It has been three full academic school years since the controversial August 2020 closing of Western Salisbury Elementary School and while it stands idle as administrators and board members contemplate its future it has found a way to serve the community even in its dormancy.

Recently the school building afforded the Salisbury Township Police Department as well as other local police departments a unique opportunity to train for the unthinkable. The abandoned school provided a way for law enforcement and their canine counterparts to train in a realistic setting as they worked their way through hallways, doorways, classrooms and open areas similar to schools across the nation.

In preparation for the hands-on portion of their training, members of the local police force attended eight hours of classroom instruction which allowed officers to be up-to-date with the latest tactical techniques. Once in the building each officer was able to put into practice methods learned in the classroom.

The training at WSE was part of a larger plan for a countywide full scale drill encompassing numerous regional police departments at the local, state and federal levels as well as EMS crews, fire departments, area hospitals, Lehigh county dispatch and rescue task force.

The drill took place Aug. 9 at Orefield Middle School in South Whitehall Township.