Crime & Safety

Accused ATV Thieves Not Employed by Oconee School System, Official Says

One of two men detained on the campus of Oconee County Middle School Thursday on a theft charge had been working on a small landscaping project, according to Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Brook Whitmire.

One of the men taken into custody Thursday on the campus of Oconee County Middle School was trimming bushes for the school but is not employed by the Oconee County system, an administrator said Friday.

Christopher L. Dorsey, 19, of Old Salem Road in Farmington, and Marcus A. Eidson, 22, of Old Bishop Road in Bishop, are facing multiple charges related to the theft of an ATV from a Bishop business. They were detained at Oconee Middle School after investigators followed a lead that they were there.

Dr. Brook Whitmire, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources for Oconee County Schools, said Dorsey is the son of an OCMS employee.  He was on campus to finish trimming bushes, a project he had started late Wednesday after school, Whitmire said.

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Oconee County Schools conducts background checks on all employees, but current policy does not require background checks on all volunteers or individuals who might perform "odd jobs" or side projects, Whitmire explained.

A person performing a task like trimming bushes might be compensated from an individual school's discretionary fund but not from payroll, Whitmire said.

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"We’re constantly concerned with student safety," said Whitmire, adding that periodically policies and procedures are reviewed and updated.  

Whitmire said Dorsey and Eidson "won't be on our campuses anymore."

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