Owen "West" & all who will attend MVHS

[brooksmom]

casey said:

I'm just curious how many of you have actually walked on the Eola site? I mean literally parked your car, gotten out and walked along the prairie path that goes by the site? Here's a suggestion, park your car on Frontenac and then follow the prairie path. Once you get to the train tracks go south and stand there and REALLY look at the site? Are you comfortable with what you see and hear? I honestly don't know how anyone could be! I swear you'd have no idea that you're in Aurora. Trust me when I say "it ain't pretty".

IMO, the SB should load up a bus of parents (and even BG since he hasn't been there ) of kids that are scheduled to go there and then let parents/kids decide if they truly think that it's a safe site. I honestly think that if you would all go out and really look and explore you would not feel comfortable sending ANY kids there. It is way worse that I imagined. I have driven by the site thousands of times over the years and I didn't know it was THAT bad until I got out and walked it. Please do it. You'll find it an enlightening field trip.

Thanks for the advice Casey, but I live within a mile of the site and my family often bikes over the Prarie Path right past the sight. I know what it looks like.

[friend]

I read the Kinder Morgan report/letter and it said that they would have to check 2 of the pipelines twice a year and the 3rd pipeline one time a year.

Question- Does anybody know if they perform these same checks at WVHS & NVHS yearly? Or at any of other school in our district?

[d204mom]

I am in the new MV attendance area and I can't believe anyone in their right mind wouldn't be concerned about the environmental hazards at MWGEN.

The administration only reacts to environmental concerns when someone else does the research and brings the problem to their attention. It's a new process I've never heard of - maybe they should call it "backwards" due diligence. Assume everything is fine unless someone can prove you wrong. Then only address the problems when presented with overwhelming evidence that there is a problem.

I'm sorry, but when someone says that they will "fence off, if you will" 17 acres of contaminated soil to keep my children out of the problem area, WHAT THE HECK does that mean? What's an "if you will" fence?

"Backwards due diligence" is not exactly the approach I have when it comes to my children's safety.

[mandmmom]

d204mom said:

I am in the new MV attendance area and I can't believe anyone in their right mind wouldn't be concerned about the environmental hazards at MWGEN.

The administration only reacts to environmental concerns when someone else does the research and brings the problem to their attention. It's a new process I've never heard of - maybe they should call it "backwards" due diligence. Assume everything is fine unless someone can prove you wrong. Then only address the problems when presented with overwhelming evidence that there is a problem.

I'm sorry, but when someone says that they will "fence off, if you will" 17 acres of contaminated soil to keep my children out of the problem area, WHAT THE HECK does that mean? What's an "if you will" fence?

"Backwards due diligence" is not exactly the approach I have when it comes to my children's safety.

I don't know how this is acceptable. Rural (not singling you out, but I know you are fine with everything right now) or any others that are going to be attending MV, are you ok with this fence? Does this not raise some red flags in your mind?

[parentadvocate]

My children are slated to attend MVHS.

I'm concerned about the sum total of all the issues that have been detailed by friends, neighbors and citizens with skills, knowledge, and care for our children. I'm troubled by the corresponding lack of SD leadership response to those who voice concerns, the apparent lack of transparency, and the huge rush to decision on such a long-term issue. I'm disappointed that so many in our community try to shout down our concerns and lump them into categories of selfishness and self-interest.

My family has quite a bit of experience with the SD leadership as a very small minority within the group of children with special needs. We know what it feels like to be ignored and to be cut-off from a dialogue with decision makers. I feel the same thing going on with the current MVHS situation.

I'm not yet an NSFOC supporter, but I do empathize with those who feel there are no remaining alternatives other than the legal system. I remember hearing how frustrated our leadership was when BB wouldn't dialogue in our efforts to reach an out-of-court agreement. I now wonder if our leadership has forgotten what that feels like.

[refbasics]

friend said:

I am from Owen "West." While I am not happy about the distance factor for my neighborhood to attend MVHS. I am even more concerned about what the entire community is talking about, all the questionable environmental issues for the AME site. I agree that when the SB says the the AME site is NOT safe and then later retracts that statement. It is hard for me as a parent who is slated to have children go there trust what is being told to me. It is just that plain and simple. What is the truth? Either it is safe or it is not. I do not belong to any"group" out there. I am just a parent. My "gut feeling" is that if the SB felt it was not safe the first time they looked at the site. Then it is not safe to consider it again.

While I have appreciated all who have contributed to this discussion. I would like to hear from more people who are actually slated to go to MVHS and how they feel about this. Do you have any concerns?

---------------

very good post... but, remember, we will all be going to metea.. it could be for sports, theatre, performances.. ES & MS will be there for Fine Arts Festival(i presume), and MS for Science Fairs.

and what about all the other schools outside the district that will come there?

i think we should ALL be concerned!

[mandmmom]

refbasics said:

friend said:

I am from Owen "West." While I am not happy about the distance factor for my neighborhood to attend MVHS. I am even more concerned about what the entire community is talking about, all the questionable environmental issues for the AME site. I agree that when the SB says the the AME site is NOT safe and then later retracts that statement. It is hard for me as a parent who is slated to have children go there trust what is being told to me. It is just that plain and simple. What is the truth? Either it is safe or it is not. I do not belong to any"group" out there. I am just a parent. My "gut feeling" is that if the SB felt it was not safe the first time they looked at the site. Then it is not safe to consider it again.

