ARE CUMBERLAND CO SCHOOL NEARING A COVID-19 ‘SHUT DOWN’?

It’s a question everyone has been asking CNF. Unfortunately, there aren’t any clear answers.

Bledsoe County announced they will be closed Monday through Wednesday of the coming week due to ‘illness’. The problem facing Cumberland county schools is twofold. Finding substitute teachers is becoming more and more difficult for the school system to replace teachers who are out sick. Secondly, more and more kids are out sick or quarantined. There are 478 students out presently – 161 with COVID and 317 quarantined. 21 staff members have COVID and three are out in quarantine. The BOE meets this Thursday evening. As rapidly as the virus is spreading in the county currently some ‘experts’ are calling for a ‘closing’ of schools until it gets under control. There isn’t a virtual learning plan in place at this time which causes each absence to be counted as absentees. One suggestion was made to do away with absentee demerits until we see if the pandemic is going to slow down in the near future. The BOE could implement a mask mandate but it wouldn’t do much good since the governor signed an executive order that parents can overrule the mandate for their own kids. There has been no public talk of the BOE implementing a mandate.

Mandate this, mandate that, mandate all the things!

This is the precise reason why there is a significant percentage of the population that will not get vaccinated. For starters, the arrogance of those who are demanding that everyone get the jab even against their will.

I notice you didn’t mention anything regarding people with some pre-existing conditions that cannot take the vaccine such as Pete Parada from The Offspring who suffers from Guillain-Barré Syndrome.

There’s also the story from Ireland where a 23 year old football player, Roy Butler, died after getting one of the vaccines. This one is two fold. The young man may have been just fine without the vaccine but when you have talking heads, celebrities, politicians, etc. constantly preaching to blindly and without second thought get the vaccine and even bribing people, this is what can happen. Also, the media over there was desperate to bury the fact that he started feeling very ill after getting the jab and died right after, they started covering it as “died after a short illness”. This is called lying by omission. Only after relatives of the deceased came forward and told the details and context did the full story come out, but you won’t see that in the news.

Along those lines is the blatant censorship of anyone who goes against the narrative. Facebook is openly banning people for “covid misinformation” basing the criteria on the ever shifting lines from the WHO and CDC. Doctors who spoke in positive light of off label prescriptions to treat COVID were censored. People who dare question the efficacy of masks are censored. FYI, there are some masks you can buy in stores that have printed plain as day on the box that say “does not work against COVID 19”.

Let’s not forget Dr. Fauci said early on not to wear masks and then not long afterward changed his mind and started pushing them to be mandated. It was later excused by admitting it was a lie to try to offset shortages. After a lie is told, credibility is lost. Period. Let’s not forget CNN’s Chris Cuomo was supposedly quarantining in his basement for a prolonged period only to be ratted out by someone who spotted him out and about near another property of his in the same time period. Oh yeah, CNN still aired him “triumphantly” coming out of his basement after his “quarantine” period ended. Governor Newsom of California was caught dining at a fancy restaurant without a mask in stark contradiction of his edicts. Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan was spotted in Florida while mandating that the peasants couldn’t travel. The Mayor of Washington D.C. issued mask mandates take effect 1 day after she was spotted at a birthday party. There are numerous instances of this happening but the bottom line is that this is being perceived as “do what I say, not as I do” and “rules for thee, not for me”. Also it conveys that these people clearly aren’t worried about COVID otherwise they’d be the first wearing hazmat suits 24/7 because their, generally speaking, demeanor throughout all this just screams “some are more equal than others”.

I’ll also remind you of the quote that says “necessity breeds innovation”. I’ll reference New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s no indoor dining mandate. To comply with this, restaurant owners are building little shacks and hutches, complete with doors, windows, and even air conditioner units, on the streets so as they can still serve customers while not being “indoors”.

Now let’s apply that same situation here locally with your proposed mandates. If the school board goes full authoritarian as you propose, you are going to see a significant number of students pulled from public school in favor of private school, home schooling, or parents banding together to collectively hire teachers to tutor their children. Also, lawsuits will be inevitable. Alternatively you may see enough people disgusted enough and trigger a recall of school board members and vote in people who actually believe they work for the parents instead of laughing at them (yes, this happened). Assuming a mass adoption of non-public schooling is significant enough, the decrease in students enrolled in public school will result in grants being cut and jobs lost. Guess the folks on the school boards won’t be laughing then, will they?

Lastly, the moment in which you believe you are superior and have higher authority than a parent over their children is the moment you have lost the plot and have devolved into an authoritarian. This mentality of “this could affect me so everyone should change” instead of “this could affect me, I better take measures to protect myself” is a dangerous one. In keeping with Godwin’s Law, in the 1930s and 1940s, the rationale for rounding up the Jews was that they supposedly carried typhus and lice. Translation, using public health and medical reasoning for carrying out what is “for the greater good” is nothing new except this time we are fortunate enough to have a history to look back and see where this road leads.

