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Highlands Today

Dead Rats Found In AP Middle School

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By MARC VALERO | Highlands Today

Published: September 28, 2007

AVON PARK — A sour note Wednesday in the Avon Park Middle School Band Room had nothing to do with the student musicians who were moved out when dead rats were found in the ceiling.

"There was a smell in the band room," Principal Dan Johnson said Wednesday. "We did move the kids out today [Wednesday] because we went up and found the nest or the rats and it was a pretty bad smell."

No other students have been moved, he said.

The school's plant manager informed him that usually there are no rats found in the school, Johnson said, but this is an unusual year with about eight or nine found since school started.

The plant manager believes that the rats came from a house that was torn down on one side of the school and another house that was tented for pest treatment on the other side of the school.

It's just a theory, Johnson said. This is not normal.

"I haven't had any complaints lately – the last week or so," he said.

Exterminators have been trapping them so maybe its been stopped, Johnson said. But this is an older building and I would suspect every older building, whether it's a school or courthouse whatever, probably has some rats in it. This is a big building here and I'm sure there are ways rodents can get in.

"We think we have it under control," he said.

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