We all have to calm down just a bit here. understand that sometimes the media can make things look a lot worse than what they are.I have 2 children at north marion. THE BUSES ARE DISINFECTED EVERYDAY! The schools are also cleaned. There are parents out there if there child is sick they send them to school anyway,so that makes things even more difficult also. So we really need to work as a team and make sure our kids do what they need to do not to get sick. WE all are afraid which is very understandable but at the same time we have to really look were the source of information is coming from. Remember media needs rating also.you can also find information on www.cdc.com

Okay so Im a Senior at North Marion High School, and there have been so many kids running around in fear because of all the hype that everyone is making it out to be. Im not saying its not something to be worried about because I myself do not know much about it. We share the buses with the kids from Fairview middle, and I dont know about everyone else but I really dont wanna get sick. I just think they need to make sure EVERYONE does what they can to help prevent this from spreading anymore :)

Maybe we should keep our kids at home, but what will that solve? This is just getting started. The problem is lack of information from the start. The Board of Ed should have handled this better.But apparently nobody at the BOE or Health Department thinks this is all need to know information. If people did their job and kept us informed half of this problem may have been avoided. On Friday Sept. 4th WBOY news informed us of the Swine flu in one of our schools. Yet did not tell us which one. Why you ask? Good question!! They did say that educational materials and recommendations had been sent to both parents and students at said school. On the following day the Times WV reported that the school was Fairview Middle.The article went on to inform us that there were up to 50 cases. Mind you that is 50 out of 300 children that attend that particular school ill at the time. At no time since then has anybody bothered to keep us informed of the situation. I for one would like to know just how many children are sick now. I know for a fact some of the teachers are now sick. I also know that because the children from Fairview Middle share buses from children at other schools that there is a very high probability that there are kids getting sick all over the county. The paper said that the school was being disinfected, but made no mention of the buses. It has already started moving to other schools. We live two towns away (9 miles). My son is in the second grade with a boy who has it and do you think we received and educational materials or recommendations from our school? The answer is NO! NOTHING!!! Today the doctors offices in Marion Co. were full of people young and not so young wearing masks over their faces. This only goes to show how fast flu can travel. How are we to protect our children if we are unaware of the problem or how to manage it? Now, do not get me wrong I am more than capable of looking up the information myself now that I am aware that the Swine flu has begun at my child's school, but that is not the point. The point is that we as parents should be as informed as possible. As a matter of fact ALL OF US should be kept well informed when it comes to this. I know that when it comes down to it that this is just a flu, but it is not your average flu. People seem to forget that. A little information goes a long way. Marion Board of Ed should have given us all info from the get go. They should keep us up to date on all cases in every school. And this goes for every county not just Marion, because trust me it will happen in your county too. What will it take for someone to care?? What will it take for the school and the school boards to do their jobs. You do not have to close the schools , but for God's sake please keep us informed.

Schools have certain policies to follow, but as parents you have the right to keep your child home. There will be many parents fighting the absent policies, parents of the children who were infected. If indeed it is the schools fault for not closing or not disinfecting, when the time comes, set up meetings to get your child excused. They can do it when a child has mono or other diseases that keep them home for length of time, why would this be any different? When it comes down to it, if you are truly concerned about your child’s health and well being, keep them home until the threat is over.

To the Fairview Citizen and Parent please don't be so hard on Steve Rodriquez. Do you understand that this man's hands are tied in this situation. Until the Marion County Board of Education directs this man to close the school-----HE CAN'T. If this was his call I am sure he would have already made the decision for the children's best interest. I am also sure he would have notified every family and kept them well informed of what was happening during this time. I worked with this man for years and you will not find a more dedicated individual that cares about children----YOURS AND HIS OWN. Please don't condemn this man but give him your full support. To A PARENT BLESSED you have some good information in your letter but have you ever been to New York? This flu was already out of control when they decided to shut down the schools. Most of the houses are joined together and the only thing that seperates the two families is a wall. They do not have homes with big yards or farms to live on. So to speak from what I observed they are crammed on top of each other. In such close quarters in a city that has how many people what are the chances of shutting down a school to stop the flu. The city of Fairview is no comparsion to such a big city. What doesn't work for one may work for another. Sounds like you and your family are well prepared for this flu and I wish you good luck.

I would like to make a little statement concerning all the concerned parents. The swine flu is just a variation string of the influenza virus. It is not some super flu that kills everything and anything in contact. If children keep their hands to themselves and wash properly and often most would not be getting sick. We do not shut down school during regular flu season, why on earth should we now? Should we shut down regular jobs and careers just because of possible outbreaks? Will you complain when you can't get into the grocery store because a percentage of their workers catch the flu? Where does it stop? The school officials are doing their job. Get off their backs! It seems like there is always something to complain about and it's pretty sickening how people always find it. If we weren't complaining about this I am sure it would be something else. They are teaching. It is their job! Do you honestly think they would put all those children's lives at risk just for spite and the possibility of stacking on a few more loads of homework? Do you hear how ridiculous you sound? I am not even a teacher. I am a collage student. Did WVU shut down when there were cases of meningitis that were actually fatal? NO. People need to actually do some research before they come on here with ignorant responses and bash the education system.

