LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - DECEMBER 03, 2023 by Thom Mangefrida Dear fellow community members, Once again we find ourselves voting on a proposition for an artificial turf field at Hardwood Park. After being voted down 3 times previously. In the mailer Mr. Holly sent out to the community 2 weeks ago, he states that, "science concludes that the use of artificial turf poses no known health risks to children." Yet, Mr. Holly failed to cite a single study or research paper on the subject. Also in the Nov. 12th edition of the Pennysaver he states, "it is unfair to make comparisons between professional athletes and student athletes." So I am going to reference studies about high school athletes with footnotes. So you can judge for yourself. The intent of this is not to scare anyone, but inform them. A 2021 study by Washington University in St. Louis observed that high school athletes across 26 schools were 58% more likely to sustain injuries on artificial turf than on natural grass.*1 A study of 57 high school turf fields across 4 states showed fields had varying levels of infill material. Researchers concluded that high school fields need to have at least 6.0lbs. of infill per square foot. Head trauma, knee and shoulder injury significantly increased when the infill fell below 6.0lbs per square foot.*2 Overtime the amount of infill decreases as a result of it getting kicked up during use and washed away during heavy rains. How often does our district plan on replacing the infill? And at what additional cost? I understand that sectional and state playoffs are played on turf fields. We have no control over this. We do have a say whether or not we play on turf at our facilities. Other questions have not been answered. The districts own timeline states work will begin in the Spring of 2025 and be completed by the Fall of 2026. Does this mean an entire class of Seniors will be unable to play a home game their Senior season? 8.9% of the cost will be offset using the Capital Reserve Fund. This was meant for maintenance and capital upgrades for district facilities. This totals $1,113,912 nearly depleting or reserve. The fund along with State aid could better be spent on things like solar panels or geothermal heating in the schools, which could save tax money in the long run. Env i ronmen t a l and hea l t h concerns are real as well. Artificial turf is just plastic. Plastic degrades in the sun under a process called photo degradation and releases volatile organic compounds or VOC's in off gassing. Think of that new car smell on a hot day. Crumb rubber infill material can contain PFAS or as the EPA has coined them "Forever Chemicals" that will never go away. If you've ever seen rubber infill being laid on a turf field you'll notice workers wearing masks and respirators. And yet the children playing on the field aren't required to wear them. While I believe Mr. Holly does a fine job managing our school district and the board members, who have a thankless job do fantastic work. On this subject we disagree and I believe many members of our community disagree also as evidenced by 3 prior rejections of the proposed turf field. So please everyone go vote on Tuesday, December 5th. Thank you, Thom Mangefrida. *1. Paliobeis, A., Sivasundaram, L., Knapik, D.M., LaBelle, M.W., Olson, M., Karns, M.R., Salta, M.J., & Voos, J.E. (2021). Injury incidence is higher on Artificial turf compared with natural grass in high school athletes: A retrospective cohort study. Current Orthopedic Practice 32(4), 355-360 h t t p s : / / d o i . o r g / 1 0 . 1 0 9 7 / BCO.0000000000001012 *2. Meyers, Michael C. Incidence, Mechanisms and Severity of game related high school football injuries across artificial turf systems ofvarious infillweights. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine 2019; 7(3), 2325967119832878. Journal article, Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications Letter to the Editor
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