Drinking Fountains

City Health Commissioner Peter L. Beilenson said he will fine at least 21 elementary schools Monday unless they have followed his order to shut down all drinking fountains and replace them with water coolers. Beilenson and his staff inspected 24 elementary schools yesterday and found three - Bentalou, Frederick and Highlandtown - that were in full compliance with a Feb. 26 Health Department order. Most schools were found to have the required number of bottled water coolers, he said - 1 per 100 students.

The problem: Drinking fountains near Rash Field on the Inner Harbor promenade weren't working. The back story: Everyone expects the street furniture along Baltimore's avenues and byways to experience wear and tear now and then. But it's troubling when some damage appears to be caused deliberately. That seems to be the case with this week's Watchdog. Marcus Mencarini regularly runs along the Harbor Promenade from his Fells Point home. He said he has noticed that as long ago as last summer one of the two drinking fountains near Rash Field, between the Rusty Scupper restaurant and the Maryland Science Center , was not working.

Every Baltimore public school will be outfitted with at least six bottled-water coolers by Friday, the system's facilities director told school officials last night, regardless of whether water from their drinking fountains has tested positive for high levels of lead. The move is an effort to respond to concerns among parents and community groups after recent reports that drinking fountains in scores of city schools were dispensing lead-tainted water, more than a decade after the fountains had been ordered shut off, said Pradeep Dixit, the system's director of school facilities.

THE PROBLEM - Bus passengers were tripping over studs from a missing pedestrian signal pole. THE BACKSTORY -- Darschell Washington knows from experience that the remnants of a light pole were a tripping hazard. Four large studs and bolts stuck up from the sidewalk at the southwest corner of Wilkens Avenue and Brunswick Street. That's where Washington regularly waits for the No. 35 bus to her downtown office. She first spotted the offending hardware nearly a year ago. "I noticed it when I was walking to get the bus, and I tripped over it," Washington said.

A month after city schools were ordered to shut off drinking fountains and to alert students and staff that sinks are to be used only for hand-washing, at least 11 schools hadn't complied as late as yesterday. Speaking at an emergency hearing called by City Council President Sheila Dixon, Dr. Peter L. Beilenson, city health commissioner, reported that officials in his office were finishing up inspections of 51 schools that had failed once to meet a Feb. 26 order intended to protect children from possible lead contamination.

FINALLY," I thought, "we're almost to the last display."I was chaperoning a group of second-graders on a field trip to the Great Blacks in Wax Museum in Baltimore. The bus ride had been noisy, and my head ached. Just keeping the rambunctious youngsters together in a group was challenging enough. But at many exhibits I also had to speed-read the display card and then translate the information into language that 7- and 8-year-olds could understand. The strain was beginning to show.The final display was of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. -- names the children recognized.

Until school officials can find out what why one well is contaminated at Hereford High School, the students and staff there are drinking bottled water, and water is being pumped in for other uses.Water in the Baltimore County school's drinking fountains tested positive this week for fecal contamination, and the drinking fountains were shut down as soon as it was discovered, said Principal Ray Gross.The exact level of contamination isn't known yet, but any amount "is a health hazard," he said.

After testing more than 1,300 pupils in 15 elementary schools, Baltimore Health Department officials found that none of them had high enough levels of lead in their blood to cause concern, the city's top health official said yesterday. Health Commissioner Peter L. Beilenson said that those results prompted health officials to cancel an earlier plan to test children in all city elementary schools. Beilenson had said in May that the city would test all schoolchildren to determine if years of drinking from possible lead-contaminated drinking fountains had adversely affected them.

Surrounded by towering trees, rolling fields and the gurgling waters of the Gunpowder Falls, the North Central Railroad Trail attracts nearly a million visitors each year, from casual walkers to bikers, joggers and horseback riders. Because it is considered such a valuable recreational resource, the Rotary Club of Hunt Valley has joined with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to raise money to build rest areas with benches and drinking fountains along the 20 miles of trail in Maryland, which runs from Ashland to the state line.

Despite two weeks of warnings and school officials' repeated promises of compliance, the city's top health official was forced yesterday to fine 36 schools a total of about $4,000 for failing to protect children from possible lead contamination. During inspections yesterday and Wednesday, Health Commissioner Peter L. Beilenson found 39 instances - some schools had more than one violation - in which school administrators had failed to comply with an order to shut off drinking fountains and alert students that hand and kitchen sinks are only for washing hands.

