Letters to the Editor 2-26-15

No to crumb rubber
Editor: I am the mother of a fourth grader and a seventh grader in the Twin Hills School District. I am also a kindergarten teacher and I have coached both of my children’s soccer teams for many years. I am writing to voice my concerns about our children’s safety on turf filled with crumb rubber, as the West Sonoma County Union High School District considers moving forward with the installation of artificial turf at Analy and El Molino. I do know that there has not been a definitive link between crumb rubber and cancer in children, but this may be due insufficient research, not the confirmed safety of the material.
We do know that tires contain known carcinogens and other harmful chemicals, and we certainly wouldn’t knowingly expose our children to these. Unfortunately, this fill in the synthetic turf often becomes airborne during play, potentially being inhaled or ingested by the players. These particles go everywhere. After training on a turf field, I found the turf particles at the bottom of my son’s water bottle, undeniable proof of our children’s contact with this harmful material.
There are infill alternatives to crumb rubber that are made from much safer, organic materials, such as Infill Pro Geo or corkonut, which are both combinations of cork, coconut fiber and other environmentally-friendly materials. Both of these infill materials have a higher retention of moisture under hot temperatures, and therefore don’t allow surface temperatures to rise to dangerous levels. These infills also stay resident in the turf, making them safer for our kids to play upon.
If the decision to go with crumb rubber or to go with a safer alternative fill, is a matter of money, I ask you what price would you put on our children’s health and wellbeing? If there is any doubt in our minds, I believe that we are compelled to pause and consider the alternatives.
Amy Taganashi
Sebastopol
End the suffering
Editor: A while ago, I leaned on a wooden fence looking into a small pasture. A young calf was suckling its mother. When it was finished, the two touched muzzles, and the cow licked the calf’s face tenderly. I was touched by the love between them. If life, as some believe, is primarily an expression of love, how is this love different from the love we feel for our children? Is it right to tear mother and child apart and send them to a slaughterhouse to end up in our meat counters and restaurant menus?
I have been a vegetarian for 45 years, ever since I read a book entitled “Poisons In Your Food.” My wife, Mary, also does not eat meat.
My two children, healthy and happy both, have never tasted meat, fish, seafood or other animal products except eggs and a little dairy. The dividing line has been suffering. We cannot consume any product that brings suffering to a living being.
I am not telling people how to live their lives. I am only suggesting that it might be helpful to look at what most of us are doing and its effect on our society and our planet.
Hank Bassior
Sebastopol
Power vs. Powers
Editor: I am writing to correct a potential misunderstanding that might have developed because a letter was published in a recent issue that was submitted by a person with a name very similar to mine.
The letter was proposing that the hospital was not worth the cost.
I was elected by a large majority in all precincts on the basis that I will do everything in my power to reopen our hospital and to make it a successful business. I want to be sure that no one thinks that I was the author of that recent letter by Richard Power.
Richard E. Powers, MD
Sebastopol
Learn to Swim needs volunteers
Editor: On Feb. 12, the Sebastopol Chamber of Commerce honored the Learn To Swim (LTS) program of the Rotary Club of Sebastopol. LTS is now a proud member of the Chamber’s Hall Of Fame. This program is now approaching its 31st season of teaching every second grader in Sebastopol how to swim for free.
Well over 9,000 seven-year-olds have benefited from this program since 1984. Last year, we had 310 students and this year we have a new school joining the fun, Oak Grove. This will give us another 70 students.
This addition will necessitate finding 20 more caring individuals to assist as volunteer instructors. In recent years, we have stayed very close to our desired ratio of one instructor for each three kids, and that is the key to the success of this endeavor.
LTS starts Monday, April 20 and runs for four weeks, during which each student gets eight one-half-hour lessons. Our goal is to assist our students in learning how to be safe in and around water, an especially important concept here in West County.
We are excited about returning to Ives Pool for a fun month. Our 380 eager swimmers will enjoy the six new diving platforms that our Rotary Club recently donated to the pool. With this donation, we honor our great friend and former president of our club, Pete Hill.
The starting blocks have been given in his memory. While Pete was on the swimming team at one point, he was a Sebastopol Little League hero who took great pride in hitting home runs from the Ives baseball diamond into the pool.
If you are the parent of one of our second graders, or a civic-minded citizen interested in the welfare of our children, we sure could use your help as a volunteer instructor. In the past, we have had high school and middle school students volunteering as well. This would entail helping to teach two half-hour classes a week for four weeks, starting April 20, and ending May 14.
You do not have to be an Olympic swimmer to do this. We give all of the instructors a one-hour course on techniques for teaching water safety. We also supervise all instructors during the lessons. Our youth, indeed our future, needs your help. For every 100 kids that learn to swim, a life is saved. Please email ch**************@ya***.com or gj*******@gm***.com if you would like additional information or to volunteer.
Finally, thank you to the Chamber for according the Rotary Club of Sebastopol this honor. If you want to find out more about Rotary, go to www.SebastopolRotary.com or join us for lunch any Friday at the Sebastopol Community Church.
Greg Jacobs and Rick Wilson
Sebastopol