By Chris Falcone

The Town of Hempstead gained some national recognition recently in a bizarre story involving a transplanted Long Islander simply displaying love for his hometown, not drugs.

A school administrator at Atlanta’s Gwinnett County’s Grayson High School confronted senior Terrell Jones on Aug. 26. Jones’s white t-shirt sported the slogan “Hempstead, NY 516,” referring to the Long Island town encompassing the University community and its subsequent telephone area code.

The administrator probed Jones on the nature of the shirt, questioning the town’s name as a reference to hemp, the drug commonly known as marijuana.

Jones, moved to the suburban Atlanta community with his parents, was excused from his class. Facing the prospect of some form of school reprimand, Jones demanded that school administrators search the Internet for the northeastern town.

Administrators finally realized their mistake and absolved Jones of any wrongdoing, but by the time he was allowed to attend classes again, he felt vindicated.

According to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Gwinnett County officials defended the administrator who took matters into his own hands.

“The administrator was simply doing his job,” Sloan Roach, Gwinnett County Public Schools spokesperson said.

Roach stressed the school district’s zero-tolerance drug and alcohol policy that includes an on-campus prohibition on apparel that refers to drug use.

Hempstead’s Web site, www.townofhempstead.com, offers a few geographical and statistical resources that Gwinnett County administrators can use from now on.