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This is my first hide and is an easy park and grab. Lots of muggles at various times of the day can make this very challenging. While you're here be sure to notice the memorial. You’re looking for a film canister, there is a pencil, but bring one just in case…..
The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on…..
In 1996, a tragic accident occurred on the soccer field at this park in Park Ridge. After a short rain delay in the game, the skies started clearing and a referee decided to resume play. A rogue lightning bolt, referred to as a "Bolt Out of the Blue", struck John Scott Wade, a 20-year-old college student, as he refereed a youth soccer match. Bystander CPR and quick medical attention by the Fire and Rescue services failed to save him. Susan Intravaia of Park Ridge was struck by lightning in the same park on the same night that Wade was killed. She was there watching her son play soccer. She suffered minor burns on her hand and arm.
According to Ron Holle, a meteorologist at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, OK, one of the most dangerous situations for lightning is a "Bolt Out of the Blue". A B.O.B. can occur before or after a thunderstorm occurs, and gets its name because people may not even know a thunderstorm is forming. Although the flash of lightning and resulting thunder occur at essentially the same time, light travels at 186,000 miles in a second, almost a million times the speed of sound.
The six most common dangerous activities associated with lightning strikes, in order, are:
1. Work or play in open fields.
2. Boating, fishing, and swimming.
3. Working on heavy farm or road equipment.
4. Playing golf.
5. Talking on the telephone.
6. Repairing or using electrical appliances.
Lightning Facts:
• According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, lightning kills 55% more Americans than tornadoes and 41% more than hurricanes and floods combined.
• Lightning causes a total loss to homes and other structures of 15 - 20 million dollars each year.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that lightning causes over 80% of all accidental livestock deaths.
• Lightning moves about 30,000 times as fast as a bullet.
• Lightning is a tremendously powerful force and may contain 100 million volts and 200,000 amperes -- thousands of times as much power as in an electric house current.
Lