by INFORUM
Harwood reacts to sex offender moving to town
December 6, 2010 at 6:00 pm in INFORUM
School to lock doors during day, build fence around playground
HARWOOD, N.D. The wife of convicted sex offender Adam N. Anderson told Harwood residents she’ll answer any questions they have at any time.
Hatte Anderson was among the 50 or so residents at Monday night’s offender notification meeting.
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lmao that made me laugh out loud
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He’s lucky to have a wife like that.
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Two things stand out here. One, convicted in 07, it is only 2010 what the hell is he doing out? Two, there is actually a Ms. Shrek (wtf)?
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Actually he,s lucky to have a wife.
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Great catch Hattie. You go girl!
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You people are pathetic, why criticize his looks, have many of you looked in the mirror lately – just what kind of catch are you – to make light of this is pathetic.
And the principal is out of line in scaring the town into believing that a Joseph Duncan like scenario will play out in Harwood cuz of this.
For all you who say (and it will happen) he shouldn’t live that, where should he live? Offer some solutions rather than resort to 1st grade antics. You all truly are pathetic.
And for the record, (not sure why our society has come to the point where we have to clarify but we do) I abhor sex offenders but feel they are individuals and should be treated with some dignity.
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Liberty your right, I am pathetic on so many levels. It was the actions of this young man that I judged him, not his looks. I do not and never will have any sympathy for those who commit violent crimes against another human being (especially women & children). In this case it was both. I am befuddled that anyone would. Perhaps you’re a much better Christian than myself, many are.
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Really, you are judging him on actions and not by looks with your first comment?
That’s odd, I don’t remember Shrek being a sex offender.
And by the way, a title of “Ms” would indicate not being married.
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Pete if the Forum had only posted a picture of him with out a story you may have a point but that was not the case.
Look Pete this guy has traumatized a young girls life, I just poked some fun at his looks and made a grammar mistake, and your making me look like the bad guy. By the way, thank for the edititing tips! I left a few more for you, in case you need some thing to do.
I think you should get your priorities in order Pete!
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So now you admit you were making fun of him based on his looks. Which is what Liberty claimed in the first place only to have you post a denial.
Or are you going to blame that on grammer as well? So you feel it’s OK to make fun of somebody’s looks based on vague details of their life posted in the paper. Fine, just come out and admit it when somebody calls you out on it.
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We are all so quick to judge the guy…. Maybe the 16 YO and him were flirting while they were drinking…. maybe they kissed a few times, they started doing more and then WHOOPS, friend walks in and calls the cops because she doesn’t think they should be together. Girl is more drunk than the guy is, and guess who is going to jail. Where is the pic of the 16 YO? Maybe she looks 18, trust me, there’s a lot of high school girls that look like they are in college. What’s the guy supposed to do, ask for some chick’s ID every time he decides to hit on someone? I personally know a guy, college-age, who was TOLD by a girl at a party she was 18 or higher, they even DATED, got it on, only for her parents to find out and throw HIM in jail! He never knew her real age because he TRUSTED HER! Again…. what’s a young guy supposed to do? Ask for ID every time a girl smiles at him?
Now if the dude flat-out raped her, that’s different, but I’m saying a lot of decent guys get in trouble because police expects us to ask for ID or something. Maybe that’s why his wife is standing by him, yet we are putting up 6 foot walls. Hilarious!
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Drew – the story says she was incoherent. Having sex with someone that is incapacitated and unable to give consent IS flat out rape.
If he was buying alcohol for her and her friends he had to know she was at least under 21. That would be enough of an indication for me to think she might be under 18 as well.
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I don’t agree that if he knew they were all under 21, he should have known they were under 18. A lot can happen to to girl’s body and appearance from 16 to 21 and we all start at different times. I’ve been to lots of parties back when i was under 21 where there were people from ages 16 to probably 28 and no one knew how old the others were because who cares, we were having a good time and everyone got along. If he was in his 30′s, I wouldn’t be trying to defend him, but he was mid 20′s, she was a teenager. Hard to tell these days.
