Grade School Gets a Grip on Food-Spill Hill

It was the hill of spills. And tears. Or so it used to be.

At Lincoln Elementary School in Ventura, students emerging from the cafeteria with their food-filled trays had to trek up a dirt slope to reach the lunch tables.

Though not too steep by adult standards, the hill sometimes became difficult to negotiate for youngsters no taller than 3 or 4 feet.

“I fell one time and had to get more food,” said third-grader Gabby Fendley, one of a number of students who have dropped her lunch after taking a tumble.

The recent rains exacerbated the problem. The dirt trail would turn slick and clayish, leaving children who fell muddy and in tears.

Principal Elke Fedde decided that the solution was to install a set of stairs. But the trick was finding the money, because the school basically had no extra funds for the project.

One of the school’s parents put Fedde in touch with Youth Education Sponsors, a nonprofit group based in Ventura that raises funds for schools and youth organizations. The organization scouted for contractors and found a group anxious not only to work, but to donate their labor.

The Ventura County Building and Construction Trade Council sent out apprentices, who work on school and community construction projects to gain experience in their trades, such as cabinetmaking, wiring and carpentry.

The district donated about $250 worth of concrete. And workers labored at no cost, digging away dirt, hammering together a wood retaining wall and pouring the concrete.

The workers received more experience toward becoming veteran tradesmen and students gained a new set of seven stairs to climb come Monday.

Without the apprentices’ help, the stairs just wouldn’t have been done, Fedde said.

“So we’re very appreciative of their time and efforts and hope this has provided a learning experience for them,” she said.