Donation of moldy books is rejected

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Donation of moldy books is rejected

By Hallie Arnold, Freeman staff January 18, 2002

STONE RIDGE - The African literacy organization that was to be the recipient

of books pulled from library shelves at the mold-troubled Marbletown

Elementary School has decided not to accept the donation.

In January, the Rondout Valley Board of Education voted to donate the books

to the Eritrean Community Center, a non-profit organization in New York City

that was going to send them to needy schools in the developing East African

nation of Eritrea.

The books were pulled from the shelves in the school library last October

after a group of library volunteers had several volumes - which already had

removed from the library before the school's renovation in 2000 - tested by

an independent laboratory for mold spores. Volunteers thought there might be

a problem with the books when they experienced throat and breathing problems

while reshelving the books after library renovations were completed.

District officials put the books in storage after test results showed the

presence of potentially toxic mold.

Representatives from the Eritrean Community Center recently came to

Marbletown to examine the books and decided not to accept them. Haile

Beyene, an adviser for the Eritrean Community Center and co-founder and

president of the Eritrean Literacy Initiative, said the books didn't fit the

program's needs, but even if they had, there were doubts about whether the

volumes were safe.

" It was curriculum, but also it was kind of funny how they were all removed

from the library and put on the back of the truck with no clear

destination, " Beyene said. " It was a red flag. "

Beyene said the community center knew there was a problem with the books,

and after reading about them in the Freeman, the center decided not to take

any chances.

" We knew they were contaminated with some kind of mold, we weren't sure of

the type. And that's when we decided to pull out, " Beyene said.

The Eritrean Literacy Initiative learned of the donation through Kidane

Mikael, a Mohonk Mountain House employee who served as a liaison between the

community center and the school district. Mikael currently is in Eritrea and

could not be reached for comment.

According to Beyene, the Rondout Valley school district still is working

with the Eritrean Literacy Initiative to gather textbooks. The district was

closed because of snow on Thursday, and district officials could not be

reached for comment.

District parent Beth Sulander was one of the library volunteers who had the

books tested. She said Thursday she and the other parents she had spoken

with were happy to hear the books were not being sent abroad.

" Everyone was just so relieved, because we don't have to worry about where

the books are going or if somewhere down the line, children are going to get

potentially very ill, " she said.

Marbletown Elementary School was closed from late December 1999 until August

2000 after a leaky roof led to widespread mold contamination in the

building. The school library was one of the areas hardest hit by water

damage and mold contamination. And even after the school reopened, the

library was not fully operational for several months.

For more information on the Eritrean Community Center, visit www.eccnyc.org

on the Internet.

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