Church of the Nazarene becomes command center…
Church of the Nazarene becomes command center during crisis
OROVILLE — As the hostage situation played out at Las Plumas High School Friday morning, the nearby Church of the Nazarene was used as a gathering place for parents to reunite with their kids. It also became an incident command center for media, law enforcement and crisis volunteers.
Senior Pastor Ed Redfern, who"s been with the church for 31 years, and several other church associates were also on hand to help.
The church is a designated Red Cross command center. That fact, coupled with its proximity with the high school, made it an obvious choice to act as a hub for information and meeting place for parents and students.
The extraordinary situation at the church, situated across a field from Las Plumas High on Monte Vista Avenue, was handled with remarkable orderliness and precision.
Parents were ushered into the church"s large sanctuary, where Butte County sheriff"s Sgt. Bryan Marshall offered frequent updates. Smith"s most comforting words came shortly before 11 a.m. when he announced the suspect was in custody, triggering a huge ovation from the crowd of about 300.
Marshall then assured the parents, "We"re working diligently to get the students back to the parents."
Outside the sanctuary, church volunteers wheeled out coffee and water for bystanders and a mobile crisis response team from Butte County Behavioral Health was ready to give comfort.
"We let them express how they feel; we validate and normalize their fear," said Ray Kohler, a mental health youth specialist. "Some began to cry because they were in the room next to the band room and heard shots."
Cal Fire-Butte County officials and Sheriff"s Office personnel worked together to provide the latest available information to the large media contingent in a separate wing of the church.
One woman, who declined to be identified but said she was the mother of a Las Plumas student, collapsed on the sidewalk outside of the sanctuary. Comforted by her mother and Cal Fire-Butte County Capt. Tony Brownwell, she was revived and declined a gurney.
Shortly after noon, the church turned into a receiving station for the large convoy of school buses that left the high school after the lockdown was over and students were shuttled from the school.
As buses arrived at the church, parents were reunited with their kids, but in a controlled manner. Rather than having bus doors fly open and frantic parents pressing forward to find their children, the students were led into the church. Once there, Las Plumas staff, including science teacher Marla Vaughn, made sure each student was accounted for on a student-release form before being released to their parents.
Redfern said some 50 people affiliated with the church, both staff and congregation, helped out.
"When people came, if they were a part of the church we just slapped a name tag on them," the pastor said late Friday afternoon.
Redfern said several area pastors showed up to help "and we had a room where pastors and counselors were meeting with people who needed comfort and to talk."
"When you think of 1,400 students and their parents, I"m very proud of what the team did and everybody did."
Alan Sheckter can be contacted at asheckter@chicoer.com or 896-7771.