I sit here reading the latest posting from the so called "concerned parents" and I cannot believe what I am reading! To the so-called concerned parent that wrote "my daughter goes to Fairview Middle and has been sick all weekend, no they are not going to disinfect the school that is to much like work for them. Mr rodriquez needs to put the kids' needs first and get something done. It is pretty bad you have almost half the school out sick"...,. PLEASE GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT BEFORE UPSETTING MORE PEOPLE WITH FALSE RUMORS!! 1. The school WAS disenfected over the weekend 2. From what I have heard....The WV STATE BOE will not let the school be closed. This was a request from Mr. Rodriguez to have the school closed. The staff and Mr. Rodriguez- DID NOT bring the virus to the school...it had to be a student -so why did the parent(s) send their child to school? 4. Literature has been sent home with students for parents to become better educated on this virus last week. Take a few moments and read it! 3. I know many staff members and Mr. Rodriguez and I feel 100% confident that they have the best interest of the students in mind. 4. H1N1 is like any virus -if it is not treated properly and swiftly it can be very dangerous 5. So if you are a parent -and your child is experiencing some of the virus symptoms, PLEASE see your doctor and keep your children home from school unitl they are completely over this or any other virus and quit trying to place blame on other people-say a prayer for those who have this virus and pray that it will not spread!

To all of the concerned parents:

Please allow me to shed a little light on how these epedemics/pandemics often works. We get so many pamphlets and fact sheets sent home on flu season and what we can do to prevent it. Truth is, aside from good handwashing and general cleanliness, if the flu will strike, it will strike. Getting you and your children immunized is a good way to fight certain strains of the flu, and I recommend getting yourself and your children vaccinated for flu early this year so that when the swine flu vaccine is available, you will already have a leg up on it. Secondly, there will come a point when they stop testing for swine flu, because it will be too wide spread and testing will be too costly and frivolous. During large outbreaks, there comes a point when all patients presenting with signs and symptoms should be treated as if it were the flu. Tamiflu has been proven to work and healthcare providers will begin treating all patients eventually who present with fever, chills, body aches, etc. with these meds. The important thing to remember is to encourage washing hands frequently, keeping fingers out of the mouths, and contacting your pediatrician/ family physician with the onset of symptoms. It may not even be beneficial for patients to go to the physician offices, if symptoms point to flu, because taking them around others will further spread the flu. You may want to call first. Closing schools has been debated and as we saw in the New York school who suffered an outbreak, it did not do any good to shut it down, it still spread. They could shut it down for a week, but the flu season is long, and the peak of it is several months away. Keep your children home until symptoms subside, and the schools should ABSOLUTELY be cleaning frequently and daily. Absence policies should be waived in times of epidemics/pandemics in order to control the spread. Teachers: inform your students to keep hands away from faces, eyes, and noses, and have them wash their hands very frequently. Clean your classrooms: supplies, chalk holders, door knobs, anything that comes into contact with skin. We should not just rely on custodial help, we need to ban together to keep this flu season under control. Hope this helped!

to prevent something means giving all the information before its to late...we all need to know what school or schools are infected....my kids go to eastdale elem. and if any of the kids get the swine flu there i think it should be made public so we as parents can take the precautions to keep our kids safe...

my daughter goes to Fairview Middle and has been sick all weekend, no they are not going to disinfect the school that is to much like work for them. Mr rodriquez needs to put the kids' needs first and get something done. It is pretty bad you have almost half the school out sick, ALL the kids that have missed for being sick should not be counted absent. The board of education needs to take the missed day policy and stick it up their ass, come on, kids get sick EXCUSE THEM don't hold it against them. They will probably shut the school down when a few of the teachers get sick or Mr. Rodriquez. Until then all the children will be counted absent and the teachers will pile on the homework like always. HAVE SOME SYMPATHY.

I'm kind of worried. I live in Fairview. It's not a big town. It could spread like wild fire. And the bus I ride to school also runs to Fairview middle. So as some one else said, it starts at the middle school then to the elementary school then to North Marion and then to all the other middle schools that feed into North Marion. Then half the county is infected. It's ridiculous. something needs to be done. Fairview middle needs to be shut down for a couple days and cleaned.

And by the way it has been confirmed that it is swine flu and they have known since last week at least.

It is Fairview middle school. Then its going to be the Elem. school then North marion and so on if nothing is done. They don't want to close school down to take care of this. So how do they plan on getting rid of this? Did they go in the school this weekend and disinfect it? It is going to spread from student to student then to sibling and parents and so on. Something has to be done! We need to flood the board of education with phone calls and the news needs to know what school and what the Board of Education is doing about it so people know whats going on. The swine flu is nothing to mess with. It kills people.

