August 10, 2018
Dear editor;
Aurora University has removed all grass from its baseball and football fields and has financially helped West Aurora High School remove grass from its football field.
They replaced the grass with plastic (artificial surface) that when the sun bares down on it, the surface gets hot and emits fumes detectable 200 feet away.
It greatly increases the possibility that athletes will suffer heat exhaustion in hot weather. When it rains there is no grass to absorb the water for grass growth to make a beautiful green playing field and to give off oxygen. Grass stays remarkably cool, even in the hottest weather.
Some of my taxes go to the West Aurora School District, so the football field is public property and it has been destroyed by the plastic covering. My hope is that the football field natural grass will be restored. It would absorb huge amounts of water and give off oxygen we need to breathe.
Schools of higher learning should understand earth science. I visited Aurora University in July and the football field was too hot to touch.
The field is ugly and faded in green splotches. The plastic was limp and is supported by billions of tiny, rubber pellets that give off a rubber odor which could be inhaled by football players who are knocked to the surface.
I have thought that since my high school days that football without grass and dirt is not football.
Larry Casagram
Aurora
