Two schools burglarized

Two more Cherokee County School District buildings were targeted by burglars this past weekend, marking the second weekend in a row that maintenance personnel have found themselves repairing broken glass while others take inventories.

The district's Limestone Learning Center on Leadmine Street was broken into sometime between Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon, while the Ewing Middle School was broken into sometime between Friday afternoon and early Monday morning, when damage throughout the school was discovered. The previous weekend, someone broke into Mary Bramlett Elementary between April 5 and 7.

Cherokee County School District Superintendent Dr. Bill James said damage was estimated at about $700 in Ewing Middle School, $500 at the Limestone Learning Center, and $1,200 at Mary Bramlett Elementary.

Several school officials believed the burglar or burglars must have been looking for money.

Small amounts of pocket change were taken from several desks at Mary Bramlett while two rolls of quarters were taken from a safe that contained school supplies, said Mary Bramlett Principal Audrey McClary. The burglar(s) also broke into a soda machine.

At Limestone Learning Center, the burglar (s) broke into several rooms, including the office of the school's director, Dr. Rance Cobb.

The only thing Cobb could find missing from his desk were one or two cigarettes and two lighters he had confiscated from students this school year.

"They (the cigarettes) were probably several months old," Cobb said. "We don't keep any money at the school at all."

Besides window and door damage at Limestone Learning Center, the burglar(s) also tore a camera from a computer that is used to make ID badges for school visitors. "They didn't steal it," said Cobb, who believed the burglars might have mistaken the camera as a video surveillance device.

Despite extensive damage, Ewing Middle Principal Dr. Denise Wooten said the school had found nothing missing following the break-in. The burglary was discovered by a school employee Monday at 5:40 a.m. while preparing to open the school following last week's spring break.

By 2 p.m., district maintenance workers had already replaced broken glass at the front door and several rooms in the main office area.

"We didn't have any money in the building," Wooten said. "They didn't steal anything."

Dr. James said the damage would be covered by insurance. Inventories are being taken at all three schools, he said, just to make sure nothing else is missing. He said police reports would be updated if anything was stolen.

James said he didn't know if the break-ins were related, or committed by the same individual or individuals.

While the cash value of stolen items appears to be low, the damage was troubling.

"It was just a mess," McClary said of the damage done at her school. "They had broken into my office, the assistant principal's office, the media center door and the nurse's office.

She credited the district's maintenance director, John Burchstead, and his staff for getting the school back in order before classes began Monday morning.

All of the schools had been on spring break the past week.

According to Gaffney police, investigators were able to lift some fingerprints from a door at Ewing Middle School but there was no word on Tuesday if police had been able to make a match.