Student at Nipher Middle Taken Into Custody for Gun Threats

Kirkwood Police Department said the student made threats toward others and the school in general.

Student at Nipher Middle Taken Into Custody for Gun Threats

Kirkwood Police Department said the student made threats toward others and the school in general.

The Kirkwood Police Department shared in a release Wednesday evening that a student at Nipher Middle School in the Kirkwood School District had been taken into custody after the juvenile made threats of gun violence to two other students and school-wide. Police said the threats were verbal and reported by two students who alarmed officials. The school's resource officer did not discover any evidence of acting on the threats, and the student's family said the student would not have access to any type of gun. Kirkwood Police added in their statement that the student had been removed from the campus and taken to the St. Louis Family Courts juvenile detention facility. Family Courts will be handling the case.

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'Cam Jam' Touches Hearts of Kirkwood

Those who attended the music memorial for Cameron Vennard say the concert was an inspiring success.

Cameron Vennard was probably jamming out to the tunes that filled Kirkwood Station Plaza in his honor last Thursday. At least that's the opinion of one person who commented on a photo of the concert posted by the Kirkwood School District to its Facebook page. For the teen who loved music and bringing a smile to the faces of those around him, there couldn't have been a more appropriate tribute than a show. "Cam loved music so we thought a 'Cam Jam' was a great way to honor Cam's memory. We will play songs by Cam's favorite artists,' said Dillon Wilfong, Cam's friend and member of The Sages Band, on Reverb Nation.  The photo on the Facebook page is of the Sages performing to a crowd in Downtown Kirkwood. Donations at the show will go toward …

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Letter to the Editor

Cameron Vennard: A Life, Not a 'Life Lesson'

The following is a Letter to the Editor from Annabel Dolan, who graduated with Cameron Vennard from Nipher Middle School.

On all the news sites, when you see articles about Cam's death, all the comments talk about lessons to be learned, and how kids should pay more attention, and that parents need to teach their kids to be smarter about electronics and common sense. Do you really think this is what we want to be hearing right now? Our community of peers and friends has lost someone extremely dear to our hearts, and instead of sharing in our grief, adults around us use this as a time to scold teenagers. No one is to blame for what happened. It was a tragic accident. Could it have been prevented? Possibly, but not in the sense that good life lessons should be learned. Just in his death, my friends and I were given a striking reminder of what we were taught in …

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Event to Celebrate Life of Cameron Vennard

An event to honor the memory of Cameron Vennard will be held today, 3 p.m., at Kirkwood Baptist Church.

Friends and family of Cameron Vennard are invited to attend a celebration of the life of the teen who died last week after being struck by an Amtrak train in Kirkwood. The event will be held today, 3 p.m., at Kirkwood Baptist Church, according to an email to parents from the Kirkwood School District. The Cameron Vennard Memorial Fund has been set up to help the family of the 2012 graduate of Nipher Middle School. Those wanting to contribute can go to any Frontenac Bank location and make out a check to the Cameron Vernnard Memorial Fund. The Kirkwood School District continues to provide counseling to students following Vennard's death Wednesday. "If your child needs counseling, and our school counselors are unavailable, please do not …

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UPDATE: Teen Killed by Amtrak Train Identified

Cameron Vennard, 14, was a resident of Oakland and 2012 graduate of Nipher Middle School.

Authorities have identified the 14 year old who died Wednesday after being struck by an Amtrak train near Leffingwell Avenue, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. According to the Post, Cameron Vennard lived in the 400 block of Lennore Avenue in Oakland and had just graduated from Nipher Middle School. _________ Stay up-to-date on everything Kirkwood by liking Kirkwood Patch Facebook and signing up for the daily Patch email newsletter. ________ The accident happened at about 4:25 p.m. Wednesday. Det. David Smith, of the Kirkwood Police Department, said Vennard was walking westbound on the tracks at Leffingwell Avenue when he was hit. He was transported to Mercy Hospital, where he was treated and pronounced dead by medical staff, according …

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Middle to High School: Share Your Memories

Today eighth graders will tour KHS as part of a program to ease the adjustment to high school. What better time than to relive the defining teen moment?

Today Kirkwood School District eighth graders will get a sneak peek of what it's like to be a freshman at Kirkwood High School. At 12:30 p.m., North Kirkwood Middle School and Nipher Middle School eighth grade students will be transported via bus to Kirkwood High School where they will have an opportunity to tour the KHS campus and have lunch with administrators and staff they likely will have as incoming freshman. "The transition from middle school to high school is a big adjustment for many students," the district says in a statement. "Staff and administrators developed the program to assist students with the transition and ease angst for the beginning of their freshman year." In honor of the big move, we're asking readers to share their…

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Nipher Middle School Students Take Stand Against Bullying

Sixth graders will join 1.2 million people across North America in a demonstration against the form of harassment Friday.

More than 200 Nipher Middle School sixth grade students will participate in the “Stand 4 Change” anti-bullying initiative Friday. Students and staff will hold anti-bullying signs in front of the Nipher campus at 11 a.m., joining more than 1.2 million individuals across North America who have agreed to participate in the demonstration, the Kirkwood School District says in a statement. Under the direction of Nipher social studies teacher Florence Borman who has led the bullying awareness campaign at the school, students have watched video clips, participated in reflective exercises on self-awareness and had in depth discussions on bullying awareness and prevention, according to the district. Learn more about the anti-bullying initiative by …

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New School Assignments to Save Parents Hundreds in Busing Costs

Students living in Des Peres' Wyndemere Subdivision have been reassigned to Westchester Elementary and North Kirkwood Middle schools.

Beginning next school year, parents in Des Peres' Wyndemere Subdivision will no longer have to pay $400 to have their children bussed to the Kirkwood elementary and middle schools closest to their homes. The Kirkwood School Board approved the reassignment of students living in the subdivision to attend Westchester Elementary and North Kirkwood Middle schools beginning next school year. Children currently are assigned to Tillman Elementary and Nipher Middle schools. Executive Director of Student Services Shirleas Washington recommended the reassignment to the Kirkwood School Board Monday night. The recommendation is "due to proximity and convenience of the parents," Washington says in a memo to Kirkwood School District Superintendent Tom …

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Principal Warns Parents After Suspicious Vehicle Incident

A Kirkwood principal warned parents of the incident in a email.

The principal of North Kirkwood Middle School emailed parents a list of safety tips after an incident involving a suspicious vehicle and a Nipher Middle School student who was bicycling home from school. On Tuesday, shortly after 4 p.m., a student who was bicycling home from school saw a vehicle travelling east on East Argonne Drive approach the intersection of East Argonne Drive and Fillmore Avenue, according to a statement from the Kirkwood Police Department released Thursday. The car entered the intersection and the driver, described as a white male 30 to 35 years of age, held his cell phone out of the car window and appeared to be taking a photograph or video of the student. The student rode away and the vehicle continued eastbound at …

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