CSUN GROUNDS WORKER POKES AROUND FOR SAFETY.Byline: - Joseph Giordono John Siebenthal is no stranger to innovation. The 16-year grounds worker at California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an , has created a harness for custodians
The Custodians is terminology in the Bahá'í Faith, which refers to nine Hands of the Cause assigned specifically to work at the Bahá'í World Centre in attendance to the Guardian of the Faith. to tote leaf blowers A leaf blower is gardening tool that propels air out of a nozzle to move yard debris such as leaves. Leaf blowers are usually powered by two-stroke engine or an electric motor, but four-stroke engines were recently introduced to partially address air pollution concerns. and turned ordinary traffic cones into sandbag-filling funnels. Now the self-styled inventor INVENTOR. One who invents or finds out something. 2. The patent laws of the United States authorize a patent to be issued to the original inventor; if the invention is suggested by another, he is not the inventor within the meaning of those laws; but in that has just won his third Governor's Employee Safety Award for his ``trash bag poker poker, card game, believed to have originated in Asia and first played in the United States in the 19th cent. A traditional cutthroat gambling game at first, it is now also an internationally popular social pastime. ,'' an angled piece of copper tubing about the size and diameter of a pencil that removes excess rain water from trash bags. Placed in the bottom of a garbage can, the poker pierces the bag as it grows heavy with rain water. Siebenthal says the device reduces the bag's weight and helps prevent back injuries. ``Sometimes the cans and bags can fill up with 50 or a 100 pounds of water,'' Siebenthal said. ``So it can be dangerous to try and lift them out.'' Siebenthal's previous inventions also garnered him employee safety awards as well as kudos from his supervisors. ``John's innovative, creative approach to safety is refreshing,'' said Ben Elisondo, CSUN's plant management safety training coordinator. The Governor's Award recognizes state employees who help improve job safety, respond to life threatening situations, or prevent and reduce the number of occupational injuries and vehicle crashes. The award comes with a trip to Sacramento and tour of the capitol Capitol, seat of the U.S. Congress Capitol, seat of the U.S. government at Washington, D.C. It is the city's dominating monument, built on an elevated site that was chosen by George Washington in consultation with Major Pierre L'Enfant. building, though Siebenthal says his schedule will not allow him to make it this year. But it's not like he hasn't seen it before. ``Been there, done that,'' he said. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) John Siebenthal has created the trash bag poker, which reduces the weight of bags as well as the risk of injury. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion