[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 86 (Wednesday, June 10, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S6403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO KEN MITCHELL

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, as the Senate right now debates some of 
the biggest national issues of our time, it is important to sometimes 
take a step back and look to some of the great acts that are happening 
every day in our towns, cities, and States. So I wish to call attention 
to an act of personal heroism--and that is the appropriate word; this 
man is a true hero--that took place in my home State of New York.
  Yesterday morning, at the South Orangetown Middle School in Blauvelt, 
NY--a town in Rockland County about 45 minutes from New York City--a 
disgruntled man with a gun stormed into the office of the school 
superintendent. He grabbed the superintendent, Ken Mitchell, by the 
necktie and started threatening him and making demands. At least three 
gunshots were fired.
  This is the kind of situation that would have scared most everyone. 
But, as we have learned now, Ken Mitchell is no ordinary person.
  With his safety and the safety of his students on the line, he showed 
remarkable courage and wrestled the gunman down to the ground. He was 
able to grab the gun, kick it out of the way, and get the gunman pinned 
on the ground.
  Usually when a SWAT team arrives at the scene of a crime, they are 
the ones to do the serious crime fighting. But this time, by the time 
they got there, they walked in on the school superintendent, who had 
already disarmed and pinned to the ground the dangerous criminal. To 
top it all off, Superintendent Mitchell even recognized one of the SWAT 
team members he had once coached as a kid on the local hockey team.
  According to people on the scene, Mr. Mitchell was ready to get back 
to his office. As his brother-in-law said: ``his tie wasn't even messed 
up''--just another day on the job for another great New Yorker.
  It should be no secret to anyone that this incident could very 
quickly have turned into something unspeakable. While the headlines 
today are ones of praise, they could have easily been ones of grief. 
And praise God they were not.
  But as one of New York's Senators, I want to rise publicly and 
congratulate Ken Mitchell for his act of bravery and heroism. As a 
parent myself, I know what it is like to send kids off to school in the 
morning and hope and pray they will come back home safely.
  It is people such as Ken Mitchell who make it easy for parents to 
know their kids are in good hands when they wave goodbye on the 
schoolbus and send Johnny or Jill off to school.
  Ken Mitchell is a reminder that every minute of every day Americans 
are engaging in personal, quiet acts of heroism and bravery about which 
we should all be grateful. I am proud he is from my State. And I am 
proud that, if even for one moment, I can give him some of the 
recognition he deserves.
  I am sure Superintendent Mitchell is back at work right now as if 
nothing happened. However, Superintendent Ken Mitchell, on behalf of 
all New Yorkers, all Americans, and parents everywhere, we say thank 
you. It is Americans like you that make us proud.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and once again thank my colleague 
from Oregon for yielding.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.

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