Tragedy shows need for training

By Staff
Jason Cannon, Franklin County Times
What are the odds of a deranged gunman storming into one of Franklin County's Schools, taking hostages and harming some of our children?
Arguably, not very good.
Sunday, if you had asked 100 people what were the odds of that happening on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg they probably said the same thing.
You never can tell when and where a tragedy the size of the one at Virginia Tech will strike.
The cold hard truth is that it's not beyond the realm of possibility something like that could happen right here in our little community.
Granted, it's still not very likely but our local law enforcement has remained vigilant just the same.
Police Departments and Sheriff's Deputies train for all types of scenarios and unfortunately we live in a world today that requires them to be ready for a catastrophe at one of our schools.
Proper training serves two purposes: It gets them ready to handle just about any situation that comes along and it also serves as a deterrent for criminal activity.
It takes dedication to train and keep your skills sharp, especially since these men and women know they may never get to use these skills.
We all hope they never get to use them. We know our teachers and administrators are doing their best to keep our children safe but it often takes a tragedy like the one in Virginia to remind us what good and decent citizens are up against.