Clifford Students Overcome Rash Outbreak

After four weeks of exhaustive efforts to determine the cause of a at , the staff, teachers and administration were still upbeat and enthusiastic at Wednesday night’s meeting. The teachers and kindergarteners are almost ready to move back into their classrooms after an evacuation to test for the unknown pests.

Principal Phil Lind rattled off the dozen efforts the administration has done to identify the cause: stripping the classrooms, boxing up clothes, freeze drying clothes, vacuuming, putting in new flooring, fencing off playgrounds and removing the playground padding, and tree trimming, Officials even brought in a bedbug-sniffing dog named Curly.

“We definitely learned what was not causing the bites,” joked Lind. Wasps, mosquitoes and fleas could not be labeled the culprits.

But a 20-page report from a University of California-Davis entomologist suggests that the bites might have come from thrips: tiny, slender bugs with fringed wings, more commonly know as thunderflies.

Despite the unknown source, teachers have carried on with teaching, using the library and other classrooms as temporary teaching grounds.

“It’s truly amazing that teachers continue teaching and keep kids engaged and calm and still coming to school every day,” school board member Shelly Masur said. “It’s the best when you can make this all happen in such chaotic circumstances.”

Lind thanked the teachers for their constant positive attitude during the ordeal, turning the situation into an “adventure.”

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