I wonder how many more young people will have to have their futures threatened by a stupid mistake? Yesterday two Louisiana teenagers found out that authorities mean it when they say "We take all threats made against our schools and students seriously".

One incident involved a 17-year-old student at Iowa High School who reportedly bragged to a classmate that he had a weapon in his backpack. When that classmate alerted teachers the backpack was confiscated and found to contain a pair of garden shears with seven-inch blades. That student was arrested and charged with carrying a dangerous weapon on school grounds.

The other incident involved a 14-year-old girl. The juvenile, a student at LaGrange High School in Calcasieu Parish, reportedly told a classmate that she had a bomb in her backpack.

The student is alleged to have told other students her plan was to blow up the school. Resource officers were alerted, the backpack was searched and no bomb was found. The student at LaGrange High School was arrested and charged with terrorizing.

In at least one of these cases it was reported that the student told authorities their comments were a joke. As we mentioned earlier there are certain things you can't joke about. Threatening schools is one of those things.

The silver lining that we can take from this dark cloud is that other students are speaking up for their own safety and the safety of their classmates. Remember, if you see something or hear something, it's always a good idea to say something.