Copy of an email sent Oct. 2, 2015, to Troup County Board of Education members, school system attorney John Taylor and John Radcliffe, assistant superintendent of operations:

Board members and others,

I had planned on writing this email Tuesday, but said to myself, “Why bother? I have sent a similar email in the recent past, and there have been no improvements.” However, due to the incident yesterday in Oregon at Umpque Community College where 10 students were killed, I decided to try once again.

I carried something Tuesday to LHS for my granddaughter. Front doors were unlocked, so I simply walked in. The only folks who saw me were students at their lockers down the hall. I took my envelop to the office and handed it over.

I then walked back into the hallway and took several minutes to text my granddaughter. No one ever asked me what I was doing. The point is, I could have been a maniac with a gun, and no one would have seen me or questioned me until it was too late, nor would any metal detector have gone off.

I have always been pooh-poohed whenever I have commented on insufficient security at our schools, but I can show any of you that I am correct if you are interested. In my prior email this past winter, I mentioned the lack of security at the two schools that I visited, LHS and WRES (Whitesville Road Elementary School). Nothing has changed. We do have a lack of security at some, if not all, of our schools. I would hate to have innocent blood on my hands while pretending that such a tragedy as the one yesterday could not happen locally.

By the way, the metal detectors that the taxpayers did purchase are stored away in closets at most, if not all, schools.

I hope and pray that you as a board will seriously look into our lack of securing the safety of our students, teachers and others at all of our schools.

Thanks,

Tommy Callaway

LaGrange