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homerhorizon.com news
the Homer Horizon | October 4, 2018 | 5
From Saturday, sept. 29
Two LTHS freshmen arrested after pellet gun is brought to homecoming dance
Max Lapthorne
Contributing Editor
Two Lockport Township
High School freshmen were
arrested after reports of a gun
being brought to the Saturday,
Sept. 29 LTHS homecoming
dance led to a pellet
gun being discovered off
school grounds, according
to a release issued that same
day by the Lockport Police
Department.
During the dance at approximately
7:45 p.m., one
of the seven Lockport police
officers who were providing
security for the dance was
notified by a student that he
heard there was a student
who brought a gun to the
dance, according to a release
issued by the school district
Monday, Oct. 1. Ten minutes
later, officers located the student
— a freshman at LTHS
— and took him into custody.
At approximately 8:25 p.m.,
30 minutes after being arrested,
the student admitted to
bringing a pellet gun into the
dance and giving it to a second
student when he saw police
searching the fieldhouse.
At approximately 8:45
p.m., a large group of dance
attendees outside the fieldhouse
“became startled and
began rushing for the exit,”
causing several students to
fall on top of one another, according
to the school district’s
release. Lockport Township
High School District 205
Superintendent Todd Wernet
said in a Monday, Oct.
1 phone interview with The
Horizon that the district had
not determined the cause for
the rush of students.
“We’ve heard rumors,
we’ve heard that something
was shouted, but nothing
has been substantiated at this
time,” Wernet said.
While the rush of students
caused some to fall, Wernet
said the district did not directly
receive reports of any
students being injured during
the incident.
“We are concerned about
it, that students possibly were
injured, but we did not have
any reports directly to us of
it,” he said.
Police located the second
student — also an LTHS
freshman — at approximately
8:42 p.m., three minutes
prior to the rush of students,
and arrested him. He
informed police that he had
buried the pellet gun in the
yard of a residence near the
school, and officers were able
to recover the pellet gun.
Neither student reportedly
threatened anyone with the
pellet gun, and it was never
fired, according to the Lockport
Police Department release.
The pellet gun reportedly
was not loaded and did not
have an air cartridge in it, so it
was “not actionable to be discharged,”
according to Wernet.
Several area law enforcement
agencies, including Illinois
State Police District 5,
responded to an “erroneous
report of an active shooter,”
according to the district’s Oct.
1 release. The police department
stated in its release that
there was “never a threat to
students or staff.” The Lockport
Police Department also
noted in a Facebook post from
the evening of Sept. 29 that
officers were at the school
providing extra security at
the dance, though it said that
was a routine practice at most
dances and reiterated it was
not related to any threat.
Shortly after 9 p.m., an
announcement was made to
dance attendees making them
aware that there was an issue,
but “encouraging them
to stay calm and enjoy the remainder
of the dance,” Wernet
said. It was deemed to
be “unmanageable to let the
event continue,” at 9:30 p.m.,
so the dance was ended 30
minutes before its scheduled
conclusion time of 10 p.m.
Phone and email messages
with information about the
incident were sent to LTHS
parents at approximately
9:45 p.m.
The Lockport Police Department
has referred to it as
a “disorderly conduct incident,”
and charges for the two
students are pending within
the juvenile justice system.
They also are facing school
disciplinary action, according
to the LTHS release. The
school is to conduct an investigation
into the incident
before levying a punishment,
Wernet said.
“The alleged behavior
that was involved was serious
misconduct, and if it is
verified as accurate, [the] students
would be facing serious
consequences,” Wernet said.
School counselors and social
workers are to be available
to assist students experiencing
stress or anxiety as a result of
the incident, according to the
LTHS release. The incident is
under investigation, and anyone
with information about it
is asked to contact the Lockport
Police Department.
For more on this and other
Breaking News, visit Homer
Horizon.com.
Homer teen designs, builds arbor for Eagle Scout project
Thomas Czaja, Editor
When the Little Red
Schoolhouse Nature Center
in Willow Springs told Joe
Cryer what they were looking
for, he was quick to set
out to create plans to make
it happen.
Cryer, a Homer Glen resident
and senior at Lockport
Township High School, was
informed the nature center
was looking for something
to bridge a path there for a
water hose, so he decided to
create an aesthetically-pleasing
arbor that could help do
that for them for his Eagle
Scout project.
The 17-year-old is a member
of Troop 63, which has
served Homer Glen, Lockport
and New Lenox since
1966, according to its website.
Together, with several
dozen of his fellow Scouts
aiding him, Cryer went to
the grounds of the Little Red
Schoolhouse Nature Center
Sept. 9 to build the arbor.
“I was really pleased with
how it all turned out,” Cryer
said, “I was never quite sure
how it would all come together,
but when we ended
and stood on the path looking
at it, I was glad how
everybody worked together
and how it ended.”
With the nature center having
live animals and exhibits,
a children’s activity room
and more to go along with
The Little Red Schoolhouse
and its historic past, all ages
will frequently see and walk
under Cryer’s creation.
After reaching out to a
number of places, Cryer
settled on building the arbor,
first drawing out plans for it,
then discussing those plans
with the nature center, the
Troop 63 helps one of its members, Homer Glen resident
and Lockport Township High School senior Joe Cryer
(bottom in middle) build an arbor on Sept. 9 at Little Red
Schoolhouse Nature Center in Willow Springs. Cryer
designed the structure for the nature center for his Eagle
Scout project. Photo submitted
council level of Boy Scouts
and Troop 63 for approval.
Then, he went around and
asked for donations for materials
for the project, but
he and his family ultimately
footed the bill for the project
themselves.
With all the help with its
construction, the project
took roughly six hours to
complete.
Cryer, who joined Cub
Scouts as soon as he could
as a child, said learning so
many skills and getting to
help pass those on to fellow
Scout members, including
with this project, has been
rewarding.
“I’ve acquired so many
different skills I wouldn’t
have gotten anywhere else,”
Cryer said. “It is a blessing
to get some knowledge and
be around people who can
teach you so well.”
As for his future, Cryer
hopes to study chemical engineering
in college, with
the University of Wisconsin-
Madison currently being the
school he is leaning toward.
According to Cryer’s
mother, Barbara, Joe has always
been one to show great
leadership traits and a strong
work ethic.
“Joe always goes above
and beyond,” she said.
“We’re always very proud;
whatever he does, he’s always
trying to make sure he
makes a difference, an impact.
“This particular project is
exactly what we would have
expected from him.”
She also said that Troop
63 gave wonderful support,
and that her son and the
other members have a lot
of camaraderie. With Joe’s
father, Edward, being an
Eagle Scout himself, along
with other family members
having been involved with
the Scouts, it was only natural
for Joe to follow in those
footsteps.
“It was nice putting something
together, creating
something,” Joe said. “Especially
when it is in the community
and other people can
see it and appreciate it.”