Saginaw County sheriff adds extra patrols around schools - ABC 12 – WJRT – Flint, MI

(12/21/12) - In Saginaw County, most districts remained open Friday.

To help ease the nerves of students and their parents, the Saginaw County sheriff had extra patrols around the schools.

There were eight additional patrol officers patrolling around the school districts. Their presence gave parents some relief.

When we drove around Saginaw County, we saw several patrol officers around the one place that's been a concern for parents like Marion Meacham.

"We do need to be concerned. It's a huge issue that we can't feel safe to send our kids to school, and so with the police around, with the parents, the community, I think we're going to be OK," she said.

Officers spent the day in Carrollton, Zilwaukee, Merrill, Hemlock and Saint Charles School Districts.

"It's in a response to not only the uptick in bomb threats. Also it has to do with the specter of the minds predicting the end of world. People do get a little crazy when things like that are predicted. Glad to report we have no incidents of unusual behavior. Everything, a nice calm day," said Robert Karl, undersheriff, Saginaw County.

Parents are still making sure they're talking to their kids about school safety, even though officers are standing by.

"It's a very difficult time for all of us parents. I truly believe that we need to take all of these surfing and networking that these children are doing right now on the websites. We have to take that serious. Every situation is different and for the safety of our children, we need to be very serious about this," Meacham said.

The Sheriff wants to remind everyone that if anyone calls in bomb threat, it is a felony. Karl says parents need to make their children aware of that.