In the mid to late 1970's there was an incident in which a teenage boy
had his hair set fire to by a teenage girl on a school bus. 
Allegedly, the victim's hair was burned almost completely from his
head because of the hair spray he was wearing.  This took place in the
Franklin Regional School district just east of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.  What I need is anybody who can remember this incident,
or was a witness to it.  The alleged perp graduated from Franklin
Regional High School in 1982.  I will also include a generous tip if
put in contact with anybody who witnessed this incident, especially if
the victim himself is located.  Thanks.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 13 Jul 2003 13:25 PDT

Benfranklin-ga,

It is against policy here to provide address and other contact
information on private individuals, so there is a real limit to how
much help we might be able to provide.

It *may* be possible to unearth some newspaper articles on the
incident, and provide a summary of these, along with a full cite so
you could get the articles yourself through an online archive, or
through your local library.

You'll have to be the judge of whether that type of information would
be worth the price you have offered here.

Just let us know how you would like to proceed.

pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by benfranklin-ga on 13 Jul 2003 21:04 PDT

I didn't realize that it's against policy to give out contact
information on individuals.  How about just names?

If that is also against policy, how about if you determine on your own
whether or not a witness, or witnesses exist, and let me know if what
you found out, and how you found out the information.  For example, I
wonder if there is a way to figure out the names of bus drivers who
drove for Franklin Regional school district in the late 1970's, then
contact them for info.  Or maybe teachers.  If you did find a witness,
you could let me know exactly the steps you took, and I could follow
those steps and find them myself.  Or, maybe you could refer the
witness to a common internet users group and I could post a message
there for them to contact me.  I'm sure if you find the information I
need, we can figure out a way to stay within the policy AND also
accomplish what I need done.

Thanks!

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 15 Jul 2003 06:27 PDT

Hello again,

I've been doing some thinking about how this might be answered to
everyone's satisfaction, and also a bit of looking around for
information on the incident.

I've done a fairly thorough check of Pittsburgh area newspapers, but
don't find anything in the late 1970's that matches the description of
the incident.  If you can provide additional information -- anything
at all -- it would be a help:
For instance:

--where/how did you learn of the story?

--are you sure of the school district?  the date?

--was it definitely on a school bus where it occured?

Any other details would be a help.

pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by benfranklin-ga on 15 Jul 2003 12:24 PDT

I heard this story from the person who claimed to be the perpetrator. 
The school district is Franklin Regional, but the bus might have been
going to/from a vocational school.  I doubt that it would have made
any papers because I don't think any charges were filed.  The dates
would be in a range between 1978-1982.

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Request for Question Clarification by umiat-ga on 15 Jul 2003 13:03 PDT

From your last statement.."I heard this story from the person who
claimed to be the perpetrator"...I take it you are trying to determine
if this is actually a true story. Did this incident actually take
place? Am I correct in this assumption?

 I have a few ideas on how you might find out if it occurred, or if
anyone remembers the incident, even without newspaper accounts, but I
need to know if my assumption is correct. (And my ideas would
certainly not be worth $200!)

umiat-ga

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Clarification of Question by benfranklin-ga on 15 Jul 2003 19:45 PDT

I am almost 100% certain the incident did happen.  What I'm trying to
do is find other people who might be able to identify the person in
question as the perpetrator.  There is a legal case pending in which
the perp's history is very important.  The perp is now denying that
this took place.  If it is shown that this story is true, then
everything else in the case falls into place.  I.e., the perp is shown
to have a violent and explosive history dating back 25 years.  If I
found any witness to this, it would be very valuable.

---

Request for Question Clarification by umiat-ga on 16 Jul 2003 17:14 PDT

benfranklin,

 As per my comment suggestions....I got to thinking. Most of the
teachers will be on summer break and you have mentioned that a court
case is pending. Therefore, my first suggestion would be to call the
individual I highlighted in the School Board article. You should also
be able to find the number through information.
 If this pans out and provides you with someone who remembers the
incident, it should provide the rest of the leads you need. Also, if
you know the alleged  victim's name, have you tried a search on the
last name in the Murraysville, Delmont and Export area?
 If any of these leads actually provide you with the information you
seek, let me know! Or, if I can help you in some other way that may
prove helpful to providing some further information, I would be happy
to give it a shot!

umiat

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Clarification of Question by benfranklin-ga on 18 Jul 2003 05:40 PDT

Thanks for the help!  I'll begin looking into these sources.