If we find out he straight-up raped her in a closet, I’ll shut up about the whole thing, but I’m just pointing out that a lot of decent guys get labeled a ‘rapist’ because of technicalities. They also move on, get married, and have well-adjusted lives. Here’s to this guy, hoping he can do the same.
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Drew come on Dude, he was a young man buying alcohol for underage girl, he had his intentions set.
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I think that whole scenario goes out the window when you’re seen combing the high schools for dates with a pony keg of roofie coladas in the back seat.
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The police also call .08 legally drunk. Believe me, I’m not drunk at .08. What does incoherent mean? How much time passed from when they started messing around to when police showed up? We all know you don’t reach your peak drunkeness until maybe half hour, hour after your last drink. Maybe she was drunk but knew what she was doing when they started, friend busts in, calls the cops, she is ready to pass out when police arrive. Equally likely scenario. Just saying because I’ve seen it happen and its b.s.
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There’s no evidence they were “messing around” or that this was a mutual encounter.
You seem to have invented that part on your own.
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There is no reference to .08. People aren’t “incoherent” at .08, anyway. Also, the man had his trial already. He WAS convicted. Sad that there are some here that think that they have a free card for sex (if it appears that they might be of age), even if they are out of it. If anyone here can twist and justify that kind of situation, I simply feel sorry for you and hope that you learn more respect for women and general decency.
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“Maybe she was drunk but knew what she was doing when they started, friend busts in, calls the cops, she is ready to pass out when police arrive.”
Seriously, where are you coming up with these details?
When they started? Where have you read “they started” anything at all?
Where are you getting this “friend busts in and calls the cops” scenario? And when has that EVER happened?
You’re really making up bizarre and impossibly unlikely scenarios out of the blue here and I have to wonder why you’re falling all over yourself to defend this creep.
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The article also doesn’t say she was tied up and raped in a closet. Simply says a court found he broke the law (easy to do when a girl is 16 and you are 18). My hypothetical scenario is just as possible as yours is.
Look, I’m not a sex offender, I wouldn’t provide alcohol to minors, and I don’t sympathize with true rapists. I’m only saying that Harwood is doing everything they can to ostracize the guy when it appears he and his family are being open about (NEVER seen that happen before) and when it’s possible the common assumptions about him are wrong, because I know a guy (not a friend, just an aquaintence) who had the events I laid out happen to him, and then he got convicted of statutory rape. This was a number of years ago back when I was in college, so I don’t know if he was labeled a sex offender.
That’s all I am trying to point out. Just saying we are so quick to judge the guy that maybe all he is, is just an idiot who who made a mistake, then blew off his counseling and for that I will not try to defend because I agree that was a stupid thing to do and he should be forced to comply with it.
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Even then, one could defend not finishing counseling, depending on the person and the counseling issued. I’ve known atheists who were told they had to complete AA but couldn’t because AA requires you to believe in a higher power.
I think the underlying point here is that the article is very sparse on facts. It’d be nice if we know anything about the original case, the character of the man, the reasons the school and community officials are concerned (do they know more facts, have they seen warning signs from him, or are they just covering their butts) I can only hope the parents who talked with them know more than we do.
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I find it funny how people always insist they aren’t drunk at .08. I know alot of pretty heavy drinkers that don’t consider them self drunk but I can ussually tell when they are on there second drink. Just because you can still stand up does not mean you are at your full senses.
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I understand comparing him to Duncan, didn’t the article state that he failed to complete treatment. Sounds to me like he isn’t sorry one bit for what he did and I wouldn’t be surprised if he did it again.
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Is there a reason that you are attacking the way he looks? I mean really!?! I don’t think comparing him to Duncan is the right thing to do, I also don’t think he should be judged by anyone of you before you know the WHOLE story!!! How do you know this girl did not agree to have sex with him, and got caught and said he rapped her? I do however think that if he did in fact rape this young girl he should have sat more then a year, and by not completing whatever he has to complete he should have went back to prison..
