For the second time this week the Blackman and Gollop Primary School has been closed due to an ongoing environmental problem involving cow itch.
Yesterday it was closed after teachers called an emergency meeting at the Staple Grove institution, and complained of the pods that had been blowing through the air for the past three weeks.
After the school had been cleared yesterday, fire officers undertook a controlled burning of heaps of cowitch and grass on a nearby field. As a result, the nearby Thelma Berry Nursery School was affected and also had to be closed.
This morning, when parents arrived to drop off their young charges, some parents were observed taking their children back citing respiratory issues and the ash from yesterday’s burning blowing through the air.
While some students remained on the compound, it was only an hour ago that parents received calls informing them that Blackman and Gollop had been closed yet again.
A check over at Thelma Berry revealed that they had received no word of closure to the school, however teachers indicated that the ash was blowing throughout the school and would cause a problem for both teachers and students.
The school was closed from February 20 to 28 because of problems the cow itch in nearby fields had caused previously. (JS)
