Schools try to prepare for flu pandemic - KATHRYN WALSON, Daily Press

If a flu pandemic strikes, will schools stay open? If they close, will the Internet be used to provide instruction? These are among the questions that school officials throughout Virginia are trying to answer at the urging of the state and federal governments. Local school officials are developing plans to prepare for a global spread of a new influenza strain. "We're due for a pandemic," said Kevin Pearce, emergency planner for the Peninsula Health District. "It's like a hurricane. It occurs naturally. It's coming. It's just a question of when."