Month: June 2009

Press Release from Prince William County Schools concerning a confirmed case of the swine flu.

Also, interesting is the World Health Organization (WHO) Update which tabluates the number of people infected and the deaths per country.

Case of H1N1 Virus (Swine Flu) Confirmed
Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Early Tuesday evening PWCS received notification of a confirmed case of the H1N1 Virus, otherwise known as “Swine Flu” involving a West Gate Elementary School student. The student is recovering at home and will not return to school until cleared by a doctor.

Our School Division has been in frequent contact with local and state health officials regarding this particular case, in accordance with established PWCS guidelines. We are closely monitoring the situation and are utilizing the guidance of the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). All appropriate measures are being taken to ensure the health of all of our students and staff.

While the spread of the virus from person-to-person continues throughout the United States, the severity of the virus does not appear to be any more severe than seasonal flu. The new guidance from the CDC does not recommend closing a school unless there is significant faculty or student absenteeism which would interfere with the school’s ability to function. School Division officials will work closely with local and state health officials to monitor the situation and determine if our response needs to change. This could include the future possibility that a school may need to close.

Parents are asked to continue to monitor their children for any of the symptoms of influenza, which include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue, and occasionally vomiting and diarrhea. If your child is experiencing any symptoms which you are concerned about, please contact your child’s healthcare provider.

This is a good opportunity to remind everyone regarding simple steps that you can take to keep your family healthy. These include:

• Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water. Clean hands with an alcohol-based hand cleaner if soap and water are not available
• Cover your nose and mouth with your sleeve or a tissue when you cough or sneeze
• Stay home when you are sick
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth to prevent the spread of germs
• Avoid close contact with those who have symptoms of flu
• If you need to seek care for you or your child, please call ahead to your health care provider’s office and tell them what symptoms you have, so they can see you quickly and prevent exposing other people in the waiting room.

Parents are encouraged to report the reason for their child’s absence to the school. It is very important, during a health situation such as this, to have accurate information about absences.

The health and safety of our students and staff is always of the utmost importance. Please refer to the PWCS web site at pwcs.edu or the VDH web site at www.vdh.virginia.gov for more information and for helpful resources regarding the H1N1 Virus.

Questions and answers about swine flu from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

World Health Organization (WHO) Update

April’s Mom blogger ran an anti-abortion website. She told of being a single mom, pregnant with a terminally ill baby, who refused to have an abortion because of her deep Christian faith.

Followers prayed for her and her baby. They sent gifts and letters to a post office box. They followed and supported her for 2 months. Then on Sunday ‘April’ was delivered at home and supposedly died. April’s Mom posted pictures. Soon a few of the followers realized they had been duped. It was all a hoax. Social worker Rebeccah Beushausen supposedly was April’s mom. She admitted to getting addicted to the attention of the followers.

Read More

It is quite rare that I can become speechless, as I am sure most of you would concur. However, I found myself, having been sent an e-mail by Supervisor Stirrup’s office, in that exact frame of mind…speechless!

For those of you who have been following the saga of Silver Lake, 233 acres donated by Toll Brothers, there was a tug of war between Bull Run Conservancy vs The Park Authority. At one point, there was a suggestion, either by Board Members or the Park Authority that the donor from BRMC should just give the additional 263 acres to Prince William County and that we would control the 500 acres. Well, the donor did NOT want to relinquish control (one can see why now), and eventually, this “gift horse” fell flat on its butt. Bull Run Conservancy withdrew their offer and to this day, Silver Lake, has YET to open to the public.

Here is the latest on what is happening at Silver Lake, direclty from Supervisors Stirrups office:

The FBI will be conducting a training exercise in the vicinity of Antioch Road on June 10, 2009. Residents may hear two to three pops between 9 and 11a.m. This is a controlled training exercise and there is no danger to citizens or surrounding property. Lieutenant Bill Cox (Prince William County Police Department) can answer any questions regarding this training. He can be reached at 703-792-4951.

Please let the homeowners in your community know about the FBI training exercise at Silver Lake.

Kind regards,
Carol Ferguson
Assistant To Supervisor John Stirrup
Gainesville District Supervisor

Here is what was agreed upon when Toll Brothers donated Silver Lake:

7/10/2006 – Silver Lake to become conservatory

Toll Brothers has plans to donate more than 280 acres of open space to Prince William County in return for approval of some 400 new homes in a 2,800-home community. … In response to the community’s concerns, the developers said they would donate 282 acres surrounding Silver Lake to the county for a school, nature conservancy and a therapeutic horseback riding facility, according to a letter from Michael Lubeley, a Toll Brothers attorney. Washington Examiner

This is NOT about a training exercise, this is about almost three years of citizen participation being ignored, in fact, not just ignored, but given the proverbial middle finger in my opinion. There have been several public hearings, multiple meetings, and county attorney involvement in order to discuss the fate of Silver Lake. Overwhelmingly citizens wanted passive recreation. THIS is not passive recreation, in fact, for citizens, there is nothing but a locked gate, saying “keep out”. So much for Prince William’s county desire to provide quality passive recreation and a commitment to land conservation.

Update: The following statement has been issued

Supervisor Stirrup’s Office asked that I reply to your concerns about the Silver Lake property being used for a joint County Police Department/FBI training exercise this week. The Public Works Department has been responsible for protecting the Silver Lake property until it can be opened for public use. Public Works approved the use of Silver Lake for a joint exercise between the FBI and the County’s Police Department, and as such, I am responsible for this decision.

The exercise is a one-time event which will be held during this week and will conclude on Friday, June 12. The quarry at the site provides an ideal location for this type of exercise because it involves underwater activity by several dive teams. The Prince William County Police Department Dive Team has in the past been approved to use the quarry on a case by case basis as a training location. The exercise this week was originally planned for last summer, but was not conducted as planned. At that time, Public Works and other County agencies had evaluated potential impacts to the lake/quarry, the Silver Lake property and surrounding communities and it was determined that there would be no adverse impact as a result of the exercise. The operational benefit of having this joint exercise with the FBI will be of significant value to the County’s Police Department and the larger community.

The Board of County Supervisors is scheduled to have a Public Hearing to consider conveying the Silver Lake property to the Park Authority at their meeting on June 23 at 2PM. It is my understanding that the Park Authority will provide you with more information about future plans for Silver Lake, as well as a time frame for when it could be opened to the public. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any additional questions you may have.

Thomas Bruun
Director of Public Works
(703) 792-6253

So, now we discover this one day event is actually a three day training exercise.

2 American reporters from Current TV, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, were sentenced to 12 years in a labor camp by North Korea on Monday. Their crime was supposedly illegal entry into the country.

It is unknown by the US if they strayed across the border or were kidnapped by border guards and taken into North Korea, to be used as pawns. The United States has been unable to obtain much information about the trial. The women were arrested in March.  They were doing investigative reporting about human trafficking in that region when they were arrested.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has expressed grave concern over the 2 women. The trial was closed to the public and the two women were tried by the highest court, so there can be no appeal.