Schools and cities across the country are closing athletic fields in response to reports of a lead threat in artificial turf, but turf manufacturers say there is no health risk.

The wave of field closures began two weeks ago when health officials in New Jersey discovered elevated lead levels in two synthetic turf fields. This prompted the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to begin a national investigation.

“We are in the very, very initial stages of our investigation,” said commission spokesman Scott Wolfson. “The key point for all parents and school administrators is that there is not a cause for alarm and panic at this time. It is not an issue where fields need to be shut down immediately.”

There are approximately 3,500 synthetic playing fields in use in the United States, according to the Synthetic Turf Council. Locally, Aggie Stadium’s Sochor Field and the athletic field at the Woodland Community and Senior Center both use artificial turf.

Wolfson said even if there is some lead content in the turf, it is not an issue for older teenagers or adults.

“This is an issue for children,” he said. “It can hinder development in a child and hinder growth and cognitive skills, but it takes extreme amounts to hurt an older teenager or adult.”

Synthetic turf manufacturers say there is no health risk associated with their product. The Synthetic Turf Council, an organization that collects research and information regarding synthetic turf sports fields, released a statement assessing the health risk.

“There is no scientific evidence of a health risk for children or adults based on recent test results and current knowledge of the chemical structure of aged synthetic turf products,” said David Black and Davis Lee in a joint written statement released by the council. “Reports of health concerns have not been supported by any laboratory analysis on the products or humans that indicate any risk of harm due to potential exposure to chemicals.”

UC Davis officials say the artificial turf in Aggie Stadium is not contaminated.

“Our field is a second-generation material made of polyethylene,” said Mark Lucas, sports turf manager at UC Davis. “The fields in New Jersey were first-generation, nylon-type fields.”

The older nylon fields were manufactured with lead to protect the color from leaching out, said Lucas, who is also the president of the Northern California Sports Turf Managers Association.

“If you happened to ingest it, it would just go straight through your system,” he said. “You wouldn’t absorb it.”

The field at Aggie Stadium is currently only used by three groups – football, lacrosse and the California Aggie Marching Band-uh! – no children use the field.

The investigation by the New Jersey Health Department examined the surfaces of 12 fields, two of which were nylon-based. Lead was not found in the polyethylene fields.

Wolfson said he would not comment on how long the Consumer Product Safety Commission investigation would take.

“We have responded as quickly as we can,” he said. “We want to do a thorough investigation.”

JEREMY OGUL can be reached at city@californiaaggie.com. XXX

On Apr. 11, Yolo County rancher Hank Stone was given the livestock man of the year award during Friday night’s performance of the Grand National Rodeo at the Cow Palace in Daly City, Calif.

“The livestock man of the year award is one of the most prestigious awards that only one person gets each year,” said executive vice president of the California Cattlemen’s Association, Matt Byrne.

Stone, who has been a rancher for 60 years, has owned and worked on his family ranch, Yolo Land & Cattle Co. for the past 20 years. He is a 30-year member of the California Cattlemen’s Association and has served on the board of directors for the California Beef Cattle Improvement Association for 20 years. Additionally, he has served on the livestock development board at UC Davis and currently is serving on the animal science committee at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

All of the aforementioned accomplishments are contributing factors to why he was named livestock man of the year, Byrne said.

“Hank’s commitment to working with young people, his work at Cal Poly and his devotion to the California Beef Cattle Association really separated him from other ranchers,” Byrne said.

To determine who receives the livestock man of the year award, past recipients meet once a year to nominate and vote on members of the industry.

“It’s a great honor because you are picked by your peers,” Stone said. “As far as it goes in the livestock business, it’s the greatest honor you can get.”

According to Jim Van Maren, a planner of the Grand National Rodeo and Stock show, the decision isn’t taken lightly; there is an extensive 3-page list of requirements that the winner of the award must fulfill on both state and local levels.

“The individuals who get the award are deeply involved in their local home community, not just the livestock industry,” Van Maren said. “Hank certainly did that.”

Stone and his family have done work around the state in additional to local work, Byrne said.

“Hank and his family have been great examples of the things that ranchers around the state do every day in terms of environmental stewardship and care and protection of land and cattle,” Byrne said. “Hank has contributed greatly to the improvement of cattle breeds he works with.”

According to Yolo Land & Cattle Co.’s website, the ranch features a tour that not only allows visitors to see the ranch cowboys work, but it also teaches the guests about what they have done to improve the ranch ecosystem while still maintaining economic viability. The tour ends with an authentic Western beef barbeque with “all the home-cooked trimmings.” For more information about the ranch and tours, visit yololandandcattle.com.

ALEX BULLER can be reached at city@californiaaggie.com. XXX.

The Davis bike paths are a hazardous place. With high traffic density between classes and frequently messy roundabouts, divine intervention on the road sounds like a good idea.

The Davis Bike Church offered the next-best thing Saturday with a bike blessing. It was the Bike Church’s first blessing with more to potentially follow in the future, said Chris Congleton, who helped organize and officiate the event.

