ORGANIZERS SAY STUDENTS WON'T BE IN HARM'S WAY AT PADUCAH FUND RAISER

A Central High School fund raiser held in conjunction with an employee picnic for the Paducah (Ky.) Gaseous Diffusion Plant next month will not place students near the plant's contaminated areas.

The Central High School Band Boosters organization has signed a subcontract with the Fun Company, an Atlanta-based company that provides entertainment and other services for corporate events, to provide labor for carnival games at the plant's annual employee picnic. Fun Company project manager Anthony Mullins said the event will be held at a local park rather than at the plant site.

In February, federal nuclear regulators began investigating the possibility that the plant site included a dump for as much as 1,600 tons of nuclear weapons hardware. Clean-up efforts are underway at the site, where hundreds of workers were exposed to high levels of radiation and toxic chemicals during the Cold War years.

"Yes, we were aware of it, but the event is not on the site," said Mullins in a telephone interview Tuesday. "We will bring the event, food service, all the logistical things to it, and part of that is hiring a local group that can help us produce the event. It's a great way to make money in a day's work."

Cape Girardeau schools Assistant Superintendent Mark Bowles said the club will earn approximately $2,950 at the event. The organization has earned between $2,000 and $4,000 in similar subcontract agreements with Fun Company for local events sponsored by Proctor and Gamble and Saint Francis Medical Center.

"It's great for the kids because right now directors are having to be concerned about equipping and budgeting and being sure everything is good for when we move into the new high school," said Bowles. "It's a good fund-raiser for them."

Band Director Neil Casey, a native of Paducah, said contamination was not a threat to anyone attending the event. The booster club worked a similar event for the plant last year, he said.

Casey said adult supporters of the band will make up the majority of workers at the event. Students are not required to participate, but those who do will not be required to pay full price when the band charters buses or reserves hotel rooms for events outside of the region.

He was uncertain how many students might choose to work the event and earn the incentive. Anywhere from 15 to 140 students have participated in similar events in the past, he said..