Uniontown Area finds bomb dog purchase unnecessary
The Uniontown Area School Board deemed the potential purchase of a bomb-sniffing police dog unnecessary after hearing from the district’s police officer.
At a safety and security committee meeting Monday held in the wake of four bomb threats at district schools this school year, Officer Donald Gmitter told school directors that a Uniontown City Police officer who is the handler of a certified bomb dog will return to duty in November and that the use of his K-9 will be sufficient in the event of any future bomb threats in the district.
Gmitter said he spoke with Uniontown Police Monday to confirm the officer’s return next month after an injury suffered during the summer forced him to miss several months of work.
“It’s just very unfortunate during these incidents he’s been off work and has not been able to assist us,” said Gmitter.
The K-9 has responded to prior bomb threats in the district, as well as to incidents at other local school districts and businesses, he said.
“If he’s on duty, he’s no more than a couple minutes response time away,” Gmitter said.
District Superintendent Dr. Charles Machesky recommended the board hold the meeting after suffering four bomb threats at two district schools during the first month of the school year.
His main concern was over the loss of instructional time during a bomb threat due to the district needing to wait for a bomb dog to be transported from Pittsburgh to conduct a sweep of the building.
Until the Uniontown officer and K-9 return to work next month, the district will continue to rely on the services of K-9 units at the Pittsburgh City Police or the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office in the event of a bomb threat, Machesky said.
Machesky said district police have apprehended and charged the perpetrators in each incident this year. Despite the success rate, Gmitter said Monday there are currently several “blind spots” at multiple schools that are not covered by security cameras.
The board asked Gmitter to submit a list of locations where additional cameras can be placed to increase security and to aid investigations.