Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 17

il'lili mwm in in Business Economics Page 24 mill J' IiikiIF nun 75 ml THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1987 flUtgburflb flosKfazctlC 17 mi ifmmmmmmmmmim.it I I jriavin sale Guidelines aim to eliminate hazards on city playgrounds Et cetera i- W' I .,4 fp It' 4 'Xk: tr If If l1 '4'll fl larly followed Pittsburgh's lead, Padolf said. Cost is the major drawback to the new surfaces, however. "If you're looking at a renovation job and $30,000 of it has to go to the surface, then you're restricted," Padolf said. "It really limits what you can do in the way of new equipment. It makes you more conservative." Mike Gamble, Citiparks administrator, said his department "has made a commitment to upgrade" playground surfaces and is spending perhaps half of its construction funds on safer ones.

As for equipment, "We don't go in for really fancy stuff," he said, adding the city has installed fully enclosed swings for toddlers that are also accessible to the handicapped. Padolf said slides taller than eight feet and platforms higher than five feet are avoided. For parents who want to examine playgrounds for hazards, here's a list of danger signs from the safety commission: Any visible cracks, bending, warping, rusting or breakage of any components. Worn swing hangers and chains. Deformation of open hooks, shackles, rings or links.

Exposed ends of tubing that should be covered by plugs or caps. Hard surfaces, especially under climbing equipment. Possible areas where heads could become trapped. Lack of lubrication on moving parts. Shearing actions in moving mechanisms.

Accessible hard edges or points. Monte Christiansen of The Pennsylvania State University's Department of Parks and Recreation, said modern playground design is "in a state of evolution. Playground injuries are one of three largest causes of legal action in the recreation field, so the thrust now is to prevent injuries in the first place." Christiansen said current design efforts call for increased railings and other restraints to avoid falls and safer materials including surfaces. Also considered now are the distances and pathways between equipment "There has been an increase in concern for playground safety in the past 10 years and it's growing," he added. Some traditional equipment which has been eliminated for safety concerns are see-saws, swings with heavy wooden seats and the maypole swing, he said.

Thus far, the City of Pittsburgh has been spared heavy legal damages, said Dan Pellegrini, city solicitor. "There has been no significant amount of claims filed against the city for playground injuries. They probably amount to no more than 1 percent of the total claims filed in three years," he said. By Robert Hoover Post-Gazette Stafl Writer Childhood in the 1980s is becoming a fearful place, with little faces of missing children on milk cartons, day-care workers on trial for molestation, violence on televison, sex in rock music and drugs in the schoolyard. At least things are getting safer on the playgrounds.

Since the late 1970s, with the help of product safety guidelines from the federal government, municipalities, including the City of Pittsburgh, have been cutting back on playground hazards. A further impetus was a stunning $9.5 million settlement reached between the city of Chicago and parents whose child was disabled in a fall at a city park. Since falls account for 70 percent of the 200,000 serious childhood injuries recorded on an annual basis, Pittsburgh has been gradually upgrading the surfaces of some of its 115 play areas. The figures come from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission which has also proposed the safety standards.

"By their nature, playgrounds are not safe places," says Bruce Padolf a City of Pittsburgh architect who oversees playground with the advent of so much litigation, we needed to take a look at safer surfaces." Cities have long favored asphalt and concrete, Padolf said, because they are easy to maintain. However, they are particularly unforgiving as landing sites. What the city is slowing installing now are several brands of shock-absorbing surfaces which meet U.S. guidelines. Padolf stresses that these guidelines are "recommendations," not mandates.

"We've tried surface coverings like bark and sand, but they're not acceptable. Sand, particularly, seems attractive, but it needs daily maintenance." He pointed out that animals, especially cats, use sand areas as litter boxes and that broken glass can go unseen. Other choices grass and dirt and cleverly called "natural surfaces" by sports announcers either become packed hard or turn to mud. So, the surface of choice is usually asphalt around most play equipment in city parks. But in newer or renovated playgrounds such as East Carnegie, Frazier Street in South Oakland, McKnight Playground and Swisshelm Park, the city has installed shock-absorbing material around climbing equipment.

One brand is called Green Park Breakfall, which is sold in 1- and 2-inch mats with a green, pebbled covering. "It costs about $125 a square yard and should last between five and 10 years," Padolf said. He added that Pittsburgh was one of the first major cities to use the material, so now, "we're getting calls from all over the country" from other cities interested in safer surfaces. Philadelphia recreation officials have particu- Beauty and the bears Just a year ago Illinois designer Pat Thompson turned her talents to creating dolls with beautiful faces, dressed in antique satins and laces. Her Vlasta collection, named for her late mother, and priced $350 up, already tops collectors' wish lists.

The doll above, Colene, ticketed at $2,200, will star this weekend at the Doll and Teddybear Show at S.W. Randall Toyes and Giftes, 630 Smithfield St. Downtown. Thompson's daughter Lynn and representatives of six other top toy makers will be there. So will 2.999 other dolls and bruins.

Among them, the new Sleeping Beauty edition of the Cabbage Patch Kids. Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sunday. Free. New mall opens Grand opening celebration of the new shopping mall in rehabbed East Liberty Station, 6393 Penn taking place Saturday at 10 a.m. continues the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the East Liberty Chamber of Commerce. Pittsburgh-based Terra Enterprises is the developer.