The event was based on the annual bike blessing at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York.

“I was visiting in New York, and [the bike blessing] was mentioned on a tour, and I thought, ‘What an amazing opportunity,’ but whereas that was a more Christian oriented event, we didn’t want to identify the event with any specific religion,” said Matt Seitzler, one of the organizers and officiators of the event.

Seventeen people gathered at the grassy field by the Bike Church at the Domes at 11 a.m., before the sun became too uncomfortably hot. As people arrived, they were greeted by an altar space with a shrine box decorated with flowers.

Bike chains were anointed with oil, symbolizing the links between people at the event and on the road, and brushed with burning sage representing cleansing and purity.

Then the bikes were gathered in the center of a grassy field and the participants formed a circle around them. People introduced themselves and gave their reasons for attending. Most people said they were in attendance to wish others well on the road, but several had come to remember people who lost their lives in bicycle accidents.

There was a moment of silence for injured or killed cyclists and a non-denominational blessing passed around the circle, which consisted of participants turning to their neighbor and telling them, “May you ride safely in the direction of your dreams.”

The event concluded with an energy transfer, called a “pow!,” in which positive energy was willed into the gathered bicycles.

“The best thing you can do for yourself is to help others, and that was the idea behind this,” Seitzler said. “We’re concerned and dedicated cyclists.”

Participants’ reactions at the event were overwhelmingly positive. One of the attendees explained his reasons for coming.

“I think the Bike Church is a really important institution, and I want to support it as I can,” said participant Dave Vernon. “And also it’s a neat idea to come together and think about and remember those people who have been lost while doing something, which I don’t think society recognizes how beneficial it is.”

Cycling, Vernon said, is part of the potential solution to some of the major problems in the world.

“We talk about the food crisis, we talk about the oil crisis – I don’t think people realize that if a few more people just got on a bike, the conversation would be a lot different.”

The Bike Church hopes to host the event again, but in the meantime, they offer help on fixing bicycles Saturdays and Wednesdays from noon to 6 p.m. They also sponsor Critical Mass bike rides on the last Friday of each month.

J. DANA STUSTER can be reached at city@californiaaggie.com.XXX

Every spring and fall, migrating bats come through Yolo County.

“We have a huge wonderful bypass that’s an ideal habitat for bats,” said Bruce Sarazin, the director of Yolo County environmental health. “There’s a lot of bugs and mosquitoes, lots of food, lots of cover and a wonderful place to live.”

Yolo County has one of the largest bat colonies in California. The Health Department of Yolo County warns residents of rabid bats. Now that it is spring, bats are coming out of hibernation, and all residents should avoid contact with bats.

“Most of the bats live outside of the cities, so people don’t generally come in contact with them,” Sarazin said. “In your normal life, you shouldn’t come in contact with a bat.”

Rabies infections can be fatal if not treated immediately.

“It usually takes a few weeks before you notice signs of symptoms,” said Bruno Chomel, UC Davis professor of zoonoses. “It can be as short as 10 days, but it depends where you were bitten.”

Rabies will affect the brain by migrating along the nerves, he added.

“It’s going to invade the neurons, then grow in your brain,” he said. “And from the brain, it goes along the nerves and dispatches along the body.”

Out of 212 bats tested in Yolo County, 11 tested positive for rabies. This means that Yolo County has the second-highest number of rabid bats in the state, after Los Angeles.

“We have an ongoing program, and whenever someone is exposed to a bitten bat or any other animal that carry rabies, we place that animal in the quarantine, or we take the animal tested for rabies, depending on circumstances,” Sarazin said.

The environmental health department of Yolo County takes zoonotic diseases seriously, Sarazin added.

“We have a very proactive program investigating every bite or possible bite that happens when an animal bites a human,” he said.

Ten percent of bats tested last year were rabid-positive, Sarazin said.

“We didn’t find rabies in any other animals except for bats last year,” he said.

Symptoms from rabies can be detrimental to health, Chomel said.

“Sometimes you will have a fever and have a nervous crisis,” he said. “It can lead to paralysis and death. Usually, people die of respiratory distress and can’t breathe anymore. Once you have signs of rabies, you are going to die.”

People should seek help immediately if they come into contact with a bat.

“The real problem with bats is that their teeth are so tiny, and you’ll never know that you were ever bitten,” Sarazin said.

Individuals should avoid touching a bat if it looks sick, Chomel said.

“Call the animal control, especially if the bat looks sick. The problem with bats is that there is a small percentage that carries the virus but can carry it for a long time,” he said.

Bats generally stay away from people, but if they are infected with rabies, they start acting strangely and think irrationally, Sarazin said.

Although rabid bats can endanger public health, they play an important ecological role.

“Bats eat so many pounds of bugs, that [getting rid of them] would be devastating to California’s economy, especially in farming,” said Leslie Lyons, UC Davis associate professor of genetics. “You’re going to affect the economy quite drastically.”

If you come into contact with a rabid animal, report to the Health Department immediately at 666-8486 or Yolo County Animal Services at 668-5287.

