Don't waste parts of gym floor that aren't sold
I applaud the efforts of Burbank High School principal Bruce
Osgood to help raise money for the athletic programs by selling off
pieces of the bird's eye maple flooring that have "some
significance," for instance, the three-point line. I'm just hoping
that the remainder of the flooring has been destined for something
other than the dump.
If this is truly bird's eye maple, especially of the thickness it
appears to have in the front-page photo, then it would seem to be
possible to recycle the wood not destined for memorabilia. It could
be used as decorative flooring or paneling in city or school
administration offices, rather than purchasing new materials; or,
perhaps more simply, it could just be sold to rehabilitators of old
buildings, with the proceeds used to add to Principal Osgood's
"trophy wood" receipts. As I understand it, building materials from
the past are often no longer available, and rehabbers or restorers
should find an unusual wood like bird's eye maple to be worth a quite
a few dollars.
Some years ago, I worked for a company in receivership. Before
they could sell their headquarters, they were obliged to pay for the
removal of asbestos. The executive floor was paneled almost
exclusively in golden oak, book-matched on all hidden cupboard doors,
and about a half- inch thick. No one thought about selling the wood
to restorers, and so it went to the dump. My grandfather taught me a
love of beautiful woodworking, and I almost cried to think about the
waste of some craftsmen's dedication in cutting, matching and
installing the beautiful, 12-foot-tall panels.
Is it too late for Burbank to try saving resources and adopting
this additional way of adding to the school district's funds?
Barbara Buchanan
Burbank
Many possible reasons
for noise complaints
I felt compelled to write regarding Lorraine Bellis-Mark's letter
("Only the few and the mute welcome at Mountain View," June 23).
While I agree that children and parks, go together like ice cream
and cake, and that a park is a great place to play, questions abound.
I don't know the age of the lady who became furious with the
children making noise at the park. However, I can surmise that this
lady is very noise sensitive -- why else would she complain about a
group of children at play? The bigger question at hand is why she is
noise sensitive.
Ms. Bellis-Mark doesn't take any other possibilities into account.
I'm going to play devil's advocate. Maybe when the woman bought the
