Schools discourage walking to town center
By Melissa Muntz Community Reporter

Shrewsbury - Principals at Oak and Sherwood middle schools and Middle School Resource Officer Scott Mentzer have asked parents to please discourage their children from walking to the town center on Friday afternoons, after students were reportedly seen walking in the roadways rather than on sidewalks and darting through traffic.

"When you get a group of middle school kids together on the sidewalk and they stop paying attention you have a safety issue," Mentzer said. "Parents need to be aware of what their kids are doing and where they are going, because it's not a problem we can do a whole lot about once they leave the school property."

Students who typically do not walk home from school now need notes from their parents giving them permission to walk to the center of town on Fridays. Mentzer asked that parents go over basic safety tips if they are going to allow their children to walk.

"Just remind them to pay attention to their surroundings, especially to traffic, walk on the sidewalk and be respectful of other people's property," he said.

Mentzer said at this point the police have received no complaints about the students' behavior, and that having students walking in the center of town is strictly a safety issue.