TRINITY DAY CARE USES SHREDDED TIRE RUBBER FOR PLAYGROUND AREA

While Nancy LeGrand talked about how comfortable she is with the new surface lining the play area of the Trinity Lutheran Daycare, her 6-year-old son, Nick, was trying vigorously to make a liar out of her.

"Or prove my point," LeGrand said as she watched Nick and a playmate recklessly rocking on the teeter-totter Sunday at the rededication of the new playground. The metal rockers of the apparatus were leaving small ruts in the soft black surface of the yard's shredded-tire lining.

The 4-inch-thick layer of shredded tires provides a cushion that meets the state's standards for playground surfaces at daycares. Grass was not considered soft enough, and playgrounds have had to choose from wood chips, pea gravel or shredded tires.

LeGrand said some parents were worried the black surface was going to ruin their children's clothing. "If my son doesn't come home dirty, he's had a bad day," she said.

Trinity daycare's previous shredded-tire surface lasted 10 years before being dug up and used as a border for the new surface. Gina Payne, a teacher at the daycare, said the tires don't stain clothing.

Payne said teachers at the daycare make sure the children brush off any tire fragments from their shoes and clothing before entering the school. That way the surface stays outside.

Payne said of all the surfaces available to the daycare, she prefers the tires.

Sally Lipke, Trinity daycare director, said the resurfacing was done in coordination with a complete overhaul of the playground facilities. The old 4-foot-high perimeter fence was taken down and a new 6-foot-high fence was erected in its place. The playground's old apparatus was replaced. A concrete ledge was widened at the entrance to the playground.

The renovation cost $42,000 to complete. Lipke said the tires not only provide cushioning, they help to correct a water runoff problem the school was having.

Lipke likes the tire surface more than wood or pea because wood will get dirty and moldy when wet and pea gravel invariably ends up in children's eyes, noses and mouths.

She also likes the fact that the tires are recycled.

"I've seen children fall on their heads on this kind of surface and just get up and walk away," she said.