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Superintendent Duncan addresses county commissioners over Swine Flu information

Posted by
Tamara Sharman
in Headlines
Wednesday, August 12. 2009
Comments (49)
The possible swine flu news was first reported by Pike County administrator Steve Marro at Wednesday's commission meeting.

Dr. Michael Duncan, superintendent of Pike County schools, arrived at the meeting later and angrily addressed county commissioners. Duncan, pictured at right addressing the commission, believes that Marro was out of line in releasing the information about a possible swine flu outbreak before schools officials had the chance to contact parents.

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#1 Anonymous on 08/12/09 at 01:38 PM
There is a time and way to release such information. Parrish and Marro need to let people hired to do such a job do it. Sounds like a rush to be the one to break the news and see who could get a quote in the paper.
#1.1 Anonymous on 08/12/09 at 08:35 PM
Way to go Greg Green!! You can tell in the picture you've got Duncan's back.
#1.2 Anonymous on 08/13/09 at 06:37 AM
Normally I would agree, but this is an unusual situation. Dr. Duncan showed his usual arrogance in coming in and taking over. This arrogance is what his driving him, not the good of the school system. He is not personally invested in our schools. We are a stepping stone for him.
#2 DUMB on 08/12/09 at 02:49 PM
Marro was out of line...That was a school system problem and they were handling it...He should have never announced it in a meeting....Give me a break...Duncan had every right to be angry....Marro should have to address all the concerned parents that will panic over such info....Duncan and the board office will be the ones that have to do that...
Surely he(Marro) is a smart enough guy to realize that???????
#2.1 Anonymous on 08/12/09 at 08:52 PM
Nothing like a swine flu outbreak to get everyone's attention off the administrator swaps. Right on time. Saved by the bell.
#2.1.1 Anonymous on 08/13/09 at 06:42 AM
Ha! Good point.
#2.2 interested on 08/13/09 at 10:52 AM
Your statement that this was a school system problem is ludicrous. Once those students, teachers and administrators who had been in contact with the students who have the H1N1 virus came into contact with any other person from the general public it became bigger than a school system issue. The superintendent's failure to write a letter to the parents of his students to be sent home on that day when the issue first arose does not give him any right to keep the rest of the population in the dark since the rest of the population may frequent the same restaurants, play on the same ball teams, or otherwise come into contact with any person who was around the carriers and has not taken proper precautions.
#2.2.1 Anonymous on 08/13/09 at 04:46 PM
AMEN! Thank you.
#2.2.2 Jay Vee on 08/13/09 at 08:33 PM
Well said!
#3 dave on 08/12/09 at 02:53 PM
my 10 year old 5th grader came home from school today with a fever and going at both ends. He is now at the doctor office. The public needs to be inform asap. Parrish and Marro did the right thing.
#3.1 teacher on 08/12/09 at 05:17 PM
There have been some students going home with a stomach virus. From what the parents are saying, it's only an 18-24 hour bug. Parents are being asked to keep these kids home for at least 24 hours after fever is gone to prevent this from spreading to others. Unfortunatley, some are sending kids back the very next morning while they are still feeling bad and probably still contagious.
#4 southern end of county citizen on 08/12/09 at 02:56 PM
Marro once again has shown his intellegence. WAY TO GO...MARRO!!!

cool slogan, don't cha think?
#5 Duh on 08/12/09 at 03:17 PM
Duncan was not on the agenda. Who in hell let him get up and speak? Marro controls the agenda! It is limited to 5 minutes if you can get on it.