Let's not leave out our local health department.....If the school officials can't get it right----what about them???? MAYBE THE HEALTH OFFICIALS SHOULD STEP UP TO THE PLATE.

I have to agree after trying to get over this with fevers that can reach 104, The throwing up, the sore throat, and every ache you can have. I would hate for anyone else to have to deal with this, The county needs to do something to try to stop it, would it really kill anyone if the kids miss a week of school? But it might if they keep getting sick from having to go to school.

I also agree with Mike. This is insane I live in Fairview have a son and neice that go there. Gues what both familes have had sick kids and parents for a week now. Ive had to work through it . I think the school should be closed for a week give this time to work out, But with the elected officials we have in place kids saftey and common sence seem to have gone to the wayside. I think we should all remember these actions come next election time. And for now do what we feel best for our kids. If thats keeping them home then do it. The school can send work home to be done.. Lets also address the mandatory attendence days. I throw th BS flag on that one. Lets cut out the teachers meetings what do they call it senate Facality meetings ?? Send the kids to school make the teachers pull a Saturday if they need another day to do something. We parnets have to work weekends and it hasnt hurt us to do so.. Do whatys right for your kids now and help change it for the better come election time. I say no current member needs re-elected they obviously arent there for our kids.. Just my 2 cents worth..

I agree with Mike Wilson.....lets get our heads on straight....the children and for that matter all of us and our health are the top priority....if there is that much pressure about missing a day, then the "program" needs to change...as a marion county parent of schoolers, I always felt the heat of keeping kids home when they were sick....ADMINISTRATORS....GET YOUR HEAD ON RIGHT!!!!!

You know this policy on how many days a kid can miss, is alot of the problem!!! Let's see, do we send them if they have a cold or do we wait until they are fevered,it's not about our kids, it's about the money....

X--EMPLOYEE Let's just step back and take a look at the school system. This school has how many children going there---300 more of less. IT IS A SMALL SCHOOL. Fifty children sick, and youcan bet there will be more come Tuesday moring, is a lot for such a small school. A school is the worst place for germs to spread. Let's face it, little ones and some times the big ones don't wash their hands regardless of how many times you remind them or how many phamphlets and papers is put out to read. Cancel school for a few days that is out of the question. The Marion County Board of Education should get their priorities straight. They say they have to have so many instructional days to complete a year. GENTLEMEN DON'T YOU HAVE TO HAVE SO MANY STUDENTS PRESENT IN THE COUNTY TO COUNT IT AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL DAY? If there is a sports event going on they excuse those children and quess what those days doesn't factor into the equation. Our children's health is more important then a sports event don't you think? Maybe the State Superintendent of Schools and our Honorable Govenor Joe Manchin shoulc try to make some exceptions to the number of days in school when we have something like this going on. The work force is very shaky. Now these children go home with this flu and the parents get it. Guess what maybe they don't have sick days----now the income for this family has been cut. IF THIS HAD HAPPENED AT THE CENTRAL OFFICE, WOULD OUR SUPERINTENDENT AND HIS ASSISTANTS BE AT WORK----- DOUBTFUL. Better yet would the Superintendent and his assistant's please go to this school for the next week and set in the classrooms from the time school starts until it ends. OH YES, AND PLEASE DO RIDE THE BUS. MAYBE YOU NEED TO GO BACK TO USING CLOROX insted of a disenfectent soap that you got a good deal on that apparently doesn't work!!!!!!!!! Parents the only way to protect your child is to take the necessary precautions and if this means keeping your child home so be it. WE HAVE NO CHILDREN TO LOOSE.

This is totally insane! What the Times WV says is that as many as 50 people from Fairview Middle may be infected. They go on to say they are focusing on nearby schools that share buses with Fairview Middle. Well, thank you for sending us the parents of those neighboring schools any information or giving us any warning. WAY TO GO!!!!!!

If you read the times wv today it says its fairview middle and that the school is not closing they will remain open and that they believe theres about 50 cases. Im so scared....my neice goes to pre-school there and my mom watches her and my 5 month old baby. Im so worried hes going to get it. I dont know what to do!

My son was out sick so I would not have know about this except I called a clinic that was in sheer panic over it.. It has been a sickhouse since day one of school. Poor kids have had everything from colds to stomach flu, to swine flu....Well we went to be treated from our doctors today!

I totally agree with the concerned parent. If they don't tell us which school how can we protect the other children from getting the flu????? My child does not go to a marion county school but I would still want to know which school because we have friends that have children go to marion county schools.

So, let me get this right not all cases will be tested which means not all cases can be treated. We have no idea which school has the "numerous" students infected so we have NO WAY to better protect ourselves or our children. Well isn't that just wonderful. Why don't you just go ahead and infect them right now it would be easier than making us all worry every day.