False alarm at Fannin County High School

BLUE RIDGE, Ga. – Denise Messer, administrative assistant for Fannin County Schools, confirmed there is no threat of any kind at Fannin County High School.

Messer stated reports of a “threat at a high school” came into the Fannin County Emergency 911 dispatch center earlier Tuesday morning, Feb. 20. As a result, FCHS was placed under a Code Yellow alert status, which included a temporary lockdown of the school. Lt. Darvin Couch, school resource officer, secured the area and conducted an investigation into the situation.

Later, it was determined the caller to the E-911 center received a text alert on her phone of a threat to a high school and the text derived from a cell tower near Tellico Plains, Tennessee.

Dr. Michael Gwatney, Fannin County Schools superintendent, has released a statement on the situation:

The Fannin 911 Center received a call from a local citizen who said she received a text message indicating that there was a threat to “a high school.”  Not knowing which high school or any other specific information, our Fannin County Schools were placed under a “Code Yellow” alert status as a precautionary measure.

As we entered the Code Yellow status, Lt. Couch worked with his resources, and it was later determined the text message that started all of this came from a cell tower in the Tellico area – not in our area.

Even though it turns out this issue did not apply to our schools, this Code Yellow has been a good experience for our staff to review procedures, etc.