Marro and Parrish Swift...you just ain't right!
#6 concerned mommy of 3 on 08/12/09 at 03:39 PM
I have three kids that go to Pike schools. I just read the letter about swine flu from the superintendent and it does not say anything about 2 possible cases of swine flu. It just tells you about how to prevent flu and what to do if your child shows symptoms. It doesn't even mention swine flu. If I didn't look at the paper I wouldn't even know about the 2 possible cases of swine flu. I think parents have a right to know immediately. Two of my children have asthma and a simple cold can turn into something serious. I think the superintendent should be more upfront with the parents. The letter didn't indicate there was a possible problem with swine flu in the schools. Parents would pay more attention to the letter if it had told about the 2 possible cases. We live in Pike County word will get around anyway. Also my kids and my friend's kids say that there is no soap in the bathrooms at the schools. No wonder they get sick all of the time. They should be able to wash their hands with soap and water and use hand sanitizer. I know I supplied both from the supply lists.
#6.1 Anonymous on 08/12/09 at 05:21 PM
Yep, I got it too. I guess they will wait until 1/2 the school gets it before warning folks of the possibility.
#6.2 me on 08/12/09 at 10:18 PM
same letter as last year, pannic mode was in force cause someone was makin Duncan look bad.People are gonna get sick, no matter what. The schools need to keep the proper bathroom stuff supplied in the restrooms. Duh, you are talking about a bunch of kids in and out of them(when they are allowed to go). Budget cuts but Duncan is supporting the family he lives with--the family he don't--and you hardly ever see him on time at work.He makes way too much money, what the hell were they thinking when they hired him? Poor thing, he has a ex wife, fiance, kid--lets move him here and buy his cars and house and let him mess our system up???bring in his corupted buddies and cover their bad habbits. He has brought 1 desent person here. Can you guess who? KH everybody knows the truth to the web that has been woven and sealed with a kiss.
#6.3 Anonymous on 08/13/09 at 01:17 AM
Well, thats what the super. is mad about. Didn't get a chance to sugar coat, use diversionary tactics, or double talk to give some generic statement that more confuses people than tells them the truth. "You only need to know what we want you to know"
That letter you got is a typical govt. sidestep response, and it was thwarted by some folks telling it like it is. *gasp!
#6.3.1 Pike Resident on 08/13/09 at 03:50 PM
Yes, yes, you are all a bunch of conspiracy theorists. . . Duncan is out to kill off the entire county by letting the swine flu spread. . .
#6.3.1.1 Anonymous on 08/14/09 at 03:57 AM
No, but they are obviously not telling people the truth with their generic, misleading "notification".
#6.3.1.2 Anonymous on 08/14/09 at 06:33 AM
Don't think that is what was implied...
#6.4 Anonymous on 08/13/09 at 08:13 AM
we supply is so where is it
#6.5 CASSIE on 08/13/09 at 07:53 PM
THERE IS SOAP AND HAND SANITIZER IN THE SCHOOLS. PUT ON A MASK AND TAKE A TRIP OVER THERE. THERE ARE FOAMING HAND SANITIZER IN EVERY HALL AND VERY ACCESSIBLE FOR SMALLER KIDS. THIS IS CRAZY. YES THERE IS A VIRAL INFECTION GOING AROUND AND YES THERE IS A STOMACHE VIRUS GOING AROUND. YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME WITH THIS NON SENSE YOU ARE TALKING. WHY SAY HEY THERE MIGHT, MIGHT NOT, MAYBE, COULD BE A SLIGHT CHANCE THAT A CHILD OR TWO CHILDREN HAVE H1N1. SO EVERYONE CAN END UP WITH THE RUNS FROM WORRYING ABOUT IT? IF YOU ARE THAT "CONCERNED" GO TO WALMART AND BUY THEM A MASK. OH NO WAIT I GOT A BETTER ONE FOR YOU..... HOME SCHOOL YOUR KID. THAT WAY IF THEY GET SICK THEN ITS ALL YOUR FAULT THERE SUPER MOM.
#6.5.1 Anonymous on 08/14/09 at 07:06 AM
Hand sanitizers went up in the hallway Tuesday (let's also mention that other counties have had these in place last school year).......unless you went in every bathroom in every school you do not know that there is soap in every bathroom. I know at the ES there is no soap in the girls bathroom, just emailed the principal about it. My concern is that the bathroom is the place where most germs are spread anywhere and I don't know about you but I make my child wash her hands everytime she uses the bathroom. If we don't let them know how do we know that the custodians are doing their jobs, our taxes pay their salaries. Home schooling is a ridiculous response when people are just concerned aboutthings that should be available anyway. Kids get sick, mine does from time to time but a cleanliness concern is no reason for home school. Seems to me like some people on this blog are way to jumpy and immature.
#6.5.2 concerned mommy of 3 on 08/14/09 at 07:22 AM
They just put the hand sanitizer in the hallway yesterday! THE PEOPLE THAT KEEP RANTING THAT THE PARENTS ARE BEING OVER PROTECTIVE AND SHOULD HOMESCHOOL THEIR KIDS OBVIOUSLY ARE NOT PARENTS!! YOUR MISSING THE ENTIRE POINT!! WE SHOULDN'T FIND OUT ABOUT H1N1 POSSIBLY RUNNING AROUND THE SCHOOL FROM THE NEWSPAPER! WE SHOULD FIND OUT FROM THE SCHOOLS SO THAT PARENTS REALIZE THEY NEED TO BE ON ALERT AND PROACTIVE WHEN IT COMES TO PROTECTING ALL OF THE PEOPLE FROM THE FLU! HOW CAN WE FEEL THAT WE CAN TRUST THE SUPERTINDENT WHEN HE SENDS HOME A VAGUE LETTER ABOUT FLU THAT DOESN'T MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT H1N1 POSSIBLY GOING AROUND. PEOPLE DO DIE FROM THIS AND IT DOES SCARE ME TO HEAR ABOUT IT GOING AROUND IN OUR COMMUNITY!! OH AND BY THE WAY ARE YOU A CUSTODIAN AT ALL THE SCHOOLS SO THAT YOU CAN SEE SOAP IN ALL THE BATHROOMS...... NO I DIDN'T THINK SO!!
