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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (March 16, 1952)
BuadT. Mirt 18, XS53 MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRTBTTKE THTRTEOf lygpyirDdls School Authorities Feel Supervision, Instruction Best Alternatives Raise Other Safety Problems Editor's note: Considerable public discussion has been beard recently about the "blacktop" surfacing now in use on parts of the play grounds of the four Medford elementary schools. The dis . ' cussion has largely been stim ulated by articles which ap - peered , in two national mag azines, ' and in the Portland ; Oregonian. The writer of the 1 following article has made something of a study of the blacktopping since his second " grade daughter broke her arm " in a fall from a piece of play ground equipment last fall.) By ERIC ALLEN, JR. Mail Tribune City Editor Youngsters are going to get hurt. ' No matter what safety-con scious school authorities, princi pals, ' teachers and parents can do, high-spirited school kids will continue to come home with skinned knees, bumps on the head and, occasionally, broken limbs. , These casualties can be mini mized by providing the safest possible surroundings for the children, by training them in safety practices and keeping a sharp eye on their play. The question which has arisen in Medford recently and which has generated some pretty hot discussion is whether or not 'blacktop" or asphaltic concrete is a safe material for the play grounds, particularly beneath playground equipment and ap pliances. A group of parents maintain it is not safe, and quote recent articles on the subject to sub stantiate their arguments. Other observers maintain that the blacktopped play yards are as safe if net safer than grav el or dirt playgrounds. School men in Medford, with some res ervations, generally agree with the latter group, provided that certain safeguards are taken. " They are quick to point out, however, that if it can be con clusively shown that there is a better way of surfacing play grounds, it will be adopted, and if any safe way is put forward to make a softer surface under equipment, that too will be con sidered. ' They are emphatic in stating that they " are not standing by the blacktopping without qual ification, but have yet to be convinced that anything else is better. What is the comparative situ ation regarding accidents before and after the blacktop was in stalled? Unfortunately, acci dent spot maps have been kept only for the past two years. Be fore that, the records show only the name of the child and the date of accident There is no way to determine the cause of accidents which occurred more than two years ago. But the principals of the four elementary schools here, who should be familiar with the sit uation if any one is, are agreed that there has been no increase in accident incidence, and that accidents which have occurred in the past two years are no more serious than those occurring be fore. In analyzing accidents which happened last year it is difficult to blame the blacktop, directly, for any of them. The principals are frank to admit the blacktop results in "expenditure of more hide" that there is more skin lost in minor abrasions. But they feel that the hard topped surface has a tendency to mini mize the seriousness - of acci dents, and for several reasons: 1. The blacktop eliminates, un even surfaces which are apt to trip up hurrying youngsters. 2. While abrasions, or skinned knees and elbows, are common, there is no longer the problem of sand, dirt or gravel being ground into the wound. 3. Wider use of playing fields for marbles, volleyball, basket ball, and other games, draws emphasis away from the equip ment, thereby making them less likely to be overcrowded a hazard in itself. 4. Blacktop drains rapidly and readily, and can be used with out danger of wetting the chil dren immediately after a show er. Before, mud and .water pud dles frequently kept children confined to school buildings even in pleasant weather fol lowing a ram. . 5. Children appear to be more conscious of safety precautions on blacktop than they were be fore, and follow elementary rules of behavior more readily than they did on dirt or gravel surfaces. The biggest objection to black top has been under and around playground equipment, the swings, ' slides, "monkey bars, horizontal bars, merry-go-rounds and jungle gyms, which are felt to be a necessary and construc tive part of every playground. This was graphically pointed out in an article in last Sunday's Portland, Oregonian, which showed a picture of two boys hanging from their knees, head- down, and another boy precari ously walking on top of the monkey bars. It is true that a fall onto blacktop . under such circumstances ' could be pretty serious and has been in several cases in other cities, notably Los But it was also pointed out that any youngster caught per forming such tricks would not be permitted to use the equipment again, at least lor a time ana until they had learned its prop er use. Alternatives so far proposed for hard surfacing under play ground equipment pose as