Officials: College safety protocol worked
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on May 28, 2015 2:35 PM
At its first board of trustees meeting since the April 13 shooting on campus, Wayne Community College President Dr. Kay Albertson said the institution's safety plan "worked" and later announced the creation of a new position to strengthen security.
Chairman Chris Martin broached the subject about that fateful Monday when students and staff returned to campus after spring break. Ron Lane, a printing technician at the college, was shot and killed by student Kenneth Stancil, who had previously worked with Lane in the print shop.
Law enforcement and emergency services personnel swarmed the campus and remained there for the bulk of the day, securing the scene and investigating the incident. Stancil was later arrested in Florida and extradited back to North Carolina. He is currently jail in Wayne County awaiting trial.
"What a wonderful job I think Kay and all of her staff did after that awful shooting," Mrs. Martin said. "Because it didn't end that day. You have probably still got the FBI here. You've got it tough.
"I want them (staff) to know that we as a a board, how much we appreciate what all you folks did. You handled an awful situation with grace and dignity."
Mrs. Albertson also praised employees at the college.
"I said from the get-go, from the moment it happened, it was no longer in our hands," she said. "But our plan worked -- the employees and the students knew how to go into lockdown and if they didn't, they responded really well.
"There are always uncertainties but they handled the fears and uncertainties. We got through the day and we got through the week and we're on our way to healing."
In the aftermath of the tragic situation, she said efforts were made to keep things as consistent as possible.
"This happened on a Monday. We decided as a team that we were not going to cancel our student recognition ceremony, on Tuesday night (April 14). We believed as a team this was the very best thing we could do," she said, adding, "We have had tremendous positives sent to us from all over the state, even from the nation."
She said in some respects, things have settled down on the campus. She expects, however, "it will all come back" when the trial starts. At the same time, she said, it is always sad to lose an employee -- Lane had worked at the college for 18 years.
"But our (safety) plan worked and we're stronger and we have moved forward and I appreciate all your support and this team's support," she said.
During the personnel report at the meeting, she announced one change of position, effective July 1. Charles Gaylor IV, hired in Aug. 2013 as small business center director, will become risk management compliance officer.
"We have been talking about this for almost two years," she said. "Don (Magoon, chief of administrative services) right now handles the majority of materials and information. All of our plans and reports have become abundant, with Title 9, Title 7, etc. But we also know that given April 13, that there are other huge risks that we need to stay on top of in different ways.
"If there was ever a time to have someone on this campus who could pay attention to all of these documents, all of these materials, now is the time."
She told the board that most schools in the state have moved in this direction and during a recent conference, heard strong arguments justifying the position.
"We're going to send Charles off to a safety conference in July," she said. "He's going to take over our safety piece, guide us through it."