PLEASANT GROVE — For the third time in less than a week, a student was yanked from a Utah school for threatening other students.
In the latest incident, a student at Pleasant Grove Junior High School was suspended after administrators discovered he was preparing a list of 90 "special friends."
And while Alpine School District officials downplay the incident, the school's principal said the list implied a threat.
"It became obvious to us that there was a potential threat," said Principal Blaine Edman. "It wasn't a list of friends; it wasn't a list of people he liked. It was a list of people he didn't like."
When Edman learned of the list Monday, officials called in each of the 90 students in small groups to make them aware of the threat. They then sent a letter home that read: "This list had a potential or implied threat, although we do not believe any specific threats or plans had been made. Your student's name was on the list."
Edman said that his staff was swamped Tuesday with calls from concerned parents. Counselors were on hand to talk with targeted or upset students both Monday and Tuesday.
And while no weapons or any evidence of overt threats of violence were found, the student has been suspended until the Pleasant Grove Police Department finishes its investigation.
Alpine School District spokeswoman Jerrilyn Mortensen said there was "nothing at all" to the list.
"There is no indication that leads us to believe that it is anything more than a kid just writing down a list of names," she said.
She said suspending the student is standard protocol and that letters were sent home because one of the students on the list felt threatened in being named.
"Anytime a student feels harassed, we try to be proactive," Mortensen said.
Monday's incident marks the fourth time in a little over a year that a student in the Alpine School District has threatened other students.
In December 2003, two American Fork High School students were arrested after they threatened on a Web site to shoot athletes at the school.
Then in February 2004, threatening graffiti was found on a wall in the boys bathroom at Mountain Ridge Junior High in Highland. The message suggested a weapon would be brought to school.
A week later, a nearly identical message was found in the girls bathroom at Pleasant Grove Junior High.
Mortensen said the last two incidents were linked but said none of the other threats made at schools in her district over the past year were related.
"Student safety is always a concern," she said. "We will continue to monitor and adjust where necessary to ensure student safety."
E-mail: jhyde@desnews.com