Vancouver resident Sally Snyder discusses procedures currently being used and considered by the Vancouver School District in cooperation with Clark County Public Health officials
Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and do not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com
The first time I called in to speak at a Clark County Council meeting was when Columbia River High School partnered with Ridgefield School District and the Clark County Public Health department for a vaccine clinic partnership at Ridgefield. Columbia River hid the clinic from parents. They emailed COVID-19 vaccination documentation only to the student’s school emails, encouraging students to schedule their own appointments, fill out an anonymous form, and contact Clark County Public Health department for questions, or message the school on Instagram. Never once referring kids to their parents. All verifiable emails sent only to kids’ school inboxes and public records requests showing the Vancouver School District knew three weeks prior to the clinic that they would be participating in it, yet they chose to only email parents about the clinic partnership after the bus left River and after the clinic had started.
There are more questionable dealings going on with the Vancouver School District and the Clark County Public Health Department.
On Dec. 1 an article ran in local papers titled “Vancouver schools to host Covid test sites.” The article said, “with the help of Clark County Public Health the district is vetting possible partners….” Do you know this article was released prior to Embry Health (the partner) pulling proper permits with the Clark County Public Health department? Vancouver School District allowed PODS to be delivered onto Thomas Jefferson and Alki middle school parking lots this same morning for the COVID testing clinic program. Parents asked why this process was proceeding for 22 COVID testing clinics in school parking lots, when Embry Health was shut down in Hawaii on Nov. 5, 2021 for conducting improper COVID-19 testing.
Three hours later, VPS sent a press release to all parents retracting the COVID-19 testing clinics, saying they were on hold. Why would Clark County Public Health consider a partnership with an organization (Embry Health) who received a $207,000 fine and was ordered to cease and desist for conducting unauthorized COVID-19 testing in Hawaii on Nov. 5, 2021? A public records request showed the Alki start date was 11/29/21 through 6/15/22 and this contract stated “Embry Health could possibly vaccinate for COVID-19 and the Flu.” Why were these PODS only advertised as test sites?
On Dec. 16, Vancouver Public Schools emailed all parents that effective immediately, they would pause all wrestling activities as the Clark County Public Health recommended this action. The email goes on to say they would re-evaluate this decision after the new year and work with the Clark County Public Health to discuss the possibility of resuming wrestling activities. Why don’t parents get to discuss with the Clark County Public Health department the possibility of resuming wrestling activities, but the school district gets to negotiate this?
On Dec. 17, Vancouver Public Schools sent out another email to parents stating changes to COVID-19 testing for basketball, wrestling (currently paused) and cheerleading would require COVID-19 testing THREE times a week regardless of vaccination status. Now it’s up to 57 COVID tests for unvaccinated kids to participate in both basketball and wrestling and at least 16 COVID tests for the current vaccinated kids to play basketball.
Then last week, Vancouver Public Schools said they would be submitting an application to the Clark County Public Health to participate in the OPTIONAL “Test To Stay’’ in school program. Which goes like this; if you are deemed a close contact at school, and you want to stay in school during your quarantine time, you can agree to COVID test two times a week and remain in school, but you can’t do sports. How does this make any sense? You can go to school for six hours a day during the quarantine period, but you can’t play in a basketball game? When kids have to COVID test three times a week now. Testing intervals should be determined under advisement of the local health jurisdiction (LHJ) and stated in the memorandum of agreement (MOA) per the Supplemental Considerations to Mitigate COVID-19 Transmission in K-12 Schools. Do you think Clark County Public Health will deny VPS the MOA for this OPTIONAL Test To Stay in school program, or approve it?
Will the Clark County Council do a thorough investigation into the shady dealings going on between the Clark County Public Health department and the school district? Children don’t deserve any of this as part of their education or their participation to be in school sports.
Lastly, Dr. Marty Makary of Johns Hopkins University said he considers the omicron variant to be like a common cold. Americans will likely see a high level of contagiousness, but a low level of severity.
Call in to the Clark County Public Health department meeting on Tue., Dec. 21 at 10 a.m. to participate in public comment and/or listen to the meeting.
Sally Snyder
Vancouver
Something smells fishy hear. Similar to some goings on that took place in Salinas, CA that FORGOT to include parents in the conversation.
Keeping Stupid and contrarian “parents” out of the loop was a good idea if there are many out there like this SALLY. Be responsible and do not be selfish… GET YOUR SHOTS!!
And Name Calling solves so many problems. Maybe show some class instead of calling names for someone who doesn’t agree with you. You say be responsible – how about you show some responsibility and act civilized.
Is this teacher David Harrington from Evergreen School District making these comments??
Oh, it probably is. Our public school teachers have been so corrupted, if they aren’t leftist ideologues when they are hired, they are brainwashed to become that. Money and power and are hard to resist. Oh, and we’re paying their salaries, by the way.
Remember what the parents did In Virginia in the last election to the Governor and the school boards that tried to keep the parents out of the loop. They are losing their job. Maybe you should lose yours too!
You’re assuming we haven’t had our “shots”. Some of us are frontline healthcare and essential workers and have worked throughout the pandemic, yes, even before there was a ‘vaccine’ (it’s really just a medication, it doesn’t inoculate you against the disease) to keep our community safe and healthy while the rest of you sat at home and watched Tiger King on Netflix and ordered Doordash and made more on unemployment than we did while continuing to risk our lives to work. And even now we continue to swim in a pool of Covid to get our community tested, treated and vaccinated. But, here’s the thing: not only are we not stupid, we are better informed than you could ever hope to be, because we have been watching this whole thing unfold from the inside out while you opened your mouth and swallowed whatever the China-driven media fed you. While you had at least one, and possibly two parents home to help your children through the debacle of remote learning, our children were home with NO parents, supervising their younger siblings or absolutely ALONE with no one to help them educate themselves. We are grateful they didn’t suicide themselves! And we try to keep that in mind as they are failing most of their classes because they have fallen so far behind academically. Sports COULD be one area that could motivate them to merge back into academics and get them in touch with the normalcy of childhood and some joy in their lives, but NO, that’s become a way to punish them EVEN MORE. Let’s rob them of that one last bit of joy in their lives, shall we? My son who struggles as a student, has learning challenges and has an IEP, is a natural athlete, robustly healthy, strong, tough, teachable and charismatic; every coach’s dream has given up on high school athletics because of the Kabuki theater surrounding Covid ‘protocol’, or lack thereof, and has therefore given up on high school. He is soon to join the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of high school drop outs. Good bye Class of 2022 and 2023. And, you have no idea what kind of a SHIT SHOW that will be causing downstream for those of us who have any desire to retire and not live our old age in abject misery and poverty. You, David Harrington, are so short sighted and so incredibly selfish. It’s not about us. It’s about our children and their future. And they deserve to live their lives in peace and have the little bit of joy that we had when we were young.
WE OWE THEM THAT.
Wow David Harrington, just Wow! Your comment is frightening to say the least. Regardless of an individual’s belief regarding the safety or effectiveness of the vaccine, to opening advocate for the State controlling all information to your children, bypassing the parents is ignorant to say the least. What other important things effecting our children are you willing to turn over to the state without parental knowledge or consent? You are a textbook example of how fear tactics disguised as “for the greater good” can be weaponized.