Charles E. Perry principal Donald Boykin hands sanitary wipes to student Elissa Bell. The wipes, sanitizer, tissues, hand towels and other items were donated to the school to ward off the H1N1 virus. Pictured, from left, are Order of the Eastern Star member Pat Hulen, Lisa Hudson, with N.C. Wise, the school’s computer lab coordinator Willa Warren, Elissa Bell, Raven Bell, administrative assistant Elaine Beatty, Shane Bell and Boykin.
Staff Writer
One local organization is attempting to help youngsters ward off swine flu, and they are doing it through a donation of supplies to Charles E. Perry School.
Members from the Roseboro 229 chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, a fraternal organization open to men and women, dropped off a number of supplies for children at the school at the beginning of this week.
Among the supplies were tissues, hand towels, Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer — a lot of it. Along with the materials promoting cleanliness, there were also pencils, crayons and other classroom supplies given to the Charles E. Perry for use by its students. The school’s principal, Donald Boykin, said the donation was timely, calling it a “proactive” measure amid increased preparation of a possible swine flu outbreak.
“Especially this year with H1N1 looming on the horizon,” the principal said, “you can’t beat it.”
State health officials say the swine flu pandemic could begin hitting North Carolina as early as next week.
Dr. Jeffrey Engel, the state’s health director, estimated Tuesday that between 30,000 and 50,000 people in North Carolina have already had the swine flu. Officials believe it is a mild pandemic as there have been only nine reported deaths in the state linked to the virus.
Engel said the school year poses specific challenges, with students spending lots of time together in close quarters. He said school officials, families and students need to make sure that people are covering their mouths and noses when sneezing, washing hands and keeping kids home if they’re sick.
With the start of school this week, both Sampson County Schools and Clinton City Schools have disseminated information on the H1N1 virus, asking that parents practice simple sanitary procedures with their children, just as staff and administrators plan to give more attention to cleanliness.
Local officials have said that swine flu vaccination are expected to be available in local schools, as in those across the nation, by mid-October. Until then, educators are urging children, and their parents, to wash their hands with soap, use hand sanitizers, keep their hands from their mouth, nose and eyes, and cover coughs and sneezes with tissues.
“We (bought) stuff like that so we could keep down that flu,” said Eastern Star member Maxine Hall, who made the drop off with fellow member Pat Hulen. “We’re trying to hit the bug before it gets started in the schools.”
Hulen said that, after hearing talk from teachers, it was evident “they need materials like this.” Without advertising, Eastern Star members set up a table at a recent American Legion BBQ sale and started putting out books to sell. They sold book after book and raised well over $100, money that went toward the school purchase.
Willa Warren, a computer lab facilitator at Charles E. Perry, said that the sanitary materials will go a long way toward wiping germs off of keyboards and headphones.
“With the H1N1 virus going around, that will cut down on that,” Warren said.
Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 121, or by email at sicrime@myclintonnc.com.
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