
Her recognition also includes a $1,000 and trip to Washington, D.C., where she’ll meet with other honorees from across the country.
Classmate Nicole Liang was also singled out for her work at On Eagle’s Wings, an equine therapy facility in Fairmont which uses horseback riding in the medical regimens of the clients it serves.
“It’s so special for them,” said Liang, who wants to become a physician.
Prudential also lauded MHS students Kermina Abdelsayed and Annalisa Echard, for their “significant hours” of volunteer service to their school and community.
TWEET @DominionPostWV
