Parents urge better outreach on free gun locks; clinician urges music-education support

During public comment at the November meeting of the Bend‑LaPine School Board, community members urged the district to expand outreach on two fronts: firearm-safety resources and music education.

Brandy Steelhammer, speaking for Central Oregon Gun Safety Advocates, said a year after a student brought a firearm to Pilot Butte Middle School the district agreed to provide free gun locks through the education center but the distribution has been minimal. “Only 15 locks have been handed out in the past year from the education center,” Steelhammer said, and she asked whether counselors, nurses, principals and teachers know that locks are available and whether the district can publicize the program more widely. Steelhammer cited research stating that “75% of school shooters get their gun from home or the home of a close relative” and cited local suicide‑by‑firearm figures to frame the safety request.

A separate public commenter, Jesse Bledsoe, a child clinical psychologist and parent, urged continued support for elementary‑level music education as a means of improving child and adolescent mental health. Bledsoe described music as a vehicle for healthy emotional expression and asked the board to consider music education’s role in supporting students who do not participate in traditional sports or other school activities.

Board members thanked speakers and noted the district already provides some related services — for example, the district partners with community organizations on mental‑health programming and offers gun locks at the education center — and asked administrators to look for ways to increase communication and distribution.

What’s next: Commenters offered to provide additional locks and to help with communication; the board asked staff to follow up on means of wider dissemination and awareness.