many questions if . not more than AMERICA'S FINEST LOW PRICED, HIGH QUALITY REEL-TYPE To Operate S ' ...A Child )tfS5fc Can Safely . , Use It! 1 v" - l&f &zr ' ' ' T 1 . A PLAYGROUND SCENE: Shown above is ' believes perhaps should have softer material the playground at Lincoln elementary- school . than, blacktopping beneath it. During both re- during recess, a scene typical of any of the city's four grade schools. The picture shows the con troversial "blacktop" paving, and the play ground equipment. From the extreme left, the apparatus includes the "monkey bars," next a jungle gym, swings, slide, merry-go-round, and, at right, another jungle gym, which is highly popular withstudents at this school. Not shown are the horizontal bars, which one principal cess periods and lunch hours one or more teach ers are on hand to supervise play, and all chil dren entering school are given instruction in elementary safety precautions, including rules of behavior on playground equipment. In the foreground can be seen markings used for various games now played on the blacktop, which could not be done on the rough gravel yards used before, the paving was laid. Easy-to-Start 4-Cyde 1.1 H. P. Gasoline Engine 18-Inch Cutting Width Finger-Tip Clutch and . Throttle Controls Puncture Proof Rubber .Tire A WEEK IPAIB its use. . If sand or sawdust is used, some way must befotmd to keep it beneath the equipment, or its utility is lost. This could be done by a pit, or by a box. If is were scattered loose, it would soon be dispersed and its effec tiveness would be lost. If they were confined in a pit or box, the edges of these would present a far greater dan ger than the hard but smooth surface now in use. In addition there is a question of sanitation. Dogs are notably attracted to playground equip ment (just ask one of the prin cipals about dogs they consti tute a knotty problem in them selves) and unless the sand or sawdust was changed frequent ly and regularly, a serious health hazard would result. ' Experiments are being con ducted in the use of several types of rubber matting or pads under equipment, but all those tried so far have worn out rap idly, posing, problems both in expense, and in danger to young sters who might expect to drop on a pad and fall, instead, on a spot of hard surface. No Pattern Seen In reviewing last year's acci dents at the four elementary schools, it was found that there is no pattern in where they oc cur. Of 13 reported last year at Washington school, one was boy hurt when struck in the stomach with a ball, another ran into the school building, an other was hit by a book, another fell near the steps while leaving the building, one fell while climbing the jungle gym while wearing roller skates (against the rules), another turned an an kle while playing volleyball, an- otner leu on tne steps, one dropped an iron grating on his toe, one involved a splinter picked up in the school building, another was hit by a bat, an other was cut by glass from spectacles broken while playing on the merry-go-round, another was hurt when going down the slide sideways (also against reg ulations), and the last received a hurt wrist in a game of volley ball Only one the youngster who fell while leaving the building was connected with blacktop. The accident presumably w.ould also have occurred on gravel, or packed dirt for that matter. At Lincoln school, no 1950-51 accidents were attributable to the blacktop. At Roosevelt, sev eral accidents occurred on the blacktop, but none were of a nature that they could be blamed exclusively on the material. Sim ilar reports were made from Jackson and Lincoln schools. The principals felt that there are three ways in which acci dents can be kept to a minimum. They are: 1. Proper selection of equip ment. Playthings called "giant strides," which were long chains attached . to poles and which were used by children for swinging wide around the poles, have -been discontinued as too dangerous. Other equipment has been modified or eliminated, and all now in use are annrnvprt by safety authorities. (One prin cipal, H. W. Gustin of Jackson school, said he felt the horizon tal bars should be modified, or soft material put under them.) Mercury Now Visible By J. HUGH PRUETT Astronomer, Extension Division Oregon Higher Education System The little planet Mercury has inspired annual discussion in this column at about this time of year almost without fail since 1936. The reason is that many persons, even. those well along in life, are not sure they have ever spotted this little messenger of the gods of ancient mythology; and lurther, that he flies most boldly in the western twilight at this season and for only a comparatively few evenings in succession Most of the year Mercury is so nearly in the direction of the sun that he is lost in its bril liant rays. This year he is in the best position for evening ob servation during this present week. He will be farthest east of the sun on March 18, but is somewhat brighter at present than then. During the next few evenings our little planet will set almost Wz hours after the sun, so the observer should be gin to scan the darkening skies much, earlier than this. Due West Mercury will be sinking into the horizon almost due west and will excel in brightness everything in the entire lower western sky with the, exception of brilliant Jupiter. In fact, the two are now only five degrees apart and present a very fine combination. The separation will be slightly less as the week ad vances. This proximity to Jupi ter will most easily point out the location of Mercury. Now for a few astronomical facts about this shy little world. 