High school senior expelled for having steak knives in truck

LEESBURG - A high-school senior was expelled three weeks before graduation after school officials found two steak knives in the bed of his pickup truck. <br> <br> Eighteen-year-old Lee County High School senior Chet Maine claimed the knives were left over from a weekend camping trip he had taken with friends. But the county school said it was bound by a state zero-tolerance policy for weapons in school. <br> <br> County school superintendent Bill Lewis said they were just following state law. <br> <br> State law requires local school boards to expel any student who brings a weapon to school. But the law also authorizes local school boards to modify the expulsion rules on a case-by-case basis. <br> <br> Maine was suspended from Lee County High School on April 30 after school officials found the knives in his truck. <br> <br> The expulsion comes three weeks before graduation. Maine had already paid for his cap and gown and graduation pictures, and was preparing to send out invitations to the ceremony. <br> <br> He said, ``I can&#39;t send &#39;em out now. I can&#39;t send out GED invitations.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Maine was a B student and likely would have qualified for the HOPE scholarship, which pays tuition and fees at Georgia colleges. HOPE spokeswoman Alma Bowen said without a diploma, Maine will lose the scholarship. <br> <br> His mother, Candace Macheers, cried after the school board vote Monday night and told reporters she would try to appeal the decision.