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“How do you know this girl did not agree to have sex with him, and got caught and said he rapped her?”
She wasn’t old enough to have the authority over herself to agree to have sex with him. Are you forgetting that point entirely?
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If I am not mistaken at 16 in North Dakota you can consent to having sex…
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It doesn’t sound like you know what you’re talking about. A 16 year old cannot consent to sex with a 25 year old. That is illegal.
Here is your ND statute:
North Dakota
§ 12. 1-20-03
Up to 10 years in prison
(1) Up to one year in prison if the victim is at least age 15 or (2) if actor is at least age 22 and the victim is a minor at least age 15, up to five years in prison.
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so you can consent to people up to the age of 22 if you are 15 then?
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Read your own post, it says 15 – the girl in quesiton was 16. This says nothing about consent, it refers to having sex with a minor not about what is the age of consent which you alluded to. You can consent as a minor but its illegal to have sex with a minor whether they consent of not. We are pointing out the flaw in your comment when you stated, “She wasn’t old enough to have the authority over herself to agree to have sex with him.”
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“the victim is a minor at least age 15″
at least means 15-18… Did you miss that?
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Actually I think the age of consent in ND is 16!! Its just that you are a minor until 18, so you can consent but someone can still be charged – whats up with that???
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Simple the age of consent in ND is 18. If you are 18 or older it is a sex crime to engage in any sexual act with someone under the age of 18. They are not considered able to consent. So even if they say yes and are being aggressive it is jail time if you do not stop it.
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OK My bad… I read the article again and he was 25 i thought it said he was 18!!! Knowing that he was 25 and this girl was 16, is a big differences!
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Rape doesn’t have to be violent to be rape.
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That’s the problem. Why do they call it statutory rape when it’s consensual on both sides and illegal only on technicality of age? Why is that rape? Believe me, when I was 16, I knew exactly what I was doing when it came to these matters but I didn’t know there was a thing as statutory rape. I didn’t need to read a book or take a test to prove I knew what sex was, and if someone says I lacked the authority over my own body, I would have laughed in their face.
Rape should ONLY mean NON-consensual sex, which is and should be a crime.
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Default, I think these kind of cases should be handled individually with the facts.
Do I think it’s right for a 30 year old to get with a 16 year old? NO. They have nothing in common and the 16 year old will end up emotionally hurt. Do I think it’s OK for a 25 year old to get with a 16 year old? If he knows she is 16, he has no business either, but we don’t know this guy even KNEW she was 16!!!!! Do I think a 19 year old should be able to date and have sex with a 16 year old? YES, and it happens all day long under your nose and no one cares until someone gets huffy and calls the police.
I’m not a child rape apologist and I think sex predators should be punished. This guy should be punished because he didn’t complete his course like he was supposed to. All I’m saying is…. there are a lot trick girls out there who are just as dishonest as guys are, and it’s almost ALWAYS the guy who gets thrown in jail and charged with everything. MAYBE that happened to this guy, at least his family had a massive guts to attend a meeting where they KNEW it would be filled with torches and pitchforks, and you know what, they still went to defend him. So just MAYBE the guy is nothing but an idiot and NOT a threat so great that they need 6 foot walls!
Maybe if you or I had attending this meeting we would see things a little differently but all we have is an article about the end of the world as we know it.
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Drew – the story says she was incoherent. She was not physically able to give consent to sex. I don’t care if she would have been 18 or 20 or 25 like him. She did not consent to sex but he had sex with her anyway. That is rape.
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refused to complete sex offender treatment,he belongs in prison and some of our law enforcement people and courts should be charged with derelection of duty. shame on our officials involved.
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Better put some barbed wire on the top of that fence, or the crazy scary sex offender may lose all control and jump the fence and ply some little kid with alcohol. Unlikely.
