Cambensy leads discussion on school safety

MARQUETTE — On Sunday evening, Marquette Senior High School hosted a school violence and safety town hall led by 109th State Representative Sara Cambensy.

With school -related violence incidents becoming all too common nationally, schools in the UP have vowed to take action, and educate the public about how their administrations are cooperating with local law enforcement, and how important it is to communicate possible warning signs.

Special guests at the event included 110th State Representative Scott Dianda, MAPS Superintendent Bill Saunders, and Marquette County Sheriff Greg Zyburt.

One tool that was stressed was an anonymous tip line in the state of Michigan called “OK 2 Say,” which officers say has been well received in the area, and has alerted authorities to well over 2,000 incidents.

“It really starts at grassroots with the families, with friends, with relatives – if they see signs of trouble, they need to contact someone and let them know – we can get people some help,” said Michigan State Police 8th District Commander, Officer John Halpin.

“I think you see this as one of the largest issues on social media right now,” said 109th Michigan State Representative, Sara Cambensy. “People are talking about it, and it’s very divisive – I think everyone is focused around the gun issue – my idea is to get us off of that and say, ‘Let’s look at how we fund our schools, let’s look at the resources our police officers have – are they enough compared to other states.'”

Ishpeming High School will also host a town hall meeting later in May. For more information on the “OK 2 Say” program, you can click here.