Outbreak of flu-like illness closes school

School at Box Elder was canceled today and Wednesday as a result of an outbreak of flu-like symptoms among more than 100 students and half of the teachers.

Box Elder Schools Superintendent Bob Heppner said Monday that problems started last Friday, when 109 students stayed home from school complaining of a range of symptoms, including severe coughing, headache and nausea. Box Elder Schools has 349 students in grades K-12.

Heppner assumed things would be back to normal this week, but they weren't.

"We thought, 'It'll blow over and we'll be back to normal on Monday,'" he said. "But we're not."

On...