Students not worried about virus at their school
Flu hotlines
The Rock County Health Department is offering two hotlines for people to learn about the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu.
Callers to (608) 373-3810 will hear a pre-recorded message with information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Information will include:
-- Symptoms
-- How the flu is spread
-- Prevention measures
-- When to seek medical help
You can call the state's information hotline, 211, to talk directly to a receptionist. The hotline isn't staffed with health professionals, but a receptionist will take your question and call you back, said Karen Cain, Rock County health officer.
Photo
A boulder in front of Milton High School reflects the fact that the school is closed, and will stay closed until at least Wednesday because of a suspected case of swine flu.
MILTON — Monday was a perfect day for basketball: sunny and warm with a slight breeze.
And junior Adam Johnson wasn't about to let a case of swine flu at Milton High School bring him down—especially when that case got him two unexpected days off school.
"I think (the flu threat) is over exaggerated," Johnson said as he played basketball at Schilberg Park, defying the school's recommendation to avoid public places.
Across the street, the parking lot at Milton High School was deserted but for a TV news crew. Someone had painted "Welcome to Swine Flu High" in bold black letters on the large rock facing High Street.
The Rock County Health Department ordered the school closed Monday and today after finding a student has a probable case of H1N1, commonly known as swine flu, over the weekend. It's the second probable case in Rock County.
Schools must be closed for one to two weeks after an infected student last attends school, said Karen Cain, Rock County health officer. Officials believe the student last attended school Tuesday, April 28, so the school must be closed until at least this Wednesday.
The school probably will reopen Wednesday unless the county discovers more students with the virus, Superintendent Bernie Nikolay said.
Schools won't have to make up days that were cancelled because of swine flu, according to the state Department of Public Instruction.
The health department is revealing little about the infected student to protect her identity. Cain declined to say whether the student lives in Janesville or Milton, but she did say the student has no school-age siblings and recently traveled to an "affected area."
Nikolay doesn't even know who the student is, he said.
The district kept elementary, intermediate and middle schools open but said students whose parents chose to keep them home would be excused.
That was the situation for Kevin Van Acker, 11. His older sister, Brooke, is a sophomore at Milton High School, and his mother kept him home today.
"My mom's worried about getting (swine flu)," Brooke said.
Brooke, Kevin and Brooke's friend Alicia Tessman, a senior, were at the Janesville Mall around lunchtime Monday to buy hand sanitizer from Bath & Body Works.
They were concerned about the outbreak and planned to spend the rest of the day inside, Brooke said.
"We're going to go get some food and probably go back to my house, play some Xbox," she said.
Other students weren't so worried. Students passed through Milton Public Library all morning, mostly to use the Internet, said Lisa Brooks, library director.
The city would consider closing the library if the entire school district closed, Brooks said.
"We're trying to be reasonable about it and wait and see what happens," she said.
Cain said she expects more Wisconsin schools to close in the coming days. There were 100 probable cases in Wisconsin as of Monday morning, up from 66 probable cases Sunday, she said.
May 7, 2009 at 7:25 p.m.
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and you should get a new interest other than commenting on the gazette extra websight cuz you seam to just annoy everyone "SORRY!"
May 7, 2009 at noon
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If your claiming to be proud of this so called art work,you better get your money back! try a new interest,art isn't working. "SORRY"
May 6, 2009 at 9:52 p.m.
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Hi woodsman! i just wanted to let you know that I painted the rock, im a SENIOR, im SEVENTEEN, and im in NATIONAL ART HONOR SOCIETY! You can actually see some of my other art hanging in the city office at the public library since you see to love my work so much!:)
May 6, 2009 at 5:31 p.m.
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Agreed Localboy, no need to panic, but lets not refer to swine flu as a joke either. Flu is contagious, pneumonia is not contagious. And yes, my behavior is different when someone near me has the flu.
May 6, 2009 at 2:50 p.m.
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I will always be a CHILD at heart. :)
May 6, 2009 at 2:49 p.m.
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SARAH......Love your post! Right? Some people can find something wrong with a flower for crying out loud! I think it is cute!
May 6, 2009 at 2:36 p.m.
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Sometimes I think people like to comment on these just to get in an argument with somebody....
May 6, 2009 at 2:33 p.m.
