Photo by Lee Pulaski/Lake Powell Chronicle A Page Police Department sport utility vehicle sitting in the parking lot at Lake View Elementary School on Friday indicates the presence of officers keeping an eye on the school during a “soft lockdown.”

PAGE – Political remarks from the parent of a kindergarten student caused schools in the Page Unified School District to undergo a soft lockdown late last week.

Alleged comments made by an angry father who didn’t want his son listening to President Barack Obama’s speech included a reference to 9-11 that some Lake View Elementary School personnel perceived as a possible threat.

Contacting the Page Police Department, the district sent out an automated message informing parents that the elementary schools would be under soft lockdown immediately.

“We couldn’t really pin down what was said and who said it,” said Page P.D. Capt. Ray Varner. “It was something about 9-11 and since 9-11 was coming around, we thought we’d have a soft lockdown.”

As a result, approximately 300 children didn’t attend Lake View Elementary School on Friday as parents panicked, thinking it was a bomb threat.

“The automated system called parents and they got upset,” Varner said. “Citizens started calling the police and the city concerned it was a bomb threat. The district asked we put an officer in both elementary schools and the FBI called Friday afternoon wanting to know if we needed help with the bomb threat. We had to tell them that there wasn’t a bomb threat.

“I guess a parent felt the school and the police weren’t doing enough so they called the FBI. That’s how out of hand it got.”

In addition to the automated telephone system calling the homes of students, the children were given a letter to take home to their parents explaining the reason for the soft lockdown.

“Although this is not believed to be a serious threat, it’s better to err on the side of caution,” Superintendent Jim Walker said in the letter.

In an interview Monday, Walker is now encouraging parents to send their children back to school.

“It was an isolated incident and it’s safe to send your children back to school,” Walker said. “We are back to normal and it’s business as usual.”

Page Police Chief Charles Dennis, who spent time reading to some of the children during the soft lockdown, doesn’t know where the feared bomb threat came from.

“This was a good proactive move by the school district,” Dennis said. “The precautionary measures taken were appropriate even though they didn’t believe it to be a serious threat.”

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