North College Hill HS enhances security after last season’s safety concerns

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - North College Hill High School is enhancing safety measures for home football games after a pair of shooting incidents last season.

The North College Hill Trojans make their return to Bruce “Coach B” Baarendse Memorial Stadium Aug. 29.

When the team takes the field, parents, students and fans will fill the bleachers following the decision to play home games at alternate sites due to gun violence in the North College Hill area last school year.

Two separate shooting incidents last fall in areas close to the high school led the Trojans to relocate their scheduled home games.

That decision was something Athletic Director Rayshon Walton says took a toll on his players.

“It negatively impacted our kids,” Walton admitted. “It’s never good to do what we had to do last year, but the good thing is it’s a new year. We’re ready to go for this upcoming year. A lot of our kids returned, we’re trying to make a playoff push, so we’re ready to go for this year.”

Walton is not taking any chances this year.

Now in his second year as the athletic director, Walton said he plans to double security measures at home games.

“Four police officers and also four police cruisers at each game, we also have two [officers] walking inside each game,” Walton explained. “We also will have four security guards. So, we will have a bigger police presence, a bigger security presence just to ensure safety for all individuals involved.”

A clear bag policy will also be in place, as well as metal detectors and two entry gates for fans to enter.

No re-entry will also be enforced this year, and students under 18 will need to have a parent with them to enter the game.

Walton said this is a community-wide effort to ensure a safe season.

“I want everyone to come to North College Hill and leave with a happy response,” Walton said. “We want everyone to be able to go to the local diner or local restaurant after each game and talk about how they enjoyed it, so that’s always the goal.”

IDs will be checked upon entry to Bruce B Field, Walton added.

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