Students and Parents Concerned Over Twitching, Mystery Illness At Roanoke High School
Both parents and the school system agree William Byrd’s special meeting on a mystery illness didn’t go as well as hoped Monday night.
Chuck Lionberger, Roanoke Co. Schools – “Health Department says, ‘We have no evidence of a health risk whatsoever.’ Environmental folks say, ‘We have no evidence that indicates any such problems.’ Both are indicating school is safe, so we as a school system just don’t see any valid reason to close the school right now!”
“I think it got everybody in a hysteria. I think everybody got in there and kind of panicked. It was like what can we do here? Let’s close the school,” Lynette Webb, a parent and Co-President of the PTSA, said.
More testing is underway at William Byrd High in Roanoke County, where about a dozen students have had episodes of involuntary twitching since school began in September.
Classes were canceled Tuesday because of the election however; school will resume Wednesday, despite many parents’ urging that the school stay closed until things are figured out.
Students held a brief protest on Monday, saying they won’t return to class until health officials can explain why some students are having the tremors.
We want to know how those people are linked together. We want to know how they’re getting it, and nobody’s telling us anything. I think we deserve to know.”
Layne Gulli, Senior – “I see it everyday in the halls.”
Seniors Layne Gulli and Julie Dyer both know students affected by the mysterious twitching.
Gulli – “It’s just like this. (Shaking arm) Then they wave and you can just, it’s convulsing and they just can’t stop it.”
For the first time school officials are revealing at least the symptoms that one student experienced.
They describe it as twitching or a shaking movement in their limbs.
“We really want them to take us out of school not because we want out of school but so that they can figure out what’s causing the problem,” said student Kayla Vail.
Concerned students and parents met Monday night with officials from the school system, the Department of Health and two independent companies conducting environmental tests at the school.
Parents urged officials to close the school and offer classes elsewhere, but officials declined to do so. They say that, so far, testing had revealed no specific dangers at the campus.
Category: Incident Reports