Hi, benfranklin!

 I am very intrigued with your question. I wish I could help you find
the information you desire. However, since it would be injurious to an
alleged perpetrator or victim to publish their names, I have listed
some ways in which you might find people who possibly remember the
incident if it occured.

 I have chosen to post this as a comment because it has not provided
any definite witnesses or people who remember the incident. In fact,
you may come up totally empty-handed!

 It would not be very expedient for a researcher to make the phone
calls without having the name of the perpetrator. However, if I were
you, and had names in hand, this is where I would start!
 
Let me know if you think this could help! 


POSSIBLE CONTACTS WITH KNOWLEDGE OF THE INCIDENT OR PERPETRATOR
===============================================================

Franklin Regional High School serves Murraysville, Delmont and Export.

Franklin Regional High School Administration Page
http://www.franklinregional.k12.pa.us/admin/index.html

This page has the phone numbers for Principals and Assistant
Principals, Superintendant of Schools, Transportation Supervisor,
Special Education Supervisor, Counseling Supervisor, Bus Contractor,
etc.


I THINK TEACHERS ARE YOUR BEST BET!
==================================

Teacher Index
http://www.franklinregional.k12.pa.us/teachers/index.html

You can click on each letter and find the names of all teachers in the
Senior High School, Middle and Elementary Schools. Anyone of these
teachers might remember the perpetratore, victim or incident. However,
since there is no way to tell how long the teachers have been in the
system,

** I would recommend calling the district office to find out teachers
who have held positions since the late 1970's or early 1980's.**

=======

 I have searched for an alumni organization or reunion contacts but
come up empty. However, you might be able to persuade the office to
provide you with a list of the graduating class names of 1982
(perpetrator's graduation date). Alternatively, you might be able to
get your hands on an old yearbook.

=========

Murraysville Municpal Departments Phone Number list: 
http://www.murrysville.com/muni_phone_list.htm

(Including Police Department)


ANOTHER GOOD POSSIBILITY
========================

There is a school board candidate listed on the following page who has
been an educator in the Franklin Regional school district for 38
years, and has two children who went through the school system.

Franklin Regional School Board Director Candidates 
http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:_jqXyhg78iYJ:pa.lwv.org/schoolboards/westmoreland/franklin.html+franklin+regional+school+district&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

The candidate mentioned above is also mentioned in this 2003 article
from the Murrysville Star:
http://www.murrysvillestar.com/estory.asp?ID=8110

I have found the phone number for this potential contact in a White
Pages search. Either he or his children may remember the incident.



Newspaper Contacts:
==================
Murraysville Star:
http://www.murrysvillestar.com/ (click on "contact us")


Court Records
==============
Murraysville, Export and Delmont are all located in Westmorland
County. Pehaps the Court record "might" show something.
 
Westmoreland County Courts
N Main St
Greensburg, PA 15601
Phone: 724-830-3483 

===

Classmates.com
www.classmates.com

 It doesn't appear that students at Franklin Regional High School want
to stay in touch with each other once they leave! There are only
sixteen students signed on and out of those, I found only two who fall
within the years in question.

 One attended schools in the system from 1971-1981, and another from
1976-1979. The others are all much younger.

 You can see the names of these individuals by going to the website,
clicking on "Browse Schools", going through the steps to find Franklin
Regional, and then adding yourself (for free) to the site as a
"friend." You can choose to view "all" members, and you will see the
two names I have found. You cannot
e-mail them (if they have an address) without becoming a member. 

(Once you have added yourself as a friend, you can delete your name if
you wish)

White pages search:
www.whitepages.com

 Under the male's name, I found five matches in the state of
Pennsylvania, any of which "might" be him
 Under the males' last name, I found one name in Export, which could
be a family member
 Under the male's last name, I found a female listed in Delmont, which
could be a family member


 Under the female's last name, I found 4 listings in Export, which
could be family members.
 Under the female's last name, I found 7 listings in Delmont, which
would be family members.

==


Export Volunteer Fire Department
================================
http://exportvfd.tripod.com/personnel.html

Some of the older veterans may remember an incident in the area.

7-16-2003

The answers that you have been provided by GOOGLE about this are most
excellent.  Your best bet is contacting the school board and/or the
city or county police department for that area so they could check the
case files and law enforcement databases for the criminal history of
the person, and a private investigator could also help you track down
information about this.

SINCERELY,
KEITH (I'm NOT a GOOGLE Researcher)