Letters to the Editor

Grass is good

It is time to upgrade our stadium and athletic fields in RSU 21. Great. But I’m against the artificial turf field in the proposal.

My concerns:

The late Dick Allen, legendary Chicago White Sox first baseman and 1972 AL MVP, when asked about the introduction of Astroturf in the Major Leagues in the early-1970s famously said, “If a horse can’t eat it, I don’t want to play on it.”

1. Toxic PFAS “forever” chemicals are used to help the blades of “grass” release from the molds. These synthetic chemicals disrupt hormones, cause cancer and never break down in the environment.

2. Holds heat. Hotter temps on fields. High temps vaporize the vinyl/chemical compounds making toxic fumes. Runoff warms and pollutes waterways.

3. Injuries. Increased serious knee and joint injuries. Increased concussions on harder surface hits, turf burns.

4. Short lifespan, then toxic trash. No way to recycle, future leachate in local landfills.

5. Environment. Loss of ecosystem. Runoff includes lead, PFAS, gets into water supply, rubber bits migrate everywhere in vicinity and in your homes/school/car/shoes/bus).

6. Health. Neurotoxins, endocrine disruption, metabolism, thyroid and liver exposures, cancer, immune dysfunction.

In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, they are presently awaiting PFAS test results on their brand-new artificial field. After years of expensive cleanup from the PFAS devastation at Pease Air Force Base, they can’t believe they were duped by the turf sales people and promises of more field time and less maintenance.

Peer pressure is mounting as many surrounding districts install fake fields. It doesn’t matter to me that plastic fields are trending. Spreading plastic is not a trend I want anything to do with. Artificial turf is not an upgrade, it is a hot mess.

How can we take actions against straws, plastic bags, and balloons, yet be willing to install a few tons of toxic petroleum products in our school’s backyard for the youth to run, sit, fall and play on?

Go with grass. It is good for today and for all our tomorrows.

Kate Manahan

Kennebunk

Schools produce ‘caring, informed global citizens’

To the editor,

In regards to the new Maine Republican Party platform amendment (Portland Press Herald, April 29, 2022), I’d like to reassure amendment author Shawn McBreairty that he can put his mind at ease.

He stated, “The majority of Maine has no idea what is happening in these cult-like, government-run K-12 schools. It’s time for accountability. Morals and family values have been stripped away from schools and been replaced by identity politics and kiddie porn.”

Having proudly put five children and stepchildren through Maine public schools (RSU 21) — and having taken an active, engaged, front-row seat to their education, I can happily report that our fantastic and dedicated public school teachers delivered an education that was full of strong civic-minded morals and “family values” that encouraged them to be kind and caring friends and informed global citizens.

I’m so sorry to have to inform him that there was no cultish behavior, identity politics indoctrination or kiddie porn in sight. (I do know that “government-run” schools is almost always a pretext used by those on the far right to justify privatization of our public schools — a well-documented desire of those, like the Koch brothers and others, who recognize the billions they can reap if only they can get enough Americans disillusioned and dissatisfied with our public school system.)

Do our public schools have some areas in which they can improve? Of course. Is institutionalized kiddie porn one of them? Um, do we really have to answer that?