In summary, people would be wise to TALK TO THEIR OWN TRUSTED DOCTOR AND MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION AT THAT POINT AND NOT LISTEN TO CELEBRITIES, TALKING HEADS, POLITICIANS, OR TV DOCTORS (but I repeat myself) BLINDLY.

16 COMMENTS

P

August 22, 2021 at 5:38 pm

The students should not be counted absent and punished for something that is so extreme and no one is at fault. In other counties, they count the students as distant learner’s. Cumberland County needs to step up
Melissa

August 22, 2021 at 6:00 pm

I sure hope they don’t shut down, I think most kids getting sick just have to let it pass like it did in my family. I would give it time to normalize before reacting so quickly, I do hope they don’t count the absences against us though or give us some grace, mine were out 4 days last week but are ready to return tomorrow. I imagine there are lots of kids getting ready to return after the back to school sicknesses returned, our immune systems weren’t strong enough to fight all the new germs that I think our immune systems could normally fight.
- Anonymous
  
  August 22, 2021 at 6:39 pm
  
  Okay yeah but. I just want to say that sometime it don’t just pass this covid is something serious and it is killing little one and older people I think it is a wonderful thing to shut down the school until this is able to get under control
  - Anonymous
    
    August 23, 2021 at 4:48 pm
    
    You make no sense! I am an educator and you certainly don’t know what goes on in a school.
- Anonymous
  
  August 22, 2021 at 6:51 pm
  
  And Not everyone has a perfect immune system especially older people and or people that has other health issues
- Anonymous
  
  August 23, 2021 at 8:44 am
  
  Agreed. Long before Covid it was the norm that lots of kids got sick when first retuning to school. Let our kids go to school and experience normal lives before they are adults. If you are uncomfortable with your child going to school… Homeschool them.
Anonymous

August 22, 2021 at 6:26 pm

Absent being counted is not good, it’s not the kids fault if they are sick and who will be getting into trouble for all that absence,, the parents which it’s not the parents fault for sickness. I see slot of parents go to court for nothin. Wasted time.
- Anonymous
  
  August 23, 2021 at 5:07 am
  
  Shut it down!!!
- Anonymous
  
  August 27, 2021 at 4:45 pm
  
  you’re dumb as fuck
Kita Demetro

August 22, 2021 at 9:15 pm

I just want the pandemic to slow down. It’s hard going to school during a pandemic.
Faye

August 22, 2021 at 10:32 pm

That makes no since that the virtual learning was not improved on throughout the Summer. Knowing full well that this COVID illness was not fully eradicated! I’m just blown away by the lack of preparation for this school year.
Anonymous

August 22, 2021 at 10:59 pm

They need to shut it down for 3-5 days
Dr. Randall Norris, Ph.D.

August 23, 2021 at 4:21 am

The Board should mandate masks using the dress code, mandate vaccinations for all students twelve and above if the Phizer vaccine is fully approved tomorrow, and mandate vaccine and masks for all teachers, bus drivers and school staff. Either that or agree to pay for the funerals of all the kids that might die from their fear of the Governor and Cameron Sexton. Coach Rob said one day after bus duty: We have one job. Get them here safe. Keep them safe while they are here and get them home safe. If they learn nothing while they are here we have met our primary obligation to keep them safe. That was the same day I stood in front of bus 57, Crab Orchard, to make him come to a full stop while loading the kids. He would never stop but drove about five miles an hour and watched them fight their way on board. He thought it was funny. They told me: He’ll run you down Mr. Norris! I replied: Well if he does at least he’ll stop and you can get on the bus. I don’t want you getting on until he comes to a full stop, whether he hits me or not. I didn’t move, he stopped, and the kids go on the bus in an orderly fashion. If I can step in front of a madman driving a bus to protect the kids, the Board can follow CDC guidance to keep the kids safe! Believe me, issuing mandates is a lot safer than stepping in front of buses being driven by mad man! Honor Coach Rob. We never lost a kid on his and Lindell’s watch! Dr. Randall T. Norris, Ph.D.
- Anonymous
  
  August 23, 2021 at 9:45 am
  
  Mandate this, mandate that, mandate all the things!
  
  This is the precise reason why there is a significant percentage of the population that will not get vaccinated. For starters, the arrogance of those who are demanding that everyone get the jab even against their will.
  
  I notice you didn’t mention anything regarding people with some pre-existing conditions that cannot take the vaccine such as Pete Parada from The Offspring who suffers from Guillain-Barré Syndrome.
  
  There’s also the story from Ireland where a 23 year old football player, Roy Butler, died after getting one of the vaccines. This one is two fold. The young man may have been just fine without the vaccine but when you have talking heads, celebrities, politicians, etc. constantly preaching to blindly and without second thought get the vaccine and even bribing people, this is what can happen. Also, the media over there was desperate to bury the fact that he started feeling very ill after getting the jab and died right after, they started covering it as “died after a short illness”. This is called lying by omission. Only after relatives of the deceased came forward and told the details and context did the full story come out, but you won’t see that in the news.
  
  Along those lines is the blatant censorship of anyone who goes against the narrative. Facebook is openly banning people for “covid misinformation” basing the criteria on the ever shifting lines from the WHO and CDC. Doctors who spoke in positive light of off label prescriptions to treat COVID were censored. People who dare question the efficacy of masks are censored. FYI, there are some masks you can buy in stores that have printed plain as day on the box that say “does not work against COVID 19”.
  
  Let’s not forget Dr. Fauci said early on not to wear masks and then not long afterward changed his mind and started pushing them to be mandated. It was later excused by admitting it was a lie to try to offset shortages. After a lie is told, credibility is lost. Period. Let’s not forget CNN’s Chris Cuomo was supposedly quarantining in his basement for a prolonged period only to be ratted out by someone who spotted him out and about near another property of his in the same time period. Oh yeah, CNN still aired him “triumphantly” coming out of his basement after his “quarantine” period ended. Governor Newsom of California was caught dining at a fancy restaurant without a mask in stark contradiction of his edicts. Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan was spotted in Florida while mandating that the peasants couldn’t travel. The Mayor of Washington D.C. issued mask mandates take effect 1 day after she was spotted at a birthday party. There are numerous instances of this happening but the bottom line is that this is being perceived as “do what I say, not as I do” and “rules for thee, not for me”. Also it conveys that these people clearly aren’t worried about COVID otherwise they’d be the first wearing hazmat suits 24/7 because their, generally speaking, demeanor throughout all this just screams “some are more equal than others”.
  
  I’ll also remind you of the quote that says “necessity breeds innovation”. I’ll reference New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s no indoor dining mandate. To comply with this, restaurant owners are building little shacks and hutches, complete with doors, windows, and even air conditioner units, on the streets so as they can still serve customers while not being “indoors”.
  
  Now let’s apply that same situation here locally with your proposed mandates. If the school board goes full authoritarian as you propose, you are going to see a significant number of students pulled from public school in favor of private school, home schooling, or parents banding together to collectively hire teachers to tutor their children. Also, lawsuits will be inevitable. Alternatively you may see enough people disgusted enough and trigger a recall of school board members and vote in people who actually believe they work for the parents instead of laughing at them (yes, this happened). Assuming a mass adoption of non-public schooling is significant enough, the decrease in students enrolled in public school will result in grants being cut and jobs lost. Guess the folks on the school boards won’t be laughing then, will they?
  
  Lastly, the moment in which you believe you are superior and have higher authority than a parent over their children is the moment you have lost the plot and have devolved into an authoritarian. This mentality of “this could affect me so everyone should change” instead of “this could affect me, I better take measures to protect myself” is a dangerous one. In keeping with Godwin’s Law, in the 1930s and 1940s, the rationale for rounding up the Jews was that they supposedly carried typhus and lice. Translation, using public health and medical reasoning for carrying out what is “for the greater good” is nothing new except this time we are fortunate enough to have a history to look back and see where this road leads.
  
  In summary, people would be wise to TALK TO THEIR OWN TRUSTED DOCTOR AND MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION AT THAT POINT AND NOT LISTEN TO CELEBRITIES, TALKING HEADS, POLITICIANS, OR TV DOCTORS (but I repeat myself) BLINDLY.
Don Griffin

August 23, 2021 at 6:36 pm

The world has entered a state of complete irrationality regarding COVID. Here in Cumberland County in July, there was one active case. Now we have over 700 cases. Which variant will follow the Delta variant once the cases decline? This infectious cycle could continue for years at this rate. It’s disturbing to look at just infections instead of mortality rates. The vaccines don’t provide immunity so getting the jab may only last months, then what? Boosters could also be required for years. Approval by the FDA for these vaccines will only result in more mandates without any guarantee that people are safe. Fear and ignorance have supplanted rationality. It’s time to let individuals make their own decisions. It is not time to infringe on individual freedoms but that’s exactly where we are headed. The attempt at prevention slows reaching herd immunity and has shown to be extremely harmful to the general well-being of our citizens. Fiction will supersede facts so be knowledgeable. Stand up for your individual rights.
Anonymous

August 23, 2021 at 8:06 pm

I think when it gets under control we need to do virtual or I will pull my child and do homeschool this is getting bad because me and my husband have the covid and I got rid of her for 2 weeks so she wouldn’t get it so now it’s getting bad in school we all don’t need this we all need to work together whether it’s virtual or homeschooling until all this is under control it’s better than to be safe than sorry because there’s a lot with underlying conditions