I don’t buy all the hysteria over sex offenses. This registration list goes too far. It does more harm to a community than good in most cases. This is one of those cases.
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“I don’t buy all the hysteria over sex offenses. This registration list goes too far. It does more harm to a community than good in most cases. This is one of those cases.”
I seriously cannot believe you just posted that. What is wrong with you? I’m guessing the list is long and distinguished.
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Justin is probably referring to young guys who are 19 and get thrown in jail for dating and having sex with a 16 year old who told him she was 18 and when the cops arrested him he asked, “what am I supposed to do, ask for her ID?” and the cops said, “Yeah, pretty much”. Why is that a sex offense?
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The guy peeing behind the bush is a better example. The sex offender registry is an offense against human dignity.
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Everyone needs to keep in perspective that 90% of sexual abuse occurs from a person that the victim knows. The offender typically needs to gain the victim’s trust first before they can attack. This is why family friends and relatives are most often the offenders. If I was his wife/girlfriend I would be terrified of introducing my children to him. Who is to say he will not seduce and molest them?
Also, most offenders are the person you would least likely expect. Women are also offenders (although this is less common). If you are too busy looking outside of your family and friends at the boogeyman then you might miss the real culprits who could live in your home or have daily access to your children. It is typically the person you would never suspect.
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I thinkit’s funny about him being restricted from school. If he was 25 in ’07, that would mean he’s 28 /29 now so his daughter is doubtfully more than 10 or 11. Kids in those grade levels wouldn’t even be targets for him to begin with if he was trully high risk. UNfortunately, too many guys do something stupid like he did and pay for it for the rest of their life. Obviously judging by the low severity of the charges and the short incarceration, he’s not really high risk. (it’s his own fault for not doign the treatment completely though) How many guys out there would be in just as much trouble? Think about the high school girls who sneak into frat parties or the college guys who come home for small town football parties and hook-up. A 16 yr can look old enough and act old enough to lead a 25 yr old on, sometimes I wish we could punish the 16 yr olds for entrapment. Who is to say she was really coherent and it wasn’t a case of not wanting to look bad for mommy and daddy? (I knew a girl w ho did this, and if she hadn’t had a last minute change of heart, the guy would be on the sex offender list now)
this is not to say I am defending all predators-heck no! I say string ‘em up cause if they are violent or trully high risk offender, then have almost zero chance of rehabbing. I’m just saying don’t punish the guys who did something stupid.
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This is in response to Jem’s very level-headed post which I can’t reply to directly. You are 100% right, and all this sparse article did was tell all the moms and old ladies that there is a guy so dangerous in the community that the school is locking its doors and putting up a 6 foot fence. That’s more than anyone has ever done when a sex offender moved into the area that I can remember, therefore this guy must be WORSE than Duncan!!!! Lock the doors and turn on the search lights! Next thing you know people will be asking if he can wear a GPS collar and a webcam so we can see where he is at all times.
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You do not have to cordon off a playground or lock down the school. That is just a hysterical over reaction.
I hope you do not wear tight biking shorts around the precious little children. You might be labeled a sex offender and have “it” cut off.
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To default user – NO I didn’t miss that but once again you are not listeing to what we are saying, in ND the LEGAL AGE OF CONSENT is 16 but its still illegal to have sex with a MINOR!!! You are being too pigheaded to see other points than yours!
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Um, no. That is not what is happening here.
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Title of the article should read, “Harwood OVER-reacts…” Locking all school doors during the school day? Building a 6ft fence around the playground? All because this guy lives in the same town? If everyone at school is alert to who the guy is there should be no need for all this. Look, I have a 2nd grade child so I have a stake in this too, but my kid knows to stay away from strangers and the SCHOOL is already hyper-protective of who enters and when. I see no need to spend MORE taxpayer dollars senselessly on building fences because this guy lives in the same town. Total OVER-reaction.
