And although security issues continue to be discussed by the Amish leaders and the parents of the shooting victims — and urged by police — it is likely the new school will be built simply, like all the ones before.

“You have to put your trust in God sometimes,” said an Amish man whose daughter was at the Bart Township school on Oct. 2 when Charles Carl Roberts IV barricaded himself inside and shot the 10 girls, killing five.

Relatives of the 10 girls, the school’s teacher and school board members met at the Bart Fire Hall after school Wednesday to approve a location for the new school.

It will be carved out of an Amish farmer’s field near the now-razed school.

Fifteen boys and two girls, including one of the girls who was shot, have been attending school in a nearby business.

A chain-link fence, gate, doors with peepholes and chains, a paging system connected directly to police, and cell phones all have been discussed.

But the Amish father said today he doubts any of the tougher security measures will be added to the standard design used for all Amish schools here.

“You don’t want to put your children behind locked gates. That would really scare them,” he said.

“We just hope it never happens again.”

The man said he doubts the school will be built in November, which is the marrying month for the local Amish. The brother of one of the girls killed in the shootings was getting married today.

Another reason there is no hurry, he said, is because the schoolchildren feel safe and secure at their current location.

The students have returned to a routine, learning reading, writing and arithmetic from their teacher, Emma Mae Zook, who escaped from the school when the shooter wasn’t looking.

But there is no attempt to suppress the searing memories of what happened only weeks ago, parents of the pupils say.

Zook allows the students to share their stories.

“She talks about it with us,” said a 13-year-old boy who was at the school on Oct. 2. “Where people were...we talked a lot about where our dads were at the time.”

“They’re smiling again,” said a woman who drives 10 of the students to school each morning.

The Amish man said suppliers of lumber, concrete block and other building materials have flooded the Amish community with offers to provide free materials for the new school.

“The chairman (of the school board) said everything has been offered but the towel,” the man laughed.

The school will be built by the community in a day, he said.

CONTACT US: acrable@LNPnews.com or 481-6029

Talkback on LancasterOnline

Welcome to the new TalkBack on LancasterOnline. Please use the comment box below to share your opinion on this article. If you would prefer to use the previous TalkBack forums instead, please use this link.

blog comments powered by Disqus