School Fundraiser Halted Over Fishing Knives

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Germantown - A high school band fund-raising effort has been halted by School District officials because the fishing kits that were to be sold contain 6-inch filet knives.

Knives are not allowed on school property, and what started out as a donation from a parent has turned into a sticky situation.

Band leader Jim Barnes didn't expect the fishing kits, manufactured by Shore Lunch Inc., to pose a problem, he said. Barnes was delighted when a band student's father offered to donate the merchandise, he said.

"It seemed like a kit with a fishing lure, fish batter, a recipe book and a videotape," he said. "We were not aware of the filet knife. It was there, but it wasn't obvious. I didn't realize it until the truck came around."

The truck was hauling 2,200 of the kits, and Principal Janet Barnes (no relation to Jim Barnes) said she learned about the filet knives after the truck driver brought it to her attention.

"The semi-driver was the one who said, 'Do you know that there are filet knives in those?' " Janet Barnes said. "I immediately said, 'They're not coming in the school.' "

The kits are now being stored in the garage at Jim Barnes' house.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/ozwash/nov04/274442.asp