Rash prompts school to close

Police said 37 children were taken to area hospitals by ambulance.
BELOIT -- Beloit Elementary School is closed today after about three dozen children were treated at local hospitals for complaints about red, itchy rashes Thursday.
Matthew Stefanak of the District Board of Health said the school would be closed today "for a thorough cleaning" but will reopen Monday.
In the meantime, all 300 children who attend the school were given notes to take home to their parents advising them to have their children take a bath and to wash their clothing as soon as possible.
The letter, which said about 30 pupils were affected, said the children had symptoms of a red, irritating rash, and if any children developed that symptom at home, parents should contact the school and their family physician.
What caused the problem remains unknown.
Stefanak said the county Haz-Mat team was at the building checking for toxic fumes that might have caused the rash but found nothing.
"We don't know what happened," he said.
Series of events
West Branch Superintendent Scott Weingart said he was notified of the outbreak by a school nurse about 10 a.m.
"We got a call that they'd had 10 or 11 students -- all from the same classroom -- that had developed a topical rash," he said.
Weingart said school officials set up a clinic for affected pupils. Any pupils who exhibited symptoms of the rash were transported to the hospital "as a precaution," he said.
More than 30 pupils eventually came forward with symptoms -- two from the middle school, which is connected to the elementary, he said.
"We're trying to get to the bottom of this," said Weingart.
Goshen Township Police Chief Jim Willock said a total of 37 children were transported to Alliance Community and Salem Community hospitals for treatment by local volunteer ambulance services. Most were believed to be fourth-graders.
Spokesmen for both hospitals said all were treated and released.
Willock said he had nine officers at the school complex, basically to shut down the elementary school and control the parking lot.
Most parents who arrived worried about their children were generally understanding of the situation, he said.
Officials said the outbreak reportedly left some children itchy, others out of breath.
Danielle Fletcher took the day off work when she was notified of the outbreak at her son's school.
"They don't actually know what happened," said Fletcher. "They just said there were kids that had rashes and couldn't breathe."
Fletcher's son, Cody Henry, 9, spent several hours locked in his classroom while paramedics and health department officials surveyed the situation, he said. He was released at the end of the day with the rest of the healthy students.
Contributors: Vindicator staff writers Harold Gwin and Angie Schmitt.