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" I to went to PTHS. My class was 1981. It used to be that all we worried about was drinking or smoking. Wow have times changed. I now live in California. But my heart will always be in Pontiac. I hope all turns out well and am glad everyone is safe. I do believe that Susan's article does bring home the point that Pontiac is a good town, look no town is perfect. But the value of being raised in a small town far outweighs any big city, I would not trade it for the world. Pontiac is still and always be a great little town in my eyes. "

" who is Susan Hazlett ? Who cares ? Why does this paper print about the drippy minutia of her life ? "

" I applaud the PPD and the student who spoke up, you all handled yourselves very well. To those of you who think that drugs, gangs,and guns are not part of the Pontiac scene, I think you need to open your eyes. Drugs were there and are there, and Pontiac lost it's small town appeal years ago. I graduated from PTHS almost 20 years ago and knew who was selling drugs then. In the whole scheme of things, we are not that far from Chicago, Joliet or even Bloomington-Normal. I am so glad that no one was hurt and that maybe this will open the eyes of parents, administrators, and city officials. Students, teachers, and emergency personnel all did what they were suppose to do and no one got hurt! "

" A thoughtful and touching perspective, Susan. May we not only be grateful for the outcome, but come together to learn and grow from the lessons of this ordeal. In coming months I hope you will re-visit this topic to see what has been done to improve the safety of our students, how our authorities can enhance the management of a crisis and what stategies our area can employ to deal with disenfranchised students whose reckless behavior has the capacity to harm us in ways we could not imagine. "

" Are we still reporting this news story? I mean the more exposure this little town gets the worse everyone is portraying Pontiac as a hick town. Its really sad that a town with a prison and dump gets more bad exposure. "

" Great column and yes PTHS has changed since many of us have walked the halls. I cannot say it wasn't difficult to drop my daughter off this morning but she/we cannot continue to dwell on what might have been. The school and police followed through on a well thought through plan and kept our children safe. We have to trust that the school and law enforcement are doing everything they can to continue to keep the children safe while they are in their care. "

" Your article was right on target! Thankfully the school and PPD had been practicing for such an event and were ready when called. The school administration did do a good job too-they have a HUGE responsibility. "

" for once again being the voice of reason. "

" for all those people that swear b-n is going in the dirt and saying b-n is full of "thugs" and violence what do you have to say now, bad things can happen anywhere at anytime "

" yesterday was just ABSOLUTLY shocking.. because of all the weapons brought to school & with all the tears & fears in everyones eyes ... Parents were just worried about their kids because they figured that they would get hurt... but occasionally no one did... and i would like to thank you who ever told on them because that person saved my life !!!!.... & thank you to the officers and the teachers they made us safe.... once again... THANK YOU !!!! "

" I think we need to bring back the old fashioned woodshed and USE it! "

" I guess this town has changed since I roamed the halls there. High school shouldn't be that hard, but I guess for some it is. I hope that the parents of all the students are having a serious talk with their children. "

" love your column and this one was especially great. After reading all of the comments under the news story I was shocked. Some people just don't get it - we can only do so much and preparing for the possiblity of something like this works - Pontiac proved it! "

" I graduated from PTHS in 1988... gosh... almost 20 years ago... suddenly I feel very old. But how in the world has so much changed in a couple of decades? We had no police officers stationed at school. The most kids got in trouble for was smoking in the bathroom, or perhaps flushing a cherry bomb down the toilet during the last week of school. Not a lot of kids drank, and very few did drugs. The ones who did were quickly ratted out. How did we loose the innocence of a small town so quickly? "

" Couldn't have said it better myself!!!!!!!! "