Florida school district bans Bibles on Religious Freedom Day
July 2, 2010 by admin
Filed under News Stories
July 2, 2010
Orlando Sentinal
Maitland-based Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit Thursday to overturn a ban on Bible distribution on public school campuses in Collier County. According to the Liberty Counsel, the Collier County School Board allowed World Changers to distribute free Bibles to students during off-school hours on Religious Freedom Day, but now the school officials claim that Bibles do not provide any educational benefit to the students and the distribution should stop.
The Collier County School District policy specifically allows the distribution of literature by nonprofit organizations, but only with the approval of the superintendent and the Community Request Committee, whose members are appointed by the superintendent. Approval was denied to World Changers, despite the fact that its distribution included a disclaimer of any school endorsement or sponsorship and that receiving a Bible was purely voluntary.
“How sad that on the eve of Independence Day, when we celebrate the religious and political freedom our forefathers won for us at the cost of much blood and great sacrifice, we are compelled to sue to protect the right simply to make free Bibles available to students in public schools,” said Mathew D. Staver, Liberty Counsel founder.
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77 Students Given Wrong Flu Shot
November 11, 2009 by admin
Filed under News Stories
November 11, 2009
NBC-2.com
By Adam Freeman
They thought they were getting protected against the swine flu, but dozens of Collier County students were mistakenly given the seasonal flu vaccine instead.
Now, the health department is forced to explain what caused the error.
Though the sign outside the Community School of Naples says you can get your swine flu shots there, 77 students tried unsuccessfully.
“I was like wow, how did they mess that up,” said Zannos Grekos, a fifth grader at the school.
The boxes of H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccine don’t look much different.
The Collier County Health Department says a nurse packed the wrong one for the school clinic, as previously reported by the Naples Daily News.
On top of that, none of the nurses giving the vaccines even realized something else was in their hands.
“It is concerning to us, because these are seasoned nurses,” said Deb Millsap, with the health department.
The consent form for parents makes at least 10 specific references to the H1N1 vaccine, but it makes no mention of seasonal flu.
“No excuse. It was a mistake,” said Millsap.
A total of six nurses and two supervisors received written reprimands for the error. Fortunately, the health department says the shots pose no risks to students.
“We’ve already, starting last night, put into effect training measures that it should never happen again,” said Millsap.
It means students will have to try again on Friday.
“I’m OK with getting another shot,” Grekos said.
But he said he hopes this one turns out better than the first.
