McDONALD Firefighter helps form panel to prevent school violence

McDONALD -- Rich Harvey, village volunteer firefighter, invited residents to join him on a committee with a goal of preventing violence in McDonald schools and devising a plan of action to deal with violence should it occur.
Police Chief Alan Deluga, whom Harvey said will be part of the committee, said he knows of no violence in McDonald schools, but is willing to sit in on the committee and listen.
Others on the committee, Harvey said at Wednesday's village council meeting, are police Lt. Lou Ronghi, who also is a member of the McDonald Board of Education, and Councilman Michael O'Brien, head of council's safety committee. Weathersfield Policeman Tod Stitt, the police department's school resource officer, also has agreed to help, Harvey said.
Harvey, of 401 Pennsylvania Ave., said he planned to have a public meeting in the future to get community input. He said the first step will be to determine what school policies, programs and guidelines are in place to deal with violence.
Elsewhere: He said his initiative came about because of the recent violence at a high school in California and at schools elsewhere.
Council approved a resolution authorizing the village to apply for $42,364 in state Issue 2 money to replace a 2-inch waterline with a 6-inch line along McKinley Boulevard.
If approved, the village would have to contribute $5,000 to the project, Village Administrator Robert O'Connell said.