CREEDE— Mineral County Commissioners opened a discussion pertaining to county and school safety during their meeting on March 5. The topic was brought to their attention by school board member Jeremy McComas who wanted the county’s help in securing the outside of the school by placing boulders and berms along the outside perimeter of the school. Commissioners had planned on meeting with McComas separately, but due to a scheduling change discussed the proposed project without McComas.

Road and Bridge Supervisor Danny Rogers was present during the conversation because the county would help with the project by supplying the equipment needed to place boulders along the outside of the school. The boulders would create a kind of barrier for student safety. Commissioners explained that the project would involve some digging and boulder placement and asked Rogers what he thought of the preliminary plans supplied by McComas.

In a letter to commissioners from the Creede School it explained the basis of the project and what they would need from the county. “The Creede School District is approaching the Mineral County government to help with the placement of boulders and berm construction in and around the school campus. This project will add to the safety and security of our school while maintaining aesthetics.”

The plan is comprised of completing the placement of boulders and berm construction in phases beginning with the playground. The letter explains that the playground is used by students several times throughout the day and by randomly placing boulders throughout the playground area would increase the safety of students from possible outside threats. The letter was accompanied by a map of the campus showing highlighted areas where the berm and boulders would be placed.

Commissioner Chairman Scott Lamb opened the conversation stating that though this is a difficult conversation to have, it is one that needs to be discussed. “This is a gruesome conversation to have, but it is one that we need to have,” said Lamb. He also stated that the need to increase school safety has been discussed by school officials for a while now, and though recent events have occurred in states like Florida, it was not what started the conversation.

“I know that Jeremy has been working on this for some time prior to recent events that have happened over the last several months. It would be ignorant of us to ignore the conversation because it is difficult to talk about,” said Lamb.

The school is currently looking for boulders to place along the perimeter of the school and is asking that anyone who has boulders on their property that they do not want to call the school to make a donation. “One thing we do not lack in Mineral County is boulders. We have some fairly good-sized ones that would work,” said Rogers.

Commissioner Jesse Albright made a motion to help with the project by supplying boulders, equipment and man hours to help dig the berms around the school. “This would be a great project for the summer in order to have it finished by the time school starts in the fall,” said Albright. Commissioners passed the motion and asked Rogers to get in touch with the school to get the project scheduled