One Robert E. Aylor Middle School student (VA) showed some enthusiasm for show-and-tell, and the next thing you know, hysterical officials were evacuating everyone from the school. Gee, all the kid did was bring a foot-long artillery shell into the classroom:
“Any time you see something like that, you never know the shape or condition it’s in, if it’s a live round or not,” Aylor Principal Donald Williams said. “The student brought it to school to show his civics teacher.”
But before the student reached civics class, another teacher saw the shell — it is nearly a foot long — and notified school administrators. They evacuated the building and called the Frederick County Fire and Rescue Department. Fire and Rescue Capt. Tim Welsh examined the shell and notified the Army.
“We don’t know what this is, so we’re treating it as an explosive,” he said. “We called in the Explosive Ordinance Division of the Army.”
Williams guessed that the shell was used by the Army during World War I.
He said the student would be disciplined for bringing the shell to school, but would not face formal criminal charges. The shell belonged to a relative of the student, Williams said.
Welsh said the shell would not be returned: “This is the property of the Army. He shouldn’t have had it to start with.”
The kid probably shouldn't have opened up the shell on his own the night before, but he did that, too. Such zeal for historical artifacts is touching. Perhaps the kid should consider a career in curating or archeology when he grows up - if he lives that long.
Posted by kswygert at May 12, 2004 06:00 AM