Can you believe a town would do this??
By Debs_place
@Debs_place (10520)
United States
October 1, 2008 7:52pm CST
I work with developmentally disabled adults and today we had a bit of free time and some nice fall weather and wanted to take them for a hike. We packed them up in a van and drove to a nearby park that had just opened.
The paper said there were 10 foot wide hiking trails cut around the trees and feel free to pick an apple but beware that the trees may have poison ivy on them.
We got there and found signs posted that read things like --- This was a former apple orchard. Do not touch the mud since it is contaminated with chemicals from insecticides and fertilizers. The next warning warned you about poison ivy with pictures of it. The girl I was with was pregnant, she stayed at the van.
Well we start walking along, when I realize the trails were more like 7 or 8 ft wide and the poison ivy was growing onto the trails.
Please tell me why someone would advertise this as a park where people might bring children to play or walk. Or as in the case of my co-worker would want to expose herself to chemicals that may cause birth defects. We also have guys that are OCD and would try to touch or re-arrange the plants that were close to them, imagine developmentally disabled adults with poison ivy???!!
8 people like this
22 responses
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
2 Oct 08
Well the park just opened and you are right, it won't be long until someone has a major problem with the poison ivy and they sue.
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
2 Oct 08
OMG, this sounds horrific!!! I do believe I'd get in touch with the closest large newspaper, a television station, Oprah, Ellen Degeneres or someone like that!!! There should be a local department in charge of hazardous chemicals. They can fine the town & make them clean the park up. Please let us know what happens!!!
2 people like this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
2 Oct 08
Yes, I like the television station idea. I think a few pictures sent to them might give them a little something to chew on. I like that idea. Thanks.
1 person likes this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
2 Oct 08
Oh, I know, just the though of kids going in there and being kids is awful.
I wonder how they got that park opened in the first place. I would think that it would need approvals and inspections up the wazoo.
1 person likes this
@LadyMarissa (12148)
• United States
2 Oct 08
I'm NOT normally that jump in their face. But this is a special situation!!! Actually, you were lucky you took adults. Could you imagine the horror if a teacher took 30 children & they went wild (as children have been known to do). This is a total disaster just waiting to happen!!! Start your own website with your pictures & what you saw. Then put sign all over town with your web addy. I'll even volunteer to help you with that one!!!
1 person likes this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
2 Oct 08
I think you can complain to the government about that, it is an environmental disaster and not healthy.
2 people like this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
2 Oct 08
Fortunately it is not a town I live in. Yes, I agree it is an environmental disaster and it just scares me that they would open to the public as a park.
2 people like this
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
2 Oct 08
still it is a town and it is responsible to keep people safe like any other place in the country.
@slickcut (8141)
• United States
2 Oct 08
Well it sure does not seem like a good park to visit for sure.I have no idea why they would open a park for people & especially children that has hazard signs all over the place .plus poison ivy....Its sounds a little silly to me...If they want visitors they should clean that place up..It was a pretty day but i am sorry your visit was so bad...You should leave them a few notes & tell them....They tryed to scare you away with all those stupid signs anyway...
1 person likes this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
2 Oct 08
They did scare us away and the signs were meant as warnings. I wonder if they feel that if the warn us that they are not liable for any problems that may occur as a result of visiting the park.
1 person likes this
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
2 Oct 08
Hi Deb, that is really unbelieveable. Why would they even
call this a park? This place sounds like it should have
been condemned not opened for people to pick apples? Did
they mean poison apples? What kind of government in a town
allows such an unhealthy place to be open to the public
that is full of poison chemicals and poison ivy and tells
people to come and pick apples? This is a serious health
risk and should be closed immediately. I don't understand
what the point of this supposed park was in the first place
if it is unsafe for people to even walk in. I hope that
the people in your community are able to get this place
closed quickly before anyone gets hurt or sick or worse.
2 people like this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
2 Oct 08
Oh I know, I must say the few apples we saw on the trees were rotted and not likely to be picked by the average person but it is inexcusable that they call this place a park.
I would think that they could wait a few years for the chemicals to be absorbed or whatever happens to them. Normally the old orchards like that become housing developments around here, I wonder if the chemicals in the ground would mean cleaning the soil and make development cost prohibitive
1 person likes this
@reoko10 (578)
• United States
2 Oct 08
I don't have a clue why someone would open up a pake with all of that being wrong with it. I know if I owned that park and I knew that all of that I would not open it I would try to clean it up and make it as safe as I could. You should talk to someone about that and let them know this is not right and something needs to be done about it.
2 people like this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
2 Oct 08
Well, I told the people I work for about the park and they were concerned since it is so close to where our guys are and they had been planning to use the park as an activity site. They, too, were shocked that they would call this place a park with such hazards in it.