JANET HUNG can be reached at city@californiaaggie.com. XXX

Holocaust Remembrance Day, also known as Yom Hashoah, is a day to commemorate the millions who perished in the Holocaust.

Bet Haverim, a Davis synagogue, will host this year’s congregation today at 7 p.m. The community-wide event will take place at the Mosaic Law Congregation in Sacramento.

Alexander Groth, professor emeritus of political science at UC Davis, will be the featured speaker for this event. Groth is one of the youngest survivors of the Holocaust.

Groth was a seven-year-old living in Warsaw, Poland when World War II began. He was there on Oct. 5, 1939, the day Hitler reviewed his victory parade over the defeat of Poland’s capital. He watched the Nazis take over Warsaw.

“The Nazis looked invincible,” Groth said. “As a young boy, I looked at this army and said to myself, ‘nobody’s going to beat these guys.'”

During the freezing Polish winter, Groth and his Jewish family were moved into the ghetto. According to Groth, it was a space of about two square miles which held – at one point – half a million people.

Up until then, all he had experienced was the constant bombing and artillery fire in the streets of Warsaw. The harsh realities of the Holocaust didn’t hit him until he saw the mass starvation and disease that spread throughout the ghetto.

“They officially promulgated a starvation food ratio for the people, 184 calories per person a day,” Groth said. “If you go out on the streets, you would see people look like the victims of concentration camps.… They were emaciated, skeletal-looking figures moaning, groaning and crying.”

It was his first exposure to Hitler’s final solution.

By July 1942, the Nazis began deportations to the gas chamber. He and his mother were spared. She attained a permit to work in a German factory to make socks for the German army. She hid her son in boxes of socks while she was at work.

It wasn’t long until he had a brush with death. One day, the Schutzstaffel – the Nazi Party’s shield squadron – came to conduct a selection. Shooting erupted from the courtyard with the call, “Jews out!”

“Everybody had to go in front of them, and they decided who would live and who would die,” Groth said. “They would consign people to a group that was going to go to the gas chambers, or they let you go.”

Miraculously, neither Groth nor his mother were taken away or punished. By this point, Groth’s mother was determined that they would escape by any means necessary.

They did so in late August 1942 with a Jewish worker group that worked on the other side of the wall. From there, they traveled from house to house, hiding and living in continual fear of being revealed to the Nazis or being killed.

“My mother carried two cyanide tablets, one for herself and one for me in case we were caught,” Groth said. “She didn’t get rid of those until we were liberated by the Soviet Russian army and our death sentence was lifted.”

Liberated in 1945 in the vicinity of Krakow, he and his mother returned to Warsaw, where they found the body of Groth’s stepfather. His mother contacted her relatives living in America, and they devised a plan to leave the country. They left from the Polish port of Gdynia on a Swedish vessel, made their way to Sweden, and then to the United States.

“Just a few days after my 15th birthday, I sailed past the Statue of Liberty into New York Harbor,” Groth said.

Almost immediately, he began attending a free public high school called the High School of Commerce. He graduated and went to the City College of New York, and later to Columbia, where he received a master’s degree and a Ph.D.

Following the completion of his education, Groth began teaching at UC Davis as a political science professor. He officially retired in 1991, but he didn’t stop teaching until 1998.

Undoubtedly, the Holocaust was a major influence in his life. Aside from anxiety nightmares, which continue to plague him to this day, he feels that his passion for political science was ignited by the event.

“I used to tell students that I was never interested in political science until I was seven years old,” Groth said. “When I saw the parade, I became a political scientist.”

In 2003, he published a book called Holocaust Voices, which was based on a compilation of interviews with 250 other Holocaust survivors.

Groth, now age 76, is speaking about his experiences at the Holocaust Remembrance Day 2008 commemoration. His aim is to dispel some of the myths surrounding the Holocaust.

Although he personally feels a large sense of gratitude toward the allied soldiers, airmen, and sailors who fought in the war, he is angry about the denial of the Holocaust until it was too late.

He cites Dec. 17, 1942 as an example. On this day, the Allied Nations issued a declaration that specifically said the Nazis were putting into effect a plan to exterminate the Jewish people of Europe.

Yet Prime Minister Winston Churchill denied it on Aug. 1,1946, and said he had no idea of the things that were happening to the Jews.

“It wasn’t a secret, but the world was completely oblivious to that,” Groth said. “They chose to ignore it.”

“We want people to come away with a better understanding of the magnitude of the tragedy,” said Muriel Brounstein, chair of Holocaust Remembrance Day events, in an e-mail interview. “We want everyone to personally commit that ‘never again’ will the world allow another Holocaust.”

Rabbi Greg Wolfe of Bet Haverim also hopes that the event leaves a strong impact.

“Even though it’s a very somber experience, I want people to take away a sense of hope and a sense of our vitality in the Jewish community,” Wolfe said. “If we can overcome something as enormous as the Holocaust, we can take this spirit and use this in our everyday life.”

APPLE LOVELESS can be reached at features@californiaaggie.com.XXX