Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • January 18, 2012 Glen Rock Trustees consider artificial turf by John Koster The Glen Rock Board of Education recently heard a presentation about the merits of artificial turf for sports fields at the high school, but held the matter for future study. Trustee Sheldon Hirschbergh asked some questions about the impact artificial turf would have on the safety of student athletes. Perry DiPiazza, a regional vice president of the Pennsylvania firm that manufactures the turf, said that while artificial turf inside buildings may nurture bacteria that can lead to serious infections, outdoor turf is purified by the sun’s ultraviolet rays by rain, and has been shown to be just as safe, or safer, than natural grass. Responding to the concern of board members, the turf manufacturer said there was no evidence that artificial turf causes more injuries or more serious injuries than grass fields. Residents who spoke at meetings when a private group asked permission to add a turf surface to part of Faber Field at their own expense through voluntary donation said they had read a number of reports indicating the student athletes suffered more numerous and more serious injuries on turf fields than they did playing on natural grass. An observer noted that some professional and student athletes dislike playing on artificial turf, though lucrative sports contracts or supervisory pressure often prevent them from mentioning this, except to their peers. The cost of adding artificial turf, along with work on the bleachers and other improvements, has been estimated at about $2.5 million. The condition of the Glen Rock High School field was acknowledged to be substandard, and some sort of improvement -- either with improved natural grass or artificial turf -- was widely seen as important. The board held the question of artificial turf or natural grass over for future study. The Community Relations Committee of the Glen Rock Board of Education, in conjunction with the Glen Rock Police Department, will hold “Rock Talk Live!” on Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the high school, 400 Hamilton Avenue. “The ABCs of School Security,” which was first presented at the New Jersey School Board’s Association convention last fall, provides important information for parents and other interested members of the community. Using a PowerPoint presentation and handouts, the district’s safety team will discuss the district-wide safe schools procedures and protocols. Team members/presenters include: Byrd Elementary Principal Dr. Linda Weber, Police Captain Jonathan Miller, and Donald Mutch, a senior maintenance safety advisor for the district. The presentation will be followed by time for questions from audience members. Learn ABCs of school security Award-winning local poet Gail Fishman Gerwin recently presented readings from her published memoir ‘Sugar and Sand’ at the Glen Rock Jewish Center Library. After hearing Gerwin’s narrative poems about driver’s education at East Side High, an elderly aunt’s wedding, the New York City skyline, and relatives lost in the Holocaust, members of the audience wrote their own poems and read them aloud. Gerwin is pictured with GRJC Adult Education Chair Elaine Ziff Leibman. (Photo courtesy of Elaine Ziff Leibman.) Poetic justice