With school in full swing in most parts of Iowa, parents once again face that early morning decision – is my child too sick for school? School districts often provide guidelines for keeping children out of the classroom and the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) encourages parents to keep their children home from school when ill not only for their own child’s health, but to avoid the spread of disease to other students.

“There are times when a parent can clearly see their child is too ill for school,” said IDPH Medical Director, Dr. Patricia Quinlisk. “Other times, it’s not so clear. While we understand the challenges parents who work outside the home face when trying to accommodate a child who needs to stay home from school, it’s so important that children who have a contagious illness don’t come to class to stop them from spreading whatever they have to the other children. ”

In general, symptoms that indicate a day home from school is needed and consulting with the child’s health care provider is appropriate include:

fever (temperature higher than 100.4 degrees F. when taken by mouth);
severe sore throat that lasts more than 48 hours, especially when accompanied by a fever;
a significant rash, particularly when other symptoms are present;
sores in the mouth with drooling;
red eyes (pink eye);
skin infection with erupting sores;
severe ear pain;
an uncontrolled cough or difficulty breathing;
diarrhea;
vomiting more than 2 times in 24 hours;
severe headache, especially with a fever or
any symptoms that suggest a more serious illness, such as sluggishness, persistent crying, or irritability.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children may be allowed to return to school after symptoms are gone for at least 24 hours. For information on specific childhood illnesses and what to do regarding school attendance, visit www.idph.state.ia.us/hcci/common/pdf/childhood_illness_guide.pdf.

As of Tuesday, the Page County Sheriff’s Office reports that the handgun found in possession of Rodney Eugene Long during the home invasion in Taylor County was the handgun that had been stolen in a burglary at 2914 180th Street in rural Clarinda which KJAN reported on earlier this week. This was confirmed by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. Evidence from this burglary has been turned over to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Crime Lab for analysis.

No charges have been filed in this burglary case and the case remains open pending results of the analysis from the DCI Crime Lab.

Harlan Municipal Utilities has announced after five years of construction and planning, the new HMU water treatment plant is in operation. The plant was first approved by the HMU board in 2008 and is now online providing water to the city of Harlan. The $7.1 million operation will see 2.4 million gallons per day capacity and is fully automated, runs 24 hours a day, removes iron and manganese from water, uses reverse osmosis technology to further filter and soften water and has fluoride and chlorine added to the finished product. In a press release from HMU, Steve Dresen, director of Gas and Water, said, “This plant will be much more efficient than the old one as we are using new and automated technology. We anticipate our labor, operations and maintenance costs to decrease. One thing I do want our customers to know is they may notice a different taste to the water.” He stated the plant uses a different way to clean the water and HMU still meets all the safety and quality standards.

(Joel McCall KNOD)