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Woodhaven-Brownstown Schools will be closed today April 30 and Friday May 1 as a precaution while an investigation is taking place on a student who has become ill with the flu.
Details are posted on the school’s web site.
– Paula Wethington
The breaking news headline this afternoon is that the World Health Organization has raised the pandemic alert for swine flu to a 5 on a scale of 1 to 6.
CNN report:
The U.S. government is distributing 25 percent of its stockpile of antiviral medications Tamiflu and Relenza to all states, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday. Health officials stress that the medications are effective only if taken in the early stages of the infection.
In the meantime, the government is working on developing a vaccine and hopes to have a pilot version ready for testing in a few months, Fauci said.
Newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said, “We are committed to ensuring that these vaccines are safe. HHS and the [Food and Drug Administration] will monitor the manufacturing of a potential vaccine and will have strict oversight to ensure that the vaccine is safe and effective for use.”
President Obama called on schools with confirmed or possible swine flu cases to “consider temporarily closing so that we can be as safe as possible.”
Michigan.gov now has a Swine Flu page with state links and resources.
– Paula Wethington
Have you been in downtown Monroe during the past day or so? The flowering trees are now in full bloom.
Enjoy!
– Paula Wethington
By Charles Slat
What was all the excitement in downtown Monroe Saturday night?
Barrage, a renowned musical group of five exceptional violinists, backed by two guitarists and a drummer, brought a capacity crowd to the River Raisin Centre for the Arts.
RRCA director Mike Trapp said it was the biggest crowd at the RRCA in years. People came by the busload.
Tickets were sold out a couple of days in advance and there even were some folding chairs in the balcony section.
The group played some classical or familiar tunes such as Ravel’s
Bolero, Tico Tico and Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles, but with a decidedly jazzed up presentation. A range of lesser known but no less amazing pieces were performed that also had the audience clapping or stomping.
What’s unique about the group is they are not only world-class musicians, but their act is heavy on choreography. Playing the violin and jumping and dancing is difficult, but they made it look easy.
The musicians chatted with the audience, signed autographs and sold CDs after the performance.
Floral City Beverage was the main sponsor of the show. The group was brought to Monroe at the urging of Robin Bloomberg, director of Team Fiddle, Ann Felder, Monroe Middle School music teacher, and Tara Vespirini, a music instructor at the Chelsea Center for the Arts and the Monroe Youth Orchestra.
It was a night to remember for music fans in Monroe.
I’ve been fascinated with the Twitter chatter about swine flu since the World Health Organization made its announcement on Saturday.
The Internet is already rampant with useful links (click on the icon or go here for the CDC’s latest reports), hilarious jokes (a sense of humor is a useful thing) and some wildly inaccurate information (unfortunately).
Now, it is a little early to tell what the impact will be on Monroe, Mich. But in the meantime, here is the link to the Monroe County Health Department. And here is the link to Michigan Department of Community Health’s influenza page.
And I’ve got some frugal living and money-saving ideas on Monroe on a Budget that, while written with a more everyday medical ailment as the inspiration, would be useful for the situation should you or a family member become ill with influenza.
– Paula Wethington
The National Weather Service in Detroit has issued a severe thunderstorm watch until 10 p.m. today Saturday April 27 for Monroe County, Mich.
Here’s a snapshot I took at the Earth Day festival today in downtown Monroe. There will be a report and photos in the Sunday newspaper.
Enjoy your day! A lot of people are doing that right now downtown.
– Paula Wethington
By Charles Slat
Got a call from a Realtor today. It was the first time she saw one of those signs put up by the Monroe city firefighters union warning that “This community is in jeopardy do to proposed fire department cuts.”
The Realtor’s point: Regardless about how one feels about the adequacy of fire department funding, the signs are a horrible advertisement for the community, especially for those who are trying to sell homes to outsiders in a housing market that’s already reeling. The obvious misspelling in the sign only adds embarrassment to injury.
Not sure. Would that stop you from buying a dream home in Monroe?
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