MARSHFIELD – The morning following the Tuesday, Sept. 17, Marshfield select board meeting, Caledonia Central Supervisory Union Superintendent Matt Foster posted a message to Facebook in response to concerns expressed at the meeting, on social media and in phone calls to the Vermont State Police, town and Twinfield Union School administrators.
The message indicates, “We have been told by law enforcement that they do not believe there will be any gathering of people who align with Minor Attracted People (MAP) at ORC (Onion River Campground) this weekend.”
It then offers families excused absences for those wishing to keep students out of school Thursday and Friday, Sept. 20 and 21, dates of the possibly fictitious MAP Camp, and shares that “State Police and Homeland Security officers will be on site, both in uniform and in plain clothes, to enhance our security measures and to allay fears to the best of their abilities.”
Further precautions indicate students on Thursday and Friday will not be permitted in the woods, will be closely supervised outside, that the cross-country team will not use the trails and that access to the building will be limited, with parents required to wait outside when coming to pick up their children.
Longer-term changes resulting from the concerns are that Twinfield School no longer plans to participate in shared activities with ORC, is considering fencing to establish a clearer physical boundary between the school and ORC and plans to create signage identifying the school’s boundaries.
The post emphasized, “Our campus, playground, and trails will continue to be unavailable for public use during school hours. This has been our practice, but we will be posting signs to clearly communicate this.
“I want to remind everyone that Twinfield School is a locked and monitored campus. We have continuous surveillance through internal and external cameras, and access to the building is controlled. Our students are supervised at all times for their safety.”
A sign posted on Facebook Sept 19, closing a privately owned section of rail trail from the Plainfield park and riide to John Fowler Road in response to concerns of a MAP Camp at Onion River Campground (ORC). The nearest point of that closure is over a mile from ORC.
A meeting was planned for the evening of September 24 “To further discuss our safety protocols and the recent situation involving ORC,” at a community meeting in the Twinfield cafeteria. The school administration plans to review safety procedures and steps being taken.
“We are offering the cafeteria space to continue the community conversation that began at the recent Marshfield Select Board meeting. We hope this gathering will also foster a broader conversation about our collective efforts to maintain a safe community for our students,” wrote Foster in closing.
Landowner Abbey Bilodeau wrote on Facebook to complain she had seen “numerous people ignoring the signs on our portion of the rail trail.” She went on to say that the privately-held section of the trail was closed from the entrance at the Plainfield park and ride to John Fowler Road and would reopen Tuesday, Sept. 24. The nearest point of that closure, at John Fowler Road is over a mile from ORC.
A statement from a MAP advocacy organization, called the MAP Union (Mu) strongly condemned “calls to violence from cyberbullies.” “We do understand the alarm among local parents, but we are extremely unhappy about nonviolent MAP community members being labeled as dangerous to children,” co-founder Brian Ribbon wrote. “The idea that these people would for some reason try to attack children at the local school is outrageous and deeply offensive.”
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
