No explosives found after investigation into bomb threat at Alfred-Almond

By Jeff Cole
Evening Tribune
Posted Jan 06, 2013 @ 07:26 PM

ALMOND —

An investigation into a bomb threat at Alfred-Almond Central School came up empty Friday.

Robert Rinfrette, deputy sheriff of the Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Office's K-9 division, said New York State Police and his unit conducted an hour-long sweep of the elementary school, which had received a bomb threat from an unknown source at around 1 p.m.

"We did a sweep with one dog and we didn't find anything," he said.

Superintendent Richard Calkins said the school and police were unable to quickly determine if the threat was a hoax and noted the school district immediately put its bomb-threat procedures into place. It then performed a sweep of the high school's gymnasium to determine if the location was safe to take the students to.

"We immediately instituted our emergency go-home-early drill," Calkins said.

Shortly after the threat was made, the school sent out an emergency broadcast to notify parents of the situation. Students, accompanied by teachers, evacuated to the gymnasium and were transported home by either school buses or by parents.

"Everybody's home. Everybody's safe," Calkins said.

Calkins said students will resume classes Monday.

"The school is safe. There is nothing in the building," he said.

Amity- and Bath-based state police and the K-9 unit responded to the incident. The Almond Volunteer Fire Department was on standby for about two hours.

The investigation is ongoing, according to state police, who would not comment Friday on whether they had any suspects or made any arrests. Calkins said Cattaraugus County's K-9 division had to be brought in because it was the nearest unit that had a bomb-sniffing dog.

Earlier Friday, Alfred Village Police put out an alert that an armed robbery took place at Community Bank at 39 N. Main St. in Alfred. Calkins said he was unsure if the two incidents were connected.

He did, however, laud multiple parties for their efforts in the bomb threat.

"I really appreciate the law enforcement responding to this from as far away as Cattaraugus County. They were wonderful," he said. "The state police were super. Our staff members, bus drivers, support staff, teachers and administration were absolutely wonderful and efficient in making sure that our kids are safe and got home and we have a very understanding and supportive community."

Calkins added, "It's times like these you certainly realize what a great area and what a great school district we're in."