Peters Township School District has decided that an armed security guard is needed at the high school. The district wants to be "proactive" and "help students feel more secure." ["Armed guard hired for high school," South, Oct. 22.]

I am certainly disgusted with the number of shootings, stabbings, beatings, etc. that happen in our schools. However, an armed guard is not the solution.

Will this guard be present in every classroom? Will he/she be able to monitor all of the kids all of the time, while also monitoring all school entrances to prevent the so-called "security breaches" the district is worried about?

Guns should never be allowed in a school unless it is by a properly trained police officer. An armed security guard is not a police officer.

I live in a neighboring district and hope that we do not follow this example. I don't want to ever find out what happens when a student gets shot by a security guard because of an accident or error in judgment.

TERRY JOHN

Canonsburg

In response to "Firefighter volunteers dwindling at local companies" [South, Oct. 8], I have been involved with emergency services at various times since 1996. I am a state Department of Health emergency medical technician. I have taken Essentials of Firefighting, Basic Vehicle Rescue and roughly 30 other training courses and had an internship with Pittsburgh's Bureau of Fire in Fire Investigations.

I live in Washington County part of the week and in Robinson the remainder. I am a student at Point Park University in its post-baccalaureate secondary education program, getting ready to student-teach in the spring. So my world is a bit spread and hectic right now.

Do I have the volunteer spirit? Yes.

However, the problem with someone in my situation is not a lack of willingness to volunteer, but rather will a department accept me. I cannot offer 24/7 availability.

What I can offer to a department in the western suburbs or South Hills area is someone who can volunteer 15 to 20 hours a month, has training and, more importantly, someone who has the "volunteer spirit" and can handle the rigors of emergency service.

I am willing to come to a station to help when I can and answer calls. All I ask for is -- not the hundred dollars discussed in the article, but rather a department that is understanding of my current situation and maybe let me have a desk where I could study. I know that I can do just as much studying at a fire station as I can at home or in the school library.

Is there a department that is willing to accept someone like me who still starts for the door when he hears the local siren go off?

NATHAN McDOWELL

Washington

Imagine after struggling for years in a refugee camp, arriving in a new country with few or no possessions, limited or no understanding of the native language and an understanding of culture very different from everyone you come in contact with every day. For hundreds of refugees every year, that is their experience as they come to Pittsburgh to make new lives for themselves and their families.

The resettlement of refugees is a tremendous challenge for those arriving here escaping persecution and seeking a life of safety and opportunity. It is equally challenging for those welcoming them and working to help them maximize the opportunities that a life in Pittsburgh can hold.

Catholic Charities has spent years resettling refugees, and we are grateful to our many partners who strive to help our refugees maintain their own culture while learning to incorporate the American culture into their lives. We would like to commend the Paynter Elementary School in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District for the opening of a Welcome Center for refugee students as highlighted in the article, "At school: Here's how to say 'learn' in Nepali" [Post-Gazette, Oct. 12].

How wonderful that these children can enter a place of warmth, caring and learning and have their individualism celebrated thanks to the special concern of Principal Darlene DeFilippo and her amazing staff.

SUSAN RAUSCHER

Executive director, Catholic Charities

Pittsburgh

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