2. Instruction. All children are made iammar wun me school grounds and equipment when they first enter school, and are given definite instructions regarding their use. Primary grades, in some cases, are not allowed to use certain types of equipment. 3. Supervision. A teacher is on the playgrounds at all recess periods, and more than one are assigned during lunch hours. It is their duty to watch for im proper use of equipment and to check over-enthusiastic young sters in their play. ' There are portions of each playground which are unpaved, usually with a sawdust base, which are available for children to use in rougher sports such as football. According to accident maps, mishaps- are as apt to oc cur there as on the blacktop. But school authorities here said if something better than the present system can be devised, they will make use of it. They have yet to be shown, however, that blacktop is basically more hazardous than other playground coverings. Mercury is the smallest of the nine principal planets, with a diameter of 3100 miles as com pared with 7900 for our earth. His orbit is the nearest to the sun of any of the regular plan ets, and a round trip requires only 88 days compared with the year for our earth. Next out from the sun comes Venus and the earth. Because of Mercury's relatively small orbit inside the earth's path, he always appears to us in the general direction of the sun. Best Seen in East Mercury is best seen in the eastern dawn at certain times in the fall. The fact that he was sometimes seen in the western twilight and at other times in the dawn confused the early Greeks and caused them to be lieve they were viewing two dif ferent planets. They called him Mercury when an "evening star;" Apollo when a "morning star." Likely Mercury keeps one side constantly toward the sun as does our moon toward the earth. It seems that there can be little atmosphere present and that the. side toward the sun is extremely torrid hot enough to melt lead. All water would boil away. Jeans has said, "If there are rivers on Mercury, they are rivers of lead." If clear skies prevail during the next few days, do not fail to look for Mercury as he glides down the western twilight. Machine Planned For Translating Seattle (U.R) A machine which translates one language into another at the flick of a switch is being developed at the University of Washington. Prof. Erwin Raifler, developer of the machine, has been award ed a grant-from the Rockefeller Foundation with which to con tinue his work. His machine will operate in the principle of an electronic brain which can make complex mathematical calcula tions in seconds. In the professor's machine, the electronic memory apparatus will be used to store the words of a translating dictionary so that a text fed into the machine will come out translated accord ing to the diction definitions. Soap jelly (13 cup soap dis solved in a quart of hot water, cooked until it jells) on-a brush or sponge is best, say research ers of the Gas Appliance Manu facturers' association, for gettinp dirt up from pile surfaces anc sturdy fabrics rugs, pillow cov erings, mattress ticking, etc. ' j On Durante Show Hollywood (U.R) Margaret Truman said Saturday her de light in "making people laugh' prompted her to accept a return engagement on Jimmy Durante's "All Star Revue" television pro gram nere. - It was. on Durante's show last year that Miss Truman's talents in comedy first received nation wide attention. . ' She is scheduled to appear on the program March . 22 . w i t h Durante and Eddy Jackson and to introduce a new song, "Tru man, Jackson and Durante." Miss Truman is visiting here for two weeks while on a west ern concert tour. Milk Price Ruling Set In Puget Sound Region Seattle (U.R) The Seattle umce oi i-rice btaDUization has issued a new ruling requiring retail milk prices in the Puget Sound area be slashed when ever the cost of raw milk goes down. The amendment, effective Thursday, also requires whole salers to lower their prices when raw milk goes down. Previously, cost increases could be passed on to the customer, but decreases did not have to, be reflected. Retailers thus will be required to maintain the difference be tween costs and prices which they had on Dec. 20, 1951. M Presenting- the S P Silver M Fa . 4 fAnniversaryl Z ... the hearing aid : with "Self-Control " : Monday Morning 1 REKifJflfJTS Wonderful, New Assortment, 2 to 10 yd. lengths, consisting of ' Sanforized Fast Color Chambray, plains and stripes, em bossed cottons, piques, waffle piquet, percales, Sanforized plain color denims. 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