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The age of consent in ND is 18. It is interesting that some want to go easy on this guy.
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He raped an underage girl then failed to complete his mandated treatment, which tells me he doesn’t care and will re-offend given half a chance… no sympathy at ALL for him.
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Oh really? Where does it say he raped anyone? If you read the article you would see that the word rape isn’t even used once. He was charged with corruption of a minor, which can mean sex with a willing partner but technically illegal because of age differences. He is only a sex offender because he skipped out on his treatment! Since the article provides little detail, it is possible the sex was totally 100% consensual, but because she (or both of them!) were very intoxicated, she can’t LEGALLY give the OK, so guess what, now he goes to jail. Since he wasn’t charged with rape, I would say that is a VERY LIKELY scenario and that he didn’t tie her up in a closet and rape her like I’m sure you assumed. Good thing you aren’t on the jury.
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Wow. Sorry, I don’t know the guy. I’m just saying everyone is ready to build walls and lock doors and chop off his you-know-what when the article provides very little actual information about what he did. Earlier I said he needs to be punished because he didn’t do his treatment. I am not saying he should be ignored and he did nothing wrong, but I doubt a 6-foot fence is necessary. Chill out.
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You sure have a thing about closets.
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There are 242 of these losers in Cass County. Are we going to build a fence everywhere kids are? These cases and situations cannot be treated the same. When we focus on this guy, who is not a risk (based on what we are reading) to the lion’s share of children, we may be missing the other Joe Duncan’s out there.
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Interesting fact about Joseph Duncan. He didn’t troll schoolyards or playgrounds for his next victim, he was known to have driven along the interstates and highways, spotting farmyards with swingsets and other signs of children. Who on Earth would possibly suspect your kids were being watched out on the farm?
So yes, being prudent and careful is a good idea, but it’s easy to slip into paranoia.
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Fascinating. On the article about the Catholic brother there was a hang ‘em high anti-Catholic hysterical approach. Yet here there is sympathy and “nuancing” of this guys offense. If he had been a priest you would not have seen this. This proves that society is only interested if some children are abused by some particular kinds of abusers. All others need not apply.
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Unfortunately Z, you are correct. While most everyone else is a child molester sympathizer, I am still here, ready and more than willing to drive a gaff through his back and drag him behind a swamp boat through the everglades, alligator hunting.
God forgives, I don’t.
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So you are advocating vigilantism then? Street justice and witch hunts? Maybe you really are dead inside. I feel bad for you.
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Wow, I can’t believe the amount of defenders for this offender! Whatever the charge or crime is, he corrupted a 16 year old girl! Got her drunk and then took advantage of her. . . Is the school over reacting? I don’t know to be honest, I have never been in that situation where an offender lived that close (or at least I know of). I don’t think I would be comfortable with it. I wish there were more facts, but this article doesn’t give that man any justice.
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Didn’t you know? The Elizabeth Smart abduction case by a pedophile that married her at 14 years old, that was strictly her fault! The temptress led the pedophile on, hoping that he would abduct her, marry her and rape her. The pedo deserves our forgiveness and support because it wasn’t his fault. How could any man turn down that young stuff?!
*DISCLAIMER*
The above comment in no way reflects the true opinion of the poster but rather the perceived view by the younger generation, meaning anyone 30 years old and under.
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I’ll take my chances.
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Yeah, I will too, why do we all need to be scared out of our wits all the time?
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It’s not a matter of being scared. It’s a matter of protecting those in the community that don’t know any better to protect themselves. The concept is quite simple. Until people start to have some integrity, these kinds of things will continue and worse. I’d rather live in a community free of perverts but it seems the younger generation wants them all around them all of the time.
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Let the guy live out his life. We are too quick to judge. We don’t know him, maybe those two boys that were with that girl played a special role in all this too! You just never know. If you think he’s icky, simply stay away. The school has a right to put up a giant fence and lock the doors it’s for the community’s comfort and safety and peace of mind.
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