Bomb threat closes P'burg High -- again Latest in a series of similar cases. Nothing found, though students allowed to go home before noon. Wednesday, May 17, 2006 • By SARAH CASSI • The Express-Times PHILLIPSBURG | Walking out of Phillipsburg High School after 6 p.m. Tuesday, senior Charles Diltz was thinking how glad he was this year is his last at the school. Diltz, 18, wasn't thinking about graduation or what lies ahead after that; he was thinking that he wouldn't have to deal with another bomb threat. The high school was evacuated earlier that day after a custodian found a written bomb threat in a boys bathroom, school officials said. It was the third such scare against the school for the school year. "I think it's pretty ridiculous," Diltz said, adding he didn't know how the district would try to make up the missed class time. "To whoever did this, stop doing it. Stop wasting our time." Following district procedure, surrounding law enforcement agencies were notified and bomb-sniffing dogs swept the school, said Bill Merrick, district security director. The dogs did not find anything. A custodian discovered the note about 11:35 a.m. and immediately gave it to security personnel, Merrick said. The building was evacuated about 11:40 a.m. and students were dismissed for the day soon after. Parents and students were allowed back into the high school from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday to retrieve books and personal items. After 6 p.m. a steady stream of students walked into the school empty-handed and emerged with backpacks, school books, purses and sports gear. "They should raise the consequences," Diltz said. "Instead of a smack on the wrist, up the punishment." The incident is under investigation, Merrick said. On Feb. 14, a 17-year-old Phillipsburg High School student called to report a bomb from a pay phone, but the school was not evacuated. The student was arrested and charged making a false public alarm. In November, the high school was evacuated when a security guard discovered a package behind a door in a hallway. The state police later determined the package was an unattended bowling bag with a broken strap. In 2004, a number of bomb scares prompted evacuations of an elementary school, Phillipsburg Middle School, the high school and the alternative high school. Four bomb threats caused the evacuation of the middle and high schools over a one-week period in mid-April. Another string of threats from late September to early October emptied the Green Street School, the middle school and the high school. Reporter Sarah Cassi can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at scassi@express-times.com. © 2006 The Express-Times. Used with permission.