Good morning on this Saturday, October 24Th. There is much sickness in our community. One of the area high schools reported that one of every five students is home sick and some elementary schools are reporting even higher numbers. The culprit seems to be the H1N1 virus which is living up to its reputation of being particularly virulent. I have previously written of precautions which can be taken, especially related to alternatives to hand shaking as well as the importance of frequent hand washing. Remember a smile and nod, touching someone on the upper outer arm or shoulder, or the Baptist bump (fist to fist) are all good alternatives. Coughing and sneezing into your sleeve instead of your hand is also being recommended. We want you and your family to stay well and are therefore passing along these reminders to you. For many years my wife, Barb, was Director of Communicable Diseases for Rock Island County and she mentioned to me that never in her many years has she seen the flu this severe this early. So stay well and we hope you will slip through this flu season without incident. Tomorrow our special speakers for the final day of our Mission's Conference will be Bobby Bechtel in the a.m. and Riley Shelton in the p.m. I hope to see you there.
Mel Brown