#6.5.3 in the know on 08/14/09 at 08:31 PM
Hand sanitizer was installed at PCPS on Wednesday 8/12...Looks good but, now long do you really think that sanitizer will last? Hand sanitizer or parapros? What is really more important?
#6.6 Prof Plum on 08/14/09 at 03:34 PM
The schools also have a responsibility to protect those two students from the lynch mobs in the public. They are children.
#7 No executive on 08/12/09 at 03:55 PM
If Duncan can't run the BOE then our Executive Marro can. Marro wants County Manager pay and Superintendent pay. All must remember that Junior Commissioner Donald Collins gave us Marro, Parrish Swift supports Marro 100%, Tommy Powers supports Marro 100% and our Chairman Doug Mangham does not know who Marro is.
Welcome to Pike County Yancey Brothers, you have the key to the county.
#8 Another Parent on 08/12/09 at 04:27 PM
Marro should keep his mouth shut about stuff he has no business talking about and so should Parrish! Let the school board do their job!
#9 Deem necessary? on 08/12/09 at 04:42 PM
Parrish Swift has been drinking too much of his taxpayer paid chunky well water. Parrish Swift is a dumb unemployed redneck with no sense of the BOC's direction. The citizens that voted this fool in office are paying a heavy price now. Parrish Swift is the BOZO Clown of the BOC. People laugh at him while it costs us money we do not have.
Sick of the BOZO and his friend Marro.
#10 A Different Dave on 08/12/09 at 05:08 PM
Duncan needs to take a trip just like Marro. He was out of line and the chair of the BOE should have addressed the issue with BOC. Do you think Do-little Duncan would let Marro barge into a BOE meeting and act like the a$$ that he (Duncan) is. Duncan has the little man (Napolian) attitude. You dumd a$$s that support Ducan need to remember that he is using Pike as a spring board for bigger things, Pike was just fine before he came as Pike was before Marro. They both are paid too much and spend too much money. Oh yes, this Dave thinks Doug so go also.
#11 Missed the meeting on 08/12/09 at 05:44 PM
I would have paid to hear Parrish Swift a non high school graduate attempt to address Dr. Duncan. Parrish needs to work on getting his GED. Even Marro and his mouth, I guess Marro could shake his Forklift Operators license in front of Dr Duncan.
#12 Anonymous on 08/12/09 at 10:12 PM
This is no ordinary flu. (by the way, 36,000 people die, yearly, from the ordinary strain of flu in the U.S.) We are only in the month of August, the flu season does not begin until the month of October. Do we have a right to be informed by every means possible? Of course we do.
If Mr. Duncan is bothered by the fact that this was discussed at the Commissioners meeting, he needs to realize we are a small county, not Atlanta. He should have informed people, as soon as he knew, that a child was being tested for the H1N1 flu strain, to at least be aware that the possibilities exist, so parents could be looking for symptoms in their children.
It is advised, by the CDC, to get your child a regular flu shot that is available now, and when the H1N1 flu shot is available, you should have your child inoculated TWO times. Vaccinating your children, and yourself, educating your children and yourself on proper hygiene, not sharing personal items, recognizing flu symptoms, and staying home when you are sick, is the best way to prevent yourself from spreading this flu.
The public should be aware that the Georgia school systems will not be closing their doors unless there are 10% of their children, at one school, sick with the H1N1 virus. You can "google" this information for the state of Georgia guidelines concerning the "swine flu" or "H1N1 flu".
Perhaps, the Commissioners felt they had a responsibility to keep the citizens in this county informed. Give them a break now and then! If you don't like the job they are doing, go to a meeting to voice your opinion, and don't forget to vote in the next election!!
#12.1 Anonymous on 08/13/09 at 06:44 AM
Thank you for this post. It's very important, and I found myself hoping that the 2 children that were sick weren't at my son's school. I realized that was a horrible thought and that I should be concerned for the children sick. But it is scary!
#12.2 Anonymous on 08/13/09 at 06:50 AM
Yes, and people need to realize that the 1918 flu pandemic that killed between 50 and 100 million people worldwide was also H1N1. The population of the earth at that time was approx. 1500 million, so this is between 3% and 7% of the entire worldwide population that died! One-third of the entire population became infected. Scientists have warned that the H1N1 virus that started in Mexico last spring would mutate over this summer and become much more virulent and dangerous. We have to be vigilent and not worry about whose ego might have been stepped on in releasing this information to parents.
#12.3 Prof. Plum on 08/15/09 at 08:39 AM
"He [Duncan] should have informed people, as soon as he knew, that a child was being tested for the H1N1 flu strain."

