6 days ago
Former Malone superintendent recalls dramatic end to 2015 grad ceremony amid prison break
Jun. 7—MALONE — The infamous 2015 Dannemora prison break coincided with the end of the school year, which led to wide concerns about student safety. It ended up concluding on what was graduation weekend for many local school districts, causing turmoil for ceremony and party plans.
Jerry Griffin, who was the Malone Central School District superintendent at the time, recalls its ripple effects on the tail end of the 2014-15 school year and the unforgettable graduation ceremony that took place as a result.
On that first weekend when the public learned David Sweat and Richard Matt had cut through their cell walls and escaped through the sewer, Griffin recalls not being concerned since Sweat and Matt were initially believed to be headed away from Franklin County.
"What I recall is when it first happened, the next day at school, our understanding was they had fled the north country completely and they were gone somewhere else. I didn't think a whole lot about it," said Griffin, who is now Potsdam Central's superintendent.
Not long after, "(law enforcement) felt they were still in the north country and potentially heading towards Malone. And that was just in a couple days."
"I remember a lot of parents being concerned about sending their kids to school. I remember working closely with local and state law enforcement. They were great, really great to work with," Griffin said. "There were a couple days, at our elementary school, we did not allow our kids to go out for recess. There were a couple days when the search really intensified in the Malone area."
Malone's high school graduation was scheduled for July 27, 2015. Griffin recalled a debate over holding graduation indoors, rather than outside on the athletic field.
"There was a lot of concern because Salmon River runs behind it. There was talk, are they walking along the river?" Griffin said.
"I remember having a meeting and specifically deciding we re going to have graduation outside and not in the gym," he said. Indoors, it would have limited attendees to four per student.
Griffin said security is a concern even for a normal year. The Franklin Academy campus is accessible by foot from "a few different spots." Police ended up guarding the event and keeping an eye on all the potential access points.
"I remember looking at that hill (from the stage) ... and there were armed law enforcement officers," which Griffin described as "a really weird feeling, but reassuring." He remembers thinking to himself, "this is the time we're living in, that's what graduation looks like."
The ceremony ended on quite the memorable note.
The event included presenting a diploma to a World War II veteran from Duane who had been drafted and served while still in high school.
In New York, school superintendents have the authority to give honorary diplomas to veterans who were drafted as teenagers and couldn't finish their studies as a result.
That evening of June 27, the veteran's senior granddaughter was also to receive her diploma.
However, in their nearby hometown, "there were roads that were closed in that area and they were not able to come to graduation They could not get through. It was devastating," Griffin said.
The high school principal at the time, Brandon Pelkey, was able to pull some strings, Griffin recalls.
"He had some connections in law enforcement. He got word out that this was happening."
Because of that, police working the area where the vet and his granddaughter lived let them through under escort, but the family didn't arrive until the ceremony had just ended.
"The grad ceremony had just ended. The kids had thrown their hats, people were happy, it was the end of the ceremony. We were able to stop everything, and Mr. Pelkey did a great job getting everybody under control real quick in order to officially have the granddaughter walk across stage and the grandfather who was a vet walk across the stage. Mr. Pelkey made sure they had their moment," Griffin said.
That's a story I'll always remember," he added, "and I'm sure they'll always remember it as well."
Readers responded with brief stories of their own on The Malone Telegram's Facebook page, under a post asking for their memories of the three-week saga. Two of them recalled the shadow it cast over a wedding and a graduation party.
"We have a camp in Mt View and were getting married on July 4th thank God they captured the 2nd one ... We thought we were going to have a shotgun wedding as to Mt View was crawling with Troopers, CO's, Vermont Troopers, FBI and many more. We were scared for our grandchildren and would not allow them outside," one comment reads in part.
"We were having a Graduation party on Third St. in Malone the day the second one was shot. We were put in lockdown and no one could leave or come back on the street. We also met Dog the Bounty hunter that day," another commenter wrote.