1 person likes this
@Lindalinda (4111)
• Canada
2 Oct 08
I think it is totally irresponsible to open a park when it is in the condition that you describe. It should be closed until the land is decontaminated and the poison ivy eradicated. As someone else suggested you should contact the city editor of your local newspaper and the television station. Also you live in the USA, so I don't know if you have a federal or state Department that is responsible for the environment. They should also be contacted. This place is not fit for human enjoyment.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160696)
• United States
2 Oct 08
This sounds like a dream of what the park would like to be, with maintenance and a few years down the road. That was a disappointment for you guys. I have Schizophrenic, and OCD, and Downs clients, I can just imagine what would happen. Of course some of mine would refuse to go. Other clients in the agency are probably a lot like yours. I am itching just thinking of this experience.
1 person likes this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
2 Oct 08
Yes, that is ours too but we are primarily autism and MR and many of them are OCD. We have one guy who immediately pulls off branches, removes the leaves and puts the branches in his mouth. I can imaging the poison ivy on him.
One of our guys did refuse the leave the van, but it had nothing to do with the condition of the park, he just did not want to.
I think it is just a terrible thing to do to people, calling that a park is not right.
@acuityplague (763)
• United States
2 Oct 08
This is so sad. I hate that most cities aren't doing proper upkeep on parks these days. I've always loved going to the park and it was a weekend treat for my children when they were younger.
A major park in our area used to be amazingly well and we always had a good time there. Now it is covered in trash and even furniture that people have dumped out there. The weeds are growing over the pathways and none of the garbage bins are emptied. It's just depressing.
I hope the horrible shape of the parks is just a temporary reflection of the economy and the lack of employees in the park system. When things get better maybe they'll start cleaning up the parks again. We can hope right?
@ersmommy1 (12588)
• United States
27 Nov 09
How awful. I would be complaining to anyone in authority who would listen. I know you packed everyone up and got out of there. Hope you found another place to enjoy the day. SInce I found this post VERY late, did anyone every clean the place up?
@tamarafireheart (15384)
•
2 Oct 08
Hi Debs-place,
No I can't believe the park is open for the public with all that in it, they should have cleared the poison ivy and let the muc settled till it was safe for people to walk there. I would have turned around and walk back.
Tamara
1 person likes this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
2 Oct 08
Exactly, they should have cleaned it up and let the ground become clean wnough that it no longer requires a warning. We did turn around and walk back. We maybe walked in 200 ft.
@ashvini_urs (415)
• India
2 Oct 08
it is very dangerous to take people with such kind of disability to such places
one thing you can avoid such places
and the other please complain about this to the authority responsible
so that they can take the necessary action
1 person likes this
@KrazyKlingon (5005)
• United States
2 Oct 08
Where do we begin here?
This sounds to me like neglegence or something. Why would they have poison ivy all over the place? If it was just opened, it sounds like that they (the poison ivy) sprung up there, & grew faster than those responsible for maintenance of the park anticipated.
As for the insecticides, that may be a case that they added those chemicals, waited the proper amount of time, & then just declared the park "open to the public" without inspecting first., as what led to the said poison ivy problem. Speaking of the insecticide situation, a nearby area got sprayed county-wide to kill mosquitoes to hinder the spread of West Nile Virus.
Even if the park is not in the town you live in, & since your work place was thinking of using the park for activities for these disabled people, I would think your superiors would have more resources to get something done, such as find out who's responsible for park maintenance, & then give them a nudge to get things done. That also might mean going to the local newspapers & giving them a story to write about. Last thing elected town & village officials need is bad publicity, because when re-election comes up, that bad publicity would probably bite them pretty hard.
@angelface23 (2494)
• United States
2 Oct 08
Wow. That is messed up. Someone should definately fix that. It sounds like it could be a really nice place if someone would take care of it. I wonder who would be responsible for that. Like Public Works or something?
@lexus54 (3572)
• Singapore
2 Oct 08
That's terrible. What is happening to this new park is a disaster in itself. I can understand if it is an old park that gets neglected over time that becomes a place no one wants to visit anymore. But this is a newly opened park that should boast an inviting atmosphere for visitors. I think someone should take some shots of the place and the signs, and post up up in the local newspaper forums for everyone to see. That will create some attention, and wake the authorities up and get them to do something about the state of affairs of the park. Another thing that can be effective is to call up the newspaper office, and tell them to go take a look at the place. Newspapers are always on the lookout for news-worthy events and situations to report, so you can bet they will only be too happy to write a story about this environmental issue that has a negative effect on people's lives.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
2 Oct 08
debs place that is just not right for the town to have a park with all these hazards in it, and let people roam there and
either get a poison ivy rash, or get sick from chemicals'in the soil. this is a very unhealthy environment for anyone let alone
developementally disabled adults.