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In 1993, Kolcraft Enterprises and Playskool ordered a recall of
Playskool Travel-lite portable cribs because they have rotating
top rail
hinges that can collapse, entrapping children and suffocating them.
Despite efforts over the past five years to recall these cribs,
some of
them continue to be used, and last summer two more children died
in
them. To get these products back, Kolcraft and Playskool had offered
a
reward of $60 for each returned crib, and they are now doubling
that to
$120. The cribs have two nylon mesh sides and two blue solid
plastic
ends.
"Playskool" appears in folds in the center for storage and handling.
Anyone who has one of the crib white letters on a red background
on
each end. The portable crib s or sees one in a child care center,
in the
home of a friend or relative, at a garage sale or second hand store,
alert the owner of the recall and reward. For instructions on how
to return
the crib and receive $120 child saver reward call Kolcraft at
1-800-453-7673
Letter to Editor posted by Debbie Me Kinney, Oak Park
Reprinted
from Child Health Alert
PO Box 610228
Newton Highlands, MA 02461
This
is one of several crack cocaine bags found in the children's play lot at
Stevenson Playground. There are two sand areas for children to play in
at the park. The area which located between the building and field
(the upper region of the park), is where these packets have been found.
The police are aware of the situation, as is the Parks Department of Oak
Park. We traveled to the site to investigate and found no other evidence
of drug usage. The sand areas had been raked and cleaned. The
main problem here is that the lighting at this portion of the park does
not exist. If you drive by in a car late at night you can not see
into this area because you are too low to the ground and the area is elevated
and totally dark to the police and anyone else. Here is a photo take
at night to show the area with available light.
There
word on the street is that Borders Books & Music may be moving into
the space once occupied by Chernin's Shoes, at Lake Street and Harlem Avenue.
That is very close to Barbara's Books. If this should happen, will
it have an impact on Barbara's? Does the Pope have a CD? You bet
a yes to both. The problem, as with most corporate institutions,
has a lot to do with the way things are run internally. Often ruin
starts from within. We are not talking about the import of external
hostile takeovers in the market, but rather something a little more controllable.
Years ago I called Kroch's & Brentanno's in Oak Park to look for a
book. I was told that they did not know, but they might have it downtown.
A woman took my name and address and sent me a postcard one and a half
weeks later to tell me they did not have the book in stock.
A week before that I had called Barbara's Bookstore and they instantly looked on their computers and told me that the book was in stock and that they would hold it for me. I bought the book from Barbara's and was pleased. I thought at the time that Kroch's & Brentanno's had better get with it or they would loose out. A year later Kroch's & Brentanno's was headed for the waste heap.
I have witnessed similar acts of Darwinian economics pounce on the Neanderthals of the business world, and usually to the benefit of all in the market. There is something though always lost with such a transition in retail. When Kroch's & Brentanno's folded, so to did a flair for classy gift items, now found at the Art Institute in Chicago and some at Alphabet Soup in Oak Park.
Barbara's does a very nice job of getting nationally
known authors of repute to come to Oak Park and promote their books
as well as answering questions from those present. Centuries &
Sleuths ( 943 Garfield- Oak Park Avenue & Garfield approx.) has also
done a fine job in this respect. I bought a book at Barbara's the
other day and while in the store I picked up some
brochures on events that they had to promote.
I thought that I would do this for the benefit of my readers for free.
I left my card with someone behind the counter and asked them to have someone
call me about events. I got a call several days later from a gentleman
identifying himself as "John" from downtown, "in charge of promotions and
buying" for Barbara's Books. John left a message for me and I called
back a half-hour later and explained what I had in mind on his answering
machine. This was in the morning, during business hours. I
got a call back three days later, in the form of a message. I called
back again and got a message. I left a message stating that I would
like to get their announcements emailed to me at the paper and that I would
promote them in the paper for free !!!!!! I waited several more days
until I got a return call. When I finally spoke with John he gave
me the impression that he would be doing me a favor if I let thousands
of people read about book signings at his store. He wanted to fax
me the information and have us retype the announcements. I asked
if these brochures were not created with computers and he told me that
they were. I then asked if he could email me the news so that we
would not have to retype it ourselves. He said that it would be easier
if I typed it since their email service was not very reliable.
I suggested that they find another email service then, since computers are here to stay. John, a young man, did not seem very well versed in computer technology. The problem though was he did not really seem to care. This is the problem that Barbara's has, not the threat of Border's Books coming in to share the market.
The problem is loosing interest in the market, your clients, and your future.
Amazon.com is doing very well, and so is Super Crown
in River Forest. Good luck Barbara's, you are
a fine eclectic store and it will be a loss to Oak Park if you pack it
in.
Paula Krapf and Pam Meyerson share a smile and a victory
well deseved. Steven Huth, President of the District 97 School board
address his friends about the vote tallies and thanks all for their
fine work and participation. The totals were still coming in at this
point.
Oak Park seems
to be loosing the battle at some of its Elementary Schools. Irving
has been falling for the past several years in its IGAP scores, now even
below the State Averages. The teachers in Oak Park are a good lot
of people and they do more work per day than many teachers in the surrounding
areas. When a child does not do their homework, their parents do
not come to teacher conferences, and no one in the household of the child
cares, where do think grades and scores will go? When this news comes
out there is always some political talk that comes out, a new slogan, a
new study, maybe even a commission or two. I would like to save the
taxpayers a couple of dollars by letting it be known that any child who
is not doing well, will do better if he or she tries harder, watches less
television and reads more from books. I find it unusual that with
the property values in Oak Park increasing that the opposite should happen
as well, the dumbing of our
population. We can not teach those students effectively who's
parents do not care about their own children's future. We are not
meaning that we should quit but rather look at things with an open eye
and a dose of reality. Not everyone will play the piano like Mozart.
We are spending a great deal of money already on a
fine education for our children in Oak Park. If you want to get the
parents more involved maybe when a child gets a failing grade the parent
should be written a $50.00 fine for taking from the taxpayers and not returning
any effort.
Patty Cooney and Mr. Peabody from Oak Park.
Mr Peabody has just had a bath and is now looking at a cute female awaiting
her beauty treatment.
Scrubber's 708-358-0181
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