Boardman school taking precautions

Staff report

BOARDMAN

The families of students of St. Charles School were alerted Thursday night that a student from the school has a family member who traveled on the plane with Amber Joy Vinson.

Randy Rair, assistant superintendent of the Youngstown Diocese, said a relative of a St. Charles student flew on a flight with Vinson, the 29-year-old nurse who was diagnosed with Ebola. He said the schools do not think the relative, believed to be a grandmother, had any contact with Vinson.

Rair said that Mary Fiala, another assistant superintendent of the diocese, and faculty have been trying to contact both the Mahoning County Board of Health and the Ohio Board of Health to seek guidance.

Because the schools were notified of this news late, Rair said it’s been a “waiting game” in getting a hold of both health boards.

“The children’s safety is our No. 1 priority,” Rair said. “We will take guidance from health experts as to what’s the best course of action for our schools to take.”