Nine businesses, including a discount drug store, fashion shop, shoe store, two fast-food restaurants, a beauty shop, cleaners, real estate office and a mail-delivery service will be open in the mall. Architecture and religion "The English Gothic, an Anglican Statement," will be discussed by architect Gerald Allen Sunday at 12:15 p.m. at Calvary Episcopal Church, 315 Shady Shadyside, continuing the church's study series on "Christian History and The Arts." Allen, an author and specialist in restoration, is teaching architectural design at Carnegie Mellon University. Free, open to the public. Take your own brown-bag lunch.

For baby sitter service ($1 per family per week) phone Sandie Campeau, 661-0120. Rather rent? Skip this! The first of three free talks on real estate Owning and Selling a Home," will be given today at 12:30 p.m. in the business department of Carnegie Library's Downtown branch, One Mellon bank Center. Speaking wil be Michael Ryan, chairman of the education committee of the Greater Pittsburgh Board of Realtors. Selling a house and problems relating to appraisals, hand money and closing dates will be covered this time.

For animal lovers A multimedia presentation, including "A Guide to Mammals of Pennsylvania" and wildlife photographer Hal Korber talking about his experiences in the field, takes place tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in Frick Nature Center at the Beech-wood Avenue entrance to Frick Park, Squirrel Hill. City residents will pay $2.50 per person or $5 per family, double that if you live outside city limits. Call 422-6538 to save a seat. Calling green thumbers! The Pittsburgh Civic Garden Center, the County Extension Service and Citiparks need experienced enthusiasts to serve in the Master Gardening program they've jointly sponsored since 1972.

Volunteers give talks, write articles, answer beginners' questions and help maintain plantings. The 20 people selected will get in-depth evening training sessions during November and attend bimonthly hands-on classes- held January to June, and take part in summer workshops. Call Citiparks Urban Gardening Program, 422-6532 for an application form. Judy Lutz Post-Gazette Playground designer Tom Olivero installs rubber mats at East Carnegie Park. Romero trades zombies for monkeys By George Anderson Magazine Editor, Post-Gazette Still waiting? friends.

This is his first project with Romero and he is on the set every day. The days are killers. Shooting on. "Monkey Shines" goes from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

daily with a half-hour lunch break about 3 p.m. For Romero, that means the day rombies are pussycats compared to monkeys. That what George Romero 1 lis learning on the set of his about that subject. He worked on "Toot-sie," which has become legendary for its actor-inspired battles. As a director, Romero is among the most patient of men.

He is not known for raising his voice or losing his temper. "He has never had to be as patient as this before," said Evans. Evans, by the way, is the brother of producer and former Paramount Pictures head Robert Evans. Looking dapper in blue blazer and gray slacks, he has the well-cared-for look of a jet-setter, and is repeatedly visited bv VIP starts several hours earlier and winds up about 1 1 p.m. six days a week.

On the seventh day, he works with the film editor. "It's the toughest shoot we've ever had," said Christine Forrest Romero, the director's wife and assistant, who is playing a major role in "Monkey Shines." Wearing jeans and denim shirt, with his traditional good-luck scarf hanging from a belt loop, Romero looks lean. He always loses weight while shooting a movie "the real Hollywood diet," he calls it. The film deals with a former college track star who is quadriplegic after being hit by a truck. A friend persuades him to use a CONTINUED ON PAGE 21 A symposium titled "Infertility Insights and Issues," spoonsored by Pittsburgh Area Resolve will be held on Robert Morris College's Coraopolis campus Saturday.

It's open to health professionals and couples unable to have children. Topics covered by a faculty of 15 physicians, social workers and mental health experts will include diagnosis, adoption, alternate methods of fertilization, legal applications ajid ways of dealing with the grief of childlessness. Time: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; price: $55 per couple. Phone: 921-3501.

Myles Aronowitz photo George Romero, left, and Jason Beghe on set of Compiled by Clara Herron "Monkey Shines." A j. current feature "Monkey Shines," which has been shooting in Pittsburgh since July. There has been no report in all those weeks from the almost windowless gray block building in Moon, just behind the West Hills Shopping Center. Movie fans may have wondered just what Romero is up to this time, what diabolical plot is being hatched in this forbidding penitentiary-like structure built to be a sound stage for films. It could be his most dangerous movie yet but not in terms audiences usually associate with Romero.

This time the risk is of another sort, the kind that goes with casting against type. Romero, the amiable keeper of the zombies of Western Pennsylvania, is dealing with another species in "Monkey Shines." Whatever that title may suggest at this time, it has nothing to do with straying politicians or media-manipulating models. The monkey on Romero's back is a real one, a capuchin, which is actually played in the film by five monkeys, only one of which does close-ups. Working with these comic-looking little creatures has turned out to be the sort of nightmare usually associated with caves, cemeteries and mysterious big boxes in Romero movies. Monkeys, even supposedly trained monkeys, have minds of their own.

They don't always like to do what they're told to do. The results have been days in which getting the right shot can consume four hours. Executive producer Charles Evans said, "When it comes to temperament, these monkeys make every actor look good." Evans ought to know something Mi Mil rriC: 'Mil Vi -i- 17 I'ijf fifes MV y.V kfflW 4 lrm hi I 11 MM Best bet Handsome one-of-a-kind hand-thrown porcelain vases, urns and platters by Valda Cox are sold in the gift shop at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, 6300 Fifth Shadyside. This vase, slip-decorated, is $125. Others are available, priced $18 to $1,000.

The Pittsburgh ceramist has taught numerous courses at the arts center and at The Carnegie Institute..