Let's raise a glass to Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco - a glass of water, that is. Of tap water, to be precise. The mayor has banned the use of bottled water by city departments, to save money and to help save the environment. It's something of a gesture, of course, since it affects only city purchases. But if it gets San Franciscans thinking about their use of water, it could have a larger impact. Other cities with good tap water (Baltimore, this means you) should consider following suit.

After testing more than 1,300 pupils in 15 elementary schools, Baltimore Health Department officials found that none of them had high enough levels of lead in their blood to cause concern, the city's top health official said yesterday. Health Commissioner Peter L. Beilenson said that those results prompted health officials to cancel an earlier plan to test children in all city elementary schools. Beilenson had said in May that the city would test all schoolchildren to determine if years of drinking from possible lead-contaminated drinking fountains had adversely affected them.

After a successful crusade to shut down all city schools' drinking fountains, many of which had been dispensing lead-contaminated water for a decade or more, the Baltimore Health Department began yesterday testing schoolchildren for unsafe levels of lead in their blood. Nearly one-third of the 195 children at Dr. Rayner Browne Elementary School in Northeast Baltimore took advantage yesterday of free blood screening, Health Department and school officials said. Parents' permission was required.

Surrounded by towering trees, rolling fields and the gurgling waters of the Gunpowder Falls, the North Central Railroad Trail attracts nearly a million visitors each year, from casual walkers to bikers, joggers and horseback riders. Because it is considered such a valuable recreational resource, the Rotary Club of Hunt Valley has joined with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to raise money to build rest areas with benches and drinking fountains along the 20 miles of trail in Maryland, which runs from Ashland to the state line.

A month after city schools were ordered to shut off drinking fountains and to alert students and staff that sinks are to be used only for hand-washing, at least 11 schools hadn't complied as late as yesterday. Speaking at an emergency hearing called by City Council President Sheila Dixon, Dr. Peter L. Beilenson, city health commissioner, reported that officials in his office were finishing up inspections of 51 schools that had failed once to meet a Feb. 26 order intended to protect children from possible lead contamination.

Spurred by reports that students in Baltimore City schools may have been drinking lead-tainted water for more than a decade, dozens of concerned people attended a lead poisoning prevention forum yesterday to have their children or themselves tested, and to learn more about the problem. The daylong forum, organized by the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, featured exhibits, workshops, speakers and free testing by the city Health Department. By midday, nurses had nearly exhausted their supply of 30 testing kits.

After weeks of problems related to lead-contaminated water in Baltimore schools' drinking fountains, the system's top facilities manager has been asked to step down, school officials said yesterday. Pradeep Dixit's last day as the system's director of school facilities was Thursday. Officials would not discuss the specifics of Dixit's departure. But schools chief Carmen V. Russo said yesterday that Dixit had a history of poor performance in his position. "The final straw was a lack of responsiveness to the lead-in-the-water issue," Russo said.

After a successful crusade to shut down all city schools' drinking fountains, many of which had been dispensing lead-contaminated water for a decade or more, the Baltimore Health Department began yesterday testing schoolchildren for unsafe levels of lead in their blood. Nearly one-third of the 195 children at Dr. Rayner Browne Elementary School in Northeast Baltimore took advantage yesterday of free blood screening, Health Department and school officials said. Parents' permission was required.

After weeks of problems related to lead-contaminated water in Baltimore schools' drinking fountains, the system's top facilities manager has been asked to step down, school officials said yesterday. Pradeep Dixit's last day as the system's director of school facilities was Thursday. Officials would not discuss the specifics of Dixit's departure. But schools chief Carmen V. Russo said yesterday that Dixit had a history of poor performance in his position. "The final straw was a lack of responsiveness to the lead-in-the-water issue," Russo said.

Despite two weeks of warnings and school officials' repeated promises of compliance, the city's top health official was forced yesterday to fine 36 schools a total of about $4,000 for failing to protect children from possible lead contamination. During inspections yesterday and Wednesday, Health Commissioner Peter L. Beilenson found 39 instances - some schools had more than one violation - in which school administrators had failed to comply with an order to shut off drinking fountains and alert students that hand and kitchen sinks are only for washing hands.