A search of two residence halls on the Allen County Community College campus came up empty Thursday as law enforcement officers looked for illegal drugs.
The search — utilizing dogs trained to search for illegal drugs — covered both Horton and Winter halls, Vice President for Student Affairs Randy Weber reported to college trustees Thursday night.
The search was coordinated by the Iola Police Department with the cooperation of Weber and ACCC John Masterson.
The search began about 9:30 a.m. — when most of the students would have been exiting their first class of the day, Weber said.
The process began with a fire drill, forcing students out of the dorms and into the college parking lot, enabling police quicker access to the dorm floors.
Two dogs were deployed in each dorm, one for the top floor, one for the bottom.
The dogs “hit” on four suites — eight rooms in all. Those hits were then confirmed by the second dog in the dorm before officers sought and received warrants for more thorough searches.
That no drugs were found was a relief for college administrators and Iola Police Chief Jared Warner.
“That’s what you want to have happen,” Masterson said.
Warner told the Register such searches serve multiple purposes, all of which are geared to ensuring the overall health of ACCC’s students.
First, it ensured no illegal drugs were in the dorms. It also served as a deterrent, prompting students to think twice if tempted to partake in drug activity.
“The dogs are definitely a visible presence,” Warner said.
Weber told the trustees that the dogs were brought in from Neodesha and Montgomery County.
Law enforcement officers were unable to secure more dogs, which is why Masterson Hall and the college duplexes were not searched, Weber said.
“It was a good use of our drill system as well,” Weber said.