While I have appreciated all who have contributed to this discussion. I would like to hear from more people who are actually slated to go to MVHS and how they feel about this. Do you have any concerns?

---------------

very good post... but, remember, we will all be going to metea.. it could be for sports, theatre, performances.. ES & MS will be there for Fine Arts Festival(i presume), and MS for Science Fairs.

and what about all the other schools outside the district that will come there?

i think we should ALL be concerned!

Very good point.....it impacts us all. I care about everything in 204, because I live here. I am sometimes surprised at how nasty people are about certain subdivisions, schools, etc. I think we need to remember that we all live in 204 and we all can care about other schools, even the ones our children won't be attending everyday. I want a 3rd HS and I want it to be great, but right now we are setting this 3rd HS up for failure....IMO this failure will impact all of us in 204.

[rural]

Personally, my gut tells me everything is fine on the Eola site. I live and breathe here. I am not afraid to send my children to this site. This is where I live. I know others are not comfortable with the site, but if and independent evaluation (not one done by MWGEN) says it's clean, I would be comfortable with that. I'm not saying anyone else needs to be. I'm just putting it out there.

People do live here. Have since before there were powerlines and powerplants, even before there were gaslines. They're still here and still kicking.

[jwh]

mandmmom said:

d204mom said:

I am in the new MV attendance area and I can't believe anyone in their right mind wouldn't be concerned about the environmental hazards at MWGEN.

The administration only reacts to environmental concerns when someone else does the research and brings the problem to their attention. It's a new process I've never heard of - maybe they should call it "backwards" due diligence. Assume everything is fine unless someone can prove you wrong. Then only address the problems when presented with overwhelming evidence that there is a problem.

I'm sorry, but when someone says that they will "fence off, if you will" 17 acres of contaminated soil to keep my children out of the problem area, WHAT THE HECK does that mean? What's an "if you will" fence?

"Backwards due diligence" is not exactly the approach I have when it comes to my children's safety.

I don't know how this is acceptable. Rural (not singling you out, but I know you are fine with everything right now) or any others that are going to be attending MV, are you ok with this fence? Does this not raise some red flags in your mind?

Yes, I'm ok with a fence. All that has been identified for remediation thus far is some diesel fuel in a centralized area. It that is all that is identified, I'll continue to be OK with the site.

[friend]

rural said:

Personally, my gut tells me everything is fine on the Eola site. I live and breathe here. I am not afraid to send my children to this site. This is where I live. I know others are not comfortable with the site, but if and independent evaluation (not one done by MWGEN) says it's clean, I would be comfortable with that. I'm not saying anyone else needs to be. I'm just putting it out there.

People do live here. Have since before there were powerlines and powerplants, even before there were gaslines. They're still here and still kicking.

How close are you to the actual property? I envision that when people refer to the site that they are talking about how close this school will be to that big electrical plant/peaker structure. From what I can tell the closest homes are those that will be next to where the church is slated to be built. Which BTW that is where I thought the HS was going until I saw the map posted yesterday on the "Owen" thread. I have driven up to the AME site. Personally, I do not like the school that close to the electrical plant/peaker structure. If the school were being built where that church is slated to be built behind those houses, I would feel alot better about some of these environmental concerns raised.

Please do not take my comments as snide. I am in Owen "West." Yes. I will have a longer commute to MVHS and that is not my motive in trying to find answers to the environmental issues raised. I live in the middle of the district so my chances of going to any of the HS's was always 50/50. I just do not like the fact that the SB said this place was a health hazard initially. Now they are going ahead without explaining why this is no longer a health hazard. Considering how big of issue this is, I can't believe that the entire SB has not been to the site.

[JB]

jwh said:

mandmmom said:

I don't know how this is acceptable. Rural (not singling you out, but I know you are fine with everything right now) or any others that are going to be attending MV, are you ok with this fence? Does this not raise some red flags in your mind?

Yes, I'm ok with a fence. All that has been identified for remediation thus far is some diesel fuel in a centralized area. It that is all that is identified, I'll continue to be OK with the site.

When I was in the chemical industry, we used to laugh at the power of a fence. No matter what chemicals were accidently released into the atmosphere, management would state "No vapors crossed the fence line"

I am concerned about what happens when the fence comes down and construction begins. They'll be digging up a tank farm, and there's no telling what is under there. If you look at the warning signs, one warns of PCBs.

Construction work kicks up dirt and dust, and the dust has to go and settle somewhere. I've got no interest in having any kids exposed to that.

Perhaps someone with a history in remediation can paint a picture of what that would look like. Will the site be covered? What personal protective gear will the workers be wearing? What is done to prevent dust from travelling?

Now I'll be the first to admit that just about anything can be done safely, given the proper precautions. I've worked with high pressure / high temperature reactors- things that go boom if mis-treated. HOWEVER, the amount of preparation and safety analysis that went into building the reactor was enormous.