Uneasy at Evans

By MARK NEWMAN Courier staff writer

May 10, 2008 12:40 am

— OTTUMWA — Despite some parents and staff feeling “uneasy” about an incident Thursday at Evans Middle School, the principal said he is confident that a safe school environment is being maintained.
“We did have graffiti on a bathroom wall that has been identified as gang-type graffiti,” confirmed Principal Davis Eidahl Friday. “We have pretty severe disciplinary measures for that. It kind of disappointed us because we’d had a good year with a great group of kids.”
Recently, several Ottumwa Police Department officers have been sent for training in identifying gang symbols.
“Our school [police] officer is probably one of the most knowledgeable on that in the community. It’s a great preventative tool; he can identify things quickly before things spread or escalate,” Eidahl said.
The OPD has recently told citizens that gang-type vandalism needs to be erased quickly to keep it from spreading or being answered by other graffiti. And Eidahl said the school resource officer is able to help see such situations are “nipped in the bud” quickly.
The department keeps Officer Darren Batterson stationed at Evans as the school resource officer. Both police officials and school administrators have praised Batterson’s work, especially his ability to spot gang-related graffiti and symbols.
Eidahl said Batterson also has a good rapport with the students. He and a school administrator investigated the incident.
“When you try to find the source of vandalism, you can run in circles for a long time,” Eidahl said. “But our assistant principal (Dan Maeder) got to the bottom of this; within about two hours he had it solved. He’s [also] really established good relations with the kids, and kids will be honest with him.”
Despite Thursday’s incident, Eidahl called the youngsters involved two “good kids” who got into trouble.
Eidahl confirmed the graffiti found in the Evans lavatory used symbols which have traditionally been associated with Hispanic gangs. But this incident does not exemplify the Evans experience, he said. This year has been a particularly good school year, he said.
“The kids we identified yesterday, they’re good kids, and we had an extensive conversation with them,” Eidahl said. “We know where they’re hearts are, and because we know where it came from now, I believe it’s something that’s not a safety issue, not something that’s going to be repeated or escalate. Being there four years, I haven’t always been able to say that.”
In several calls to the Courier, both Evans parents and faculty expressed concerns over safety, as well as worry that gang activity was increasing in the district.
Ottumwa Police Department Lt. Tom McAndrew said the graffiti and discipline of the students are being handled by the school district, not the OPD. He added police are being kept informed about the situation, but are not actively involved at this time.
— Staff writer Matt Milner contributed to this report.