School District Responds to H1N1 Death

ELYSIAN FIELDS — The Elysian Fields school district is remembering 13-year-old middle school student Trenton Lindsey, who died Tuesday evening of complications from the H1N1 virus. According to KETK, Elysian Fields Middle School Principal Maynard Chapman described Trenton as “a great kid” and said “we all loved him very much.” Students of Elysian Fields Middle and Elementary Schools were able to visit with pastors and counselors throughout the week to help mourn the loss of their friend and classmate. Trenton’s funeral has been scheduled for 3 p.m. today at Crossroads Baptist Church in Harrison County.

Elysian Fields school officials say that they have also taken extra precautions to make sure that all three schools in the district are kept properly sanitized. “There’s a broad spectrum anti-microbial total release agent that they’re releasing in all classrooms daily,” Elysian Fields School Nurse Tina Parker explained. “We have hand sanitizers, sanitary wipes, surface and air disinfectants that are in every classroom.” Those cleaning techniques also are administered in district school buses.

School officials say that they began increasing cleanings at the start of the flu season in January. Even two days after Lindsey’s death, Parker said that she had several parents call her saying that they chose to keep their children home from school. “They were just concerned, obviously, everyone’s concerned until they got more information.” Chapman reported 25 out of their 268 middle school students stayed home from school on Thursday, which he said was about average.

Thursday afternoon, school officials sent home a letter to parents explaining the cleaning process and encouraging them to continue taking extra precautions to avoid catching the flu. Those precautions include getting their child a flu shot, taking everyday preventive actions, and taking flu antiviral drugs if their child’s doctor prescribes them.