There was a time in the good old days when at this time of the year if you were a senior in high school, then it was your turn to be part of a traditional prank. You did this knowing full well there would be penalties and that you would have to deal face-to-face with your parents and your principal, which in itself was usually punishment enough.

The pranks that were performed in those good old days, like food fights, hooking school to go to the beach or breaking school dress codes, did not harm anyone.

The events at Columbine High 10 years ago caused a change in this country; it spawned fear and an outbreak of violent behavior in people young and old.

In many instances today simple pranks are apparently not thrilling enough.

Last Tuesday we received a call from the sheriff's department informing us that there had been a small explosion of some kind at Alcovy High School. We immediately published the information we received on our Web site for the residents of the county that there was a possible incident at Alcovy and that school had been placed on lockdown.

The school administration immediately denied that this was the case. Saying only the principal could declare a lockdown situation.

Later the sheriff's department talked to us and said that there had been an incident in the commons area of the school and that particular area was now cordoned off so deputies could perform a crime scene investigation. We updated our Web site to reflect that information.
Fortunately, the scare turned out to be a bottle that had ruptured because of a mixture of chemicals placed inside of it.

The school administration released nothing to us concerning this incident. They did, for the rest of the day through their public relations person, deny that any section of the school was "locked down" and that the loud noise was caused by the top popping off a Coke bottle.

We have nothing but praise and respect for the school resource officers and the sheriff's deputies led by Sheriff Ezell Brown, who also responded to the situation. Their quick response to the school, their thorough investigation and their quick response to get information out to the community has resulted in the arrest of the two teens suspected of causing the panic.