Man lights himself on fire to protest religious based decision by school system

**Terminator** · 12-27-06, 09:41 AM

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) -- A man used flammable liquid to light himself on fire, apparently to protest a San Joaquin Valley school district's decision to change the names of winter and spring breaks to Christmas and Easter vacation.

The man, who was not immediately identified, on Friday also set fire to a Christmas tree, an American flag and a revolutionary flag replica, said Fire Captain Garth Milam.

Seeing the flames, Sheriff's Deputy Lance Ferguson grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran to the man.

Flames were devouring a Christmas tree next to the Liberty Bell, where public events and demonstrations are common.

Beside the tree the man stood with an American flag draped around his shoulders and a red gas can over his head.

Seeing the deputy, the man poured the liquid over his head. He quickly burst into flames when the fumes from the gas met the flames from the tree.

The deputy ordered the man to drop to the ground as he and a parole agent sprayed him with fire extinguishers.

"The man stood there like this," the deputy said with his arms across his chest and his head bent down, "Saying no, no, no."

The man suffered first degree burns on his shoulders and arms, Milam said.

Kern County Sheriff's Deputy John Leyendecker said the man had a sign that read: "(expletive) the religious establishment and KHSD."

On Thursday, the Kern High School Board of Trustees voted to use the names Christmas and Easter instead of winter and spring breaks.

**Terminator** · 12-27-06, 09:43 AM

We know this will be a heated discussion. That is okay. We will not lock this. No Alpha Hotels here please.

**jmur5074** · 12-27-06, 09:55 AM

Originally Posted by Terminator

We know this will be a heated discussion. That is okay. We will not lock this. No Alpha Hotels here please.

How about Bravo Hotel?

**Terminator** · 12-27-06, 10:01 AM

No Bravo Hotels either. Remember, in restraint, their's valor.

**CountyFourteen** · 12-27-06, 10:32 AM

hmmmm not sure if I should comment, hate that the flag and the tree was burnt................and glad the liberty bell wasn't burnt........................

**Jenna** · 12-27-06, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by Terminator

We know this will be a heated discussion.

Pun intended?

**CountyFourteen** · 12-27-06, 11:02 AM

"The deputy ordered the man to drop to the ground as he and a parole agent sprayed him with fire extinguishers." Thats good they helped this......hmmmmm person....hopefully they also got him mental help........

**Ducky** · 12-27-06, 02:03 PM

He's luck to have only gotten 1st degree burns. I wonder how much hair he lost?

Poor tree

**Terminator** · 12-27-06, 02:10 PM

Can we, here at LEF, have a discussion about something controversial, like this, without all hell breaking loose. I guess we're one up on the competition already then.

**Willowdared** · 12-27-06, 07:00 PM

Meanwhile...the same school district is down to only 2 SRO's.

By Ellen Thompson
Record Staff Writer
December 26, 2006 6:00 AM
STOCKTON - Teachers sometimes say they feel like police officers. David Lampkins is a sheriff's deputy who sometimes feels like a teacher.

Depending on the hour, he can be found meeting with students in the vice principal's office of Franklin High School, breaking up lunchroom scuffles and watching over the rush of cars and buses after school.

He is one of two San Joaquin County sheriff's deputies in area schools, remnants of the past decade, when most high schools and many elementary schools had officers on campus. Population growth meant many of the officers who used to be in schools were moved to patrol positions.

"He has a value beyond the school. People out here know him," Franklin High School Principal Scott Luhn said of Lampkins. That's the reason the Stockton Unified School District and Sheriff's Office agreed to split the cost to keep him on the east Stockton campus after a grant that paid his salary ended, Luhn said.

When he arrived at Franklin four years ago, Lampkins was overwhelmed. Now the soft-spoken deputy with a well-practiced stern expression feels differently: "I'm a fixture here."

Jesus Zapian, a senior at Franklin, agrees. But he figures Franklin without Lampkins would be worse off.

"If he wasn't here, there would be a lot more drama going on, more fights," he said.

More fights could mean the difference between coming to school or staying home for students such as Zapian.

"Sometimes I don't want to come to school because it's safer at home," he said.

He expects to graduate next year, he said.

Seeing freshmen through to graduation is the most important job, Lampkins said. Franklin had a 78 percent graduation rate in 2005, the most recent year for which records were available - below state and county standards.

Lampkins worries that gang fights are getting in the way of students' dreams. He estimates 400 of the school's 2,600 students are gang members, many of them joining as a way to keep the friends they grew up with.

"The problem is growing, I can tell you that," he said.

He will lead a community meeting at 6 p.m. Jan. 30 at Franklin to answer questions from parents and community members about gang activity in and around the school.

He's also working next month to help teachers feel more like teachers, and less like police, by sharing intervention tips to keep students on track to stay students, not criminals.