More desks found; Bonnell presses issue

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EAST LIVERPOOL - One school official has opted to move ahead as a private citizen and seek an investigation into missing school material.

School board President Gary Bonnell has sworn to an affidavit concerning the theft of culvert pipe and scrapped school desks from a recycling dumpster at the North Elementary and high school building project. The incident occurred on or about June 16.

In the affidavit sent to city Law Director Charles Payne, Bonnell claims information from an informant pointed to a city police officer's son as being one of four juveniles involved in the incident and he suggests the culvert pipe taken has been used on the officer's property.

In a more recent development possibly connected to the case, members of the East Liverpool Police Department responded to an incident Tuesday after a report of items, possibly stolen, turned up on the officer's property.

Officer Terry Faulkner responded to the location along Morton Street after the officer in question himself called to report the discovery. Faulkner indicates that in the early morning hours, the officer said he found four desks and one office cart on his property.

According to the report, the items "resemble the ones that were being thrown out by the East Liverpool School."

The items were located along a walking path. "It appears these items have been recently dumped there," Faulkner states in the report. Faulkner told the officer who owns the property to leave the items there and the department would contact the school to see if the items did, in fact, belong to the school and how the matter would be handled.

Faulkner took photographs of the items to document their location on the officer's property.

On Wednesday, police Chief Mike McVay contacted Mark Reed, the school district's maintenance supervisor, and advised him four desks and a metal table had been found recently dumped on his officer's property along Morton Street. McVay said investigators believed it "to be the same as the other school property found there" in the previous incident.

After discussing the matter with Reed, McVay said the materials were then taken to a recycling container at the rear of Westgate School by members of the city Street Department.

McVay said he still considers the incident over the school desks and chairs a matter that has been resolved.

In the original incident in June, Reed reported 52 metal school desks were stolen out of a recycling dumpster belonging to Six Recycling.

Two days later, Reed told officers that an employee of Six Recycling had information on the location of the stolen desks, and they could be located at the end of Morton Street near a burned out building.

Capt. Norm Curtis investigated the matter and found a number of old school desks, photographed the scene and, as he was leaving, was stopped by Bonnell who asked Curtis how to get to the area. According to the report, Curtis told Bonnell he had been to the location and had taken photographs.

McVay made his own supplemental report on June 23, and indicated he spoke with the officer in question who advised his son, a juvenile, has been recycling metal and found the chairs and desks in a dumpster at the high school.

According to his report, McVay then called Reed and advised him of the situation and "that there was no intent to commit a theft offense and that the items would be returned Saturday."

Reed reportedly called McVay later and said Superintendent Ken Halbert "felt since there was no loss to the school, and would be best for the kids, the issue would be resolved if all were returned."

McVay told his officer to make sure the items were returned.

In the original incident, Bonnell said information also suggested that "two culverts were removed from the North Elementary site" and allegedly installed on the officer's property "using the city's backhoe."

On June 26, Bonnell made the motion to pass a resolution directing Halbert to pursue criminal charges involving alleged trespass on, and theft of, school property.

The resolution failed, leading to Bonnell's affidavit dated July 29 seeking an investigation into the matter.

"Nobody has reported any pipe stolen. Nobody," McVay reiterated Wednesday.

The subject is likely to come up at tonight's school board meeting slated to begin at 6 p.m.