GEORGE JUNIOR REPUBLIC Authorities drop weapon charges against treatment center employees

George Junior is a residential treatment center, not a school, authorities said.
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Charges of possession of a weapon on school property have been dismissed against two house parents at George Junior Republic in Pine Township.
Tim Bonner, assistant district attorney, said that although both Nathan Horstman and Robert Robinson had weapons in or on George Junior property, George Junior isn't a school.
It's a juvenile residential treatment center that does offer an educational component, but it isn't a school licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, he said.
It buys educational services from the Grove City Area School District, which staffs classrooms at George Junior.
What happened
Horstman, charged in February, had a handgun, a pellet rifle and two hunting knives in the cottage he occupied at George Junior, but the cottage is part of the residential section of the facility, not connected to any classroom activity, Bonner said.
Robinson, charged in April, apparently inadvertently left a handgun in a George Junior van that he had used to move personal property. The weapon was later found inside a case in the van by a George Junior employee.
Bonner said the van wasn't being used for school purposes.
As a result, the charge of possession of a weapon on school property was dismissed against both men although Robinson still faces a count of carrying a firearm without a license, Bonner said.
George Junior has a policy forbidding staff from having any weapons on campus.
Horstman no longer works at George Junior, but an institution spokesman said Robinson is still employed there.