High illness rate closes Evergreen Elementary

With a quarter of the students at Evergreen Elementary School under the weather this week, Boundary County School District officials told the rest to just stay home.

Spring break isn’t set to begin until next week in the North Idaho district. But 21 of the school’s 84 students called in sick Tuesday, and a few more were fading fast, taking teachers with them, Superintendent Don Bartling said.

“We have a problem even having enough teachers to teach,” Bartling said.

The Bonners Ferry school will be closed today and Thursday; Fridays are regular days off. District officials hope that by the time students return from spring break, they will have recovered enough to break the infection cycle that passes germs from one kid to another.

The most commonly reported symptoms have been sore throat, cough, fever and body aches. Those ailments are being reported in isolated sites across the five-county area supervised by the Panhandle Health District.

There were 17 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza the first week of March, up from 11 in the last week of February, said Susan Cuff, health district spokeswoman.

Overall, this has been a mild year for verified flu cases in Idaho, said Tom Shanahan, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Welfare. Eleven deaths have been attributed to flu; none of the victims are from North Idaho. On average, 17 flu deaths a year are reported in the state.

Still, reports of flulike illness have surfaced throughout the region, said Cuff. “We know there are many more people who show flu symptoms than are tested,” she said.

– JoNel Aleccia

Kootenai County

Judge rules permits for pole barns illegal

First District Judge Charles Hosack ruled Tuesday that Kootenai County should not have issued permits for three pole barns on Violet Avenue. The attorney for the homeowners who filed the suit says the buildings must come down.

“The county, having issued a permit, has a responsibility to make sure the things get taken down,” attorney Scott Reed said.

County attorney John Cafferty said he isn’t sure what action the county will take in response to the ruling. The county could appeal, but Reed noted that the county since has changed the ordinance that allowed pole barn construction on lots where there isn’t a dwelling.

The ruling is limited to the facts in the Violet Avenue case, but Reed said he thinks the opinion would have bearing on a similar case filed by Bonanza Ranch residents. Ranch resident Linda Payne and her neighbors are seeking the demolition of seven pole barns they believe were illegally erected in their neighborhood.

– Taryn Brodwater