That's why Duncan was upset. He was trying to inform the parents of approx. 2000 students. That takes time. Have any of you tried to infrom 2000 people at once about something? The BOC caused a public panic before the BOE could address the parents.

If the BOC knew of a flu case in the general public, it's not their place to tell the public. That responsibility belongs to the Health Department. Therefore, why would the BOC have the responsibilty to report a possible cause at their meeting? They had no proof and little information other than rumor and gossip. The BOC should have let the various county agencies do their jobs.

Of course the public needs to know what is going on, but the agencies were trying to do that. The BOC caused a panic that could have been prevented.
#13 pike parent on 08/13/09 at 07:24 AM
Why did Duncan want to hide this? They've known about the two sick kids all week. The nurses all knew too because they met about it before anything was told to the public. Good going, Duncan. The volunteer fire department had to do what was right for you!
#14 sherry hollis on 08/13/09 at 11:39 AM
That's what I would like to know. WHY keep this a secret?? What's in it for Duncan to keep this a secret??
Duncan said 'Give us the opportunity to get that message out there so it can be factual and so the parents can be reassured,"

He had plenty of time to do this, right? Was the generic letter about the flu, with NO MENTION of swine flu and NO MENTION of any children in Pike co schools having this, his way of 'informing the public'???
#14.1 anon on 08/14/09 at 08:53 PM
FTE is the answer. If parents keep their kids home the system loses money. While we were lucky, and teachers got notification today that the student tested negative for H1N1 , we are all still at risk because of the propoganda being put forth from our adminitration who has a huge bottom line that they are trying to balance on our backs. Did any Central Office personnel get furloughed in the end? I think not... only teachers and parapros.
#15 So funny on 08/13/09 at 03:53 PM
What's in it for Duncan to keep this a secret? Am I reading this right? Maybe the Federal Government is paying Dr. Duncan off to keep his mouth shut and let the swine flu spread through Pike County. . . Maybe Pike County is being eradicated.
#16 stickman on 08/13/09 at 06:31 PM
I know these two children personally and their family. These two kids have not been anywhere other than Pike County this summer. Apparently some other kid(s) in school may have it. Now before you start pointing fingers, you may want to check around YOUR OWN HOUSE.
#17 anon on 08/13/09 at 07:33 PM
I heard there are 2 cases in middle school, one in elem and one at primary schools...that seems like a lot.

my child is home sick today and going to the docs in the am. their friend is also home sick with the same thing but who know what it is...spiky fever, chills, body aches, headache...guess I'll know tomorrow when we go to the docs...
#17.1 Prof. Plum on 08/15/09 at 08:43 AM
There's no swine flu; there's no H1F1. Calm down.

There are sick kids in school. There are always sick kids in school. It's a school. Your sick child unknowingly infected someone else.

The flu can be treated. Everyone take a deep breath.
#18 Code inforcer on 08/13/09 at 08:55 PM
Looks like the code informer would be on top of this instead of the CM. Word coming from the road department is she is out sick today, yep you guessed it, swine piglet symptons. The cleanup crew sanitized her phone, chair and the mens restroom. The India flag is flying and will remain until this scare is over.
#19 Safe office? on 08/14/09 at 06:04 AM
Is it safe to conduct business in the Planning and Development office? I heard last night one of the employees is out sick with a swine.
#19.1 untrue on 08/14/09 at 11:54 AM
Not out sick with a swine, Marro is in his office today. Must be some other swine.
#20 a teacher on 08/17/09 at 08:59 AM
Reading these posts breaks my heart. I am trying to instill respect and a sense of decency into the children I am teaching. I help them learn how to treat others kindly and help them to understand that words can hurt even more than punches. We also work on the topic of gossip, and how it is not appropriate. The reason we have to work so hard on basic socialization skills as well as how to be a good person is obvious. The posts on this website from Pike County residents are saddening. From bashing a young girl for being successful to spreading rumors that can hurt the children in our schools. THESE ARE THE REASONS WE HAVE TO WORK SO HARD AT SCHOOL ON THINGS THAT SHOULD BE LEARNED AT HOME! Children see and hear the ugly things being said about authority figures in our community and that teaches them that they do not have to respect others. It is such a shame. The demise of our schools is not to be blamed soley on one person, but on a group as a whole. It takes a village....and our village is falling apart.
#20.1 Anonymous on 08/17/09 at 10:16 AM
Every village has its idiots.
#20.1.1 True on 08/17/09 at 02:10 PM
Steve Marro
Don Collins
Parrish Swift
In-plant Clayton FD Lt. Henderson
LuLu Willis
Pam
#20.2 anonymous on 08/17/09 at 02:22 PM
The ultimate authority is the editor. Take up your complaints with them.
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