Health Officials Use School Cafeteria To Sterilize Cats

[matcom]

<snip>

District school officials canceled today's classes at Eaton Elementary School in Cleveland Park to give cleaning crews time to disinfect the building after hundreds of cats were sterilized and vaccinated in the cafeteria over the weekend.

School Principal Willie McElroy had assured parents on Sunday that the school would be open today. But the unexpectedly large number of cats that were treated and public outcry over the clinic delayed the work on the building, he said.

Parents protested the clinic and wondered how the city could allow the sterilizations in a school cafeteria.

"It probably was not the best place to carry out that service in hindsight," said Jim Collier, chief of the city Health Department's bureau of environmental quality.

More than 500 cats were treated during the two-day clinic, said Robin Buckley, a consultant for Alley Cat Allies, one of the sponsors of the event, along with the city Health Department and the Washington Animal Rescue League.

"They were doing a community service," Collier said of the work on mostly stray and feral cats.

Cleaning crews did not begin work until yesterday afternoon and were expected to continue into the evening, McElroy said. Health officials estimated that the cleanup would cost $5,000 to $10,000, which would be split with Alley Cat Allies.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42473-2005Feb21.html

[underpants]

1. Double check the tater tots

Why is this a problem? Sure it seems out of the norm but wasn't the cafeteria generally clean before? How hard will it be to sterilize it?

I don't understand

[KamaAina]

2. Is this Bill Frist's alma mater?

Oh, right, the cats were sterilized, but are still alive, so I guess not.

[Bridget Burke]

3. I had some horrid vision of autoclaved cats / cafeteria food!

I'm glad they were really "fixing" them.

May have been poor planning, but the cause was good.

[Fridays Child]

4. Oh, c'mon. It was approved by Sen. Frist. It's okay.

He even helped (sadly, his kitty patients didn't survive).

[AwakeAtLast]

5. Those students and teachers should not have to make up that day.

Make up days are the worst.

This is my favorite part:
"It probably was not the best place to carry out that service in hindsight,"

Huh, ya think? You mean the protests from parents didn't make you rethink this before it happened?

I smell corruption. Don't know where, but I smell it.