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RUM;Annoying: Something a child might say,but then again "YOU" sound to be one!! Your opinion is "ALL" that matters. BYE BYE~~~~~~
May 6, 2009 at 1:46 p.m.
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This has got to be a new low for Gazette blogging: Fighting over a rock! God, help us all. Personally, I am glad the kids are painting rocks instead of smoking them.
May 6, 2009 at 1:05 p.m.
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AGAIN, the rock is still in Parkview I believe.
May 6, 2009 at 1:04 p.m.
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I think this rock is cute! It is nice to see a sense of humor in the midst of all seriousness. Granted, this flu can be very serious, in reality, we can't stop living just because of the fear of the "mights". Precautions should be taken, but paranoia shouldn't. Also, I find it hard to believe that ANY teen would see this as serious.....they do believe they are invincible after all. :o)
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Woodsy, you are annoying.
May 6, 2009 at 12:49 p.m.
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Maybe this type of thing might be fun,but i still think it could lead to other things. You do have to admit it does look sloppy & ghetto! You would think that the schools would have some sort of art classes,that would in hence the drawings to be more beautifying when displayed. If your saying that older kids do these drawings,they missed a few,if not all their classes that would make one believe that their was some kind of talent behind these drawings. Looks to me to be drawn by 10 year old's!
May 6, 2009 at 12:27 p.m.
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Woodsmans~~obviously your entitled to your opinion. But, really, this is for fun and school spirit. We had one at Parkview in Orfordville too way back when I was there. Our was reserved just for Seniors and it was just one of the many things we looked forward to having the 'right to do' as Seniors. It maybe ghetto to you, but I assure you to the kids and even most parents~~it's all in fun and even some school pride mixed in there. Besides, wouldn't you rather kids be painting a rock than your garage door ;o)
May 6, 2009 at 10:18 a.m.
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JMO!!!!!! You don't have to agree,still looks "TACKY"!!!!!
May 6, 2009 at 10:15 a.m.
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Rock's,you must have rock's for a brain! If you think it's K to do this,then i would hate to see what your place looks like,very tacky! You tell me that the ghetto rock makes the school look nice "NOT".
May 6, 2009 at 9:12 a.m.
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Woodsman - Get a life, end of story. Its obvious you spend your life on the computer, hiding behind a screen name. Yes, defacing property is one thing but to be GIVEN permission to paint a ROCK is another thing. I'm sure you're familiar with rocks, you probably still have 'pet rocks' laying around as your friends.
May 6, 2009 at 8:56 a.m.
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MooShoo - we are not being ignorant about this flu strain. However, we are not panicking like others. Over 60,000 people die of pneumonia a year, and over 4,000 die from asthma a year. Both of these there isn't any cure for and constitutes being deadly. That information is based on knowledge not ignorance. Do you change your life because your neighbor has pneumonia? Do you close the school because a student has it? Get real. If you are healthy, you will be just fine. If you are not healthy, it will probably kill you just like any other disease or sickness. No need to panic.
May 6, 2009 at 7:33 a.m.
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It does not surprise me that kids are not worried about swine flu. Risk aversion is not in their nature along with naivity. But, the adults that downplay the swine flu should know better. They are likely the same adults that do not immunize their children against childhood diseases.
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What we are dealing with is a new strain of flu. No one has immunity to the strain and there is no vaccine for it. Epidemiologists did not know several weeks ago that the virus was not virulent or deadly. The strain will mutate, and there is nothing that prevents it from turning into a deadly version.
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The 1918 pandemic first appeared in the spring as a mild flu. It mutated into the deadly version that killed millions worldwide in the following fall/winter.
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At some point, a flu virus will go pandemic. That means a worldwide outbreak of the disease. If it is a deadly flu, let say 2-3% mortality, millions will die.
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Odds are naysayers, you will be right in the short term with your predictions about this strain of flu. You do not base your predictions on knowledge and education, you base them on ignorance.
May 6, 2009 at 4:53 a.m.
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Today in this world people are so willing to follow the crowd and not think for themselves. Swine flue is serious but this time around it was media driven plain and simple. Why would they do such a thing? Well maybe it is the easy way out and they really do not have any other bad news to report. Maybe if they would do their jobs which is fair and unbiased reporting they would have more to report on. Oh right King Obama has to allow them to report on what he wants. Hey King you should have went to the King for a burger it would have been more fitting. Just so you know he took a reporter with him on his spur of the moment thing. Seems like he is still acting like a king instead of a president. Man I hope he gets it right quickly I don't think we can handle much more of an idol american president. Hail to the cheif, wait, hail to the king?
May 6, 2009 at 3:52 a.m.
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You shouldnt be affected by swine, its the common cold, get over it!!
May 6, 2009 at 12:58 a.m.
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So you must be ignorant to think the kids don't do this elsewhere. So you must be younger then snot to think this is cool,and what part of defacing private property don't you understand? If people in charge o.k.'s this type of behavior,then we need more mature people in charge of our youths. No wonder the school has employees doing minors & teachers doing drugs,kids react to what they see & hear!
May 5, 2009 at 11:59 p.m.
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woodsman - you must be older or narrow minded... as the "spirit" rocks can be found at least a couple local highschools. I know Craig has one and obviously Milton has one. Be glad the kids are allowed to "express" on a rock instead of doing so on a building!!!
May 5, 2009 at 11:59 p.m.
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So teaching these kids it's k to tag,do you really think the buck stops at the rock? Then your intelligence must be as intelligent as the rock! GHETTO GHETTO GHETTO!!
May 5, 2009 at 9:47 p.m.
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That rock brings back fond memories. If I remember correctly, it's been stolen a couple times, only to show up on a homecoming parade float, but I think at one point it was blown up. (And true, there were inches worth of paint on it.) This replacement rock is more rectangular and definitely MUCH larger than the initial rock.
May 5, 2009 at 8:30 p.m.
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The rock now says "Welcome back".
May 5, 2009 at 7:58 p.m.
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Tradition or not,it looks ghetto! JMO!
May 5, 2009 at 6:41 p.m.
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The people who think I'm over exaggerating really need to watch the video. After watching it, come back here and we'll talk about it.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/lauri...
May 5, 2009 at 5:37 p.m.
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I remember painting that rock...it was a lot smaller back then I think...all of the paint layers over the years sure made it grow LOL.
May 5, 2009 at 5:37 p.m.
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the rock is allowed to be painted so i dont see why anyone would be arrested..
May 5, 2009 at 5:28 p.m.
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woodsman No one will be arrested or ticketed for painting the rock. Its tradition. As soon as this blows (no pun intended) over the classes will be at "war" to see who's paint job will last the summer.
May 5, 2009 at 4:10 p.m.
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The sky is falling, the sky is falling!
May 5, 2009 at 3:24 p.m.
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Localboysince1968, The 1977-1978 outbreak of russian flu pales in comparison to the 1917-1918 pandemic.The potential of H1N1 doing now what it did then is what have people concerned.And i doubt this is a "joke" to the people or families affected by it.
May 5, 2009 at 3:04 p.m.
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Janesvillean, you are wrong about your definition of Wag the Dog. It is a story of a fake war used to distract the public from the real story or truth.
May 5, 2009 at 2:07 p.m.
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This whole swine flu deal is a joke. It is just a fancy name for a flu strain. I once had "russian flu" and nobody panicked over it.
May 5, 2009 at 2 p.m.
May 5, 2009 at 1:06 p.m.
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Important prevention tips to remember about H1N1 flu: relax, stay educated about flu progress, wash hands very frequently, stay home when you are feeling sick, stay away from sick people and keep your hands away from your nose and mouth. Call the Rock County Health Dept. flu line for questions. We have plenty of info on our Web site as well: http://www.mercyhealthsystem.org/ then click on the "swine flu" icon. You can also follow Mercy on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mercyhealth
May 5, 2009 at 12:57 p.m.
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My husband, who's a retail manager, says this is the best thing that's happened in a long time LOL He meant the school closing~~sales have been up Mon and Tues due to the school being closed. Maybe this is how Obama is stimulating the economy.
May 5, 2009 at 12:54 p.m.
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nlc85, I'm sure her spelling error was a simple error like your grammar error in your post. We all make mistakes. It's not like her post is riddled with spelling errors like other posts I see on here :)
May 5, 2009 at 12:45 p.m.
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I was waiting to hear from someone,to say who got arrested for defacing private property (THE ROCK)!!
May 5, 2009 at 12:01 p.m.
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BlairsLair maybe you should educate yourself on spelling before commenting other people's comments.
May 5, 2009 at 11:37 a.m.
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I believe the Milton boys soccer team and parents just got back from Mexico !
May 5, 2009 at 11:30 a.m.
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BlairsLair, could you please explain to me why Sannio is ignorant?.Exactly what knowledge or information does he/she lack in this situation?.Did you watch the link that was posted?.That video explains very well why we should be concerned.It happened before, it can happen again.The doom and gloom people are on one end of the spectrum, the naysayers are on the other.The informed/aware/educated are firmly in the middle where we should be.
May 5, 2009 at 11:02 a.m.
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crafty, since the term "wag the dog" refers to a false story used to start a war, do you believe this is a prelude to an invasion of Mexico?
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sannio, this is already essentially a pandemic. Pandemics are not necessarily deadly -- just widespread.
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BlairsLair, this is already a declared epidemic in Mexico. Epidemics are not necessarily deadly. Also, the avian flu was contained by a major public health effort, and mad cow has been -- we hope -- all but eliminated by stopping dangerous farming practices. (It has cropped up in both humans and cattle sporadically, though. It is not gone.) This shows that the national and international public health systems are working properly. That said, "everyone will die" is definitely in the overreaction zone. What we need to worry about in terms of pandemics is simply much larger death rates than we're used to and much more strain on public health systems including emergency rooms and supplies such as antivirals. With the flu, it takes months to grow a vaccine for a newly discovered strain.
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Far from being ridiculed, simple measures like hand sanitizer (or just thorough hand washing in most cases -- really, soap and 60 seconds is all you need) and social distancing (closing of schools and public gatherings) are very effective with an airborne person-to-person virus like the flu.
May 5, 2009 at 10:46 a.m.
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Actually there were 4-6 families that all went to Mexico with this particular party..I know this because my brother and his family were one of them. Nobody else has been sick (yet), and hopefully they wont.. I wish they would have just closed all the schools for this entire week.That would have given well over 7 days straight for germs being allowed to expire..
May 5, 2009 at 10:29 a.m.
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Sannio--So did you just finish reading The Stand by Stephan King or are you really that ignorant? People have been dying from the flu for years-just because this is a different strain, does not mean that it is an epidemic. Look at the bird flu or mad cow's desease-they both killed people and we rarely hear about them anymore. You need to relax and maybe spend some time educating yourself before you proclaim that everyone is going to die.
May 5, 2009 at 10:22 a.m.
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props to who did the rock they must be like the coolest person ever
May 5, 2009 at 10:19 a.m.
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does there always have to be so much negative on these blogs? Yes the swine flue is serious, but I also agree that with proper precautions, things will be fine. They have already stated that if it is raised to pandemic level- that DOES NOT mean a death toll. It just means that it is spreading amongst many countries/continents. Pandemic level has nothing to do with if it is deadly or not.
May 5, 2009 at 10:03 a.m.
May 5, 2009 at 9:53 a.m.
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I don't think this has been exaggerated. The sad part about all this is if it mutates to a more deadly form we are totally unprepared. Hand sanitizer just won't cut it folks, there will be collectors going up and down the streets picking up dead bodies. Don't think the hospitals will be much help, either. They will be full, and half the health care workers will be gone. You need to do a little research to find out what it will really be like when, not if a pandemic hits. Below is a link to start.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/lauri...
May 5, 2009 at 9:33 a.m.
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Swine flu = Wag The Dog
May 5, 2009 at 9:27 a.m.
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Nice job protecting the student's identity. A female with no school-age siblings who has recently traveled to Mexico. That could be anybody...
May 5, 2009 at 9:11 a.m.
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Call me stupid. The hand sanitizer from Bath & Body Works is the only kind I buy. It's just as effective as any other brand and it doesn't smell like a hospital room.
May 5, 2009 at 8:56 a.m.
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Smart kid, that Adam.
May 5, 2009 at 8:48 a.m.
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sanitizer from Bath & Body Works , give me a brake ,thats totally stupid ...who goes to the mall for that ...
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