Ridge Students Back In School After Bomb Threat Is Found To Be A Hoax

At about 11:40 a.m. Thursday, Ridge Middle School was evacuated because of a bomb threat at the school, according to the Mentor Schools web site.

Mentor Police, along with school officials and a bomb-sniffing canine from Geauga County Sheriff's Office, searched the school and found it to be safe.

During the search, Ridge students were bussed to neighboring Brentmoor Elementary School. They have since been bussed back and can be picked up from their normal locations at their regular dismissal time.

This is the second bomb threat to occur at the district this week.

On Tuesday, a student who is suspected of writing a threat on the wall at Memorial Middle School and causing the bomb scare was arrested and charged with inducing panic.

That scare turned out to be a hoax. The school was searched as a safety precaution and no weapon was found.

Friday morning, the district will be hosting assemblies at all three of its middle schools -- Memorial, Ridge and Shore -- to talk about the seriousness of making threats to students' safety, district spokeswoman Kristen Kirby said.

A similar announcement will also be at Mentor High School.

Mentor Schools Superintendent Matthew Miller posted a letter on the district's web site addressing this week's bomb threats.

As you know, two hoax bomb threats have been reported at Mentor Schools’ buildings this week. These threats not only cause a major disruption to the learning process and school day, they also waste time and resources of our local law enforcement, fire and emergency officials

With your help we would like to remind all of our students of how serious these threats are and that they will not be tolerated. Students who are caught making threats will not only face the most serious consequences possible by the school district including expulsion, but will likely face criminal charges as well. A charge of inducing panic, for example, is a second degree felony.

As we are in this together, tomorrow morning we will make announcements at the three middle schools and the high school to repeat this message to students. I am sure you join me in feeling disappointed that this is necessary, as most of our students attend school with the desire to learn. But, we cannot stress enough that these behaviors are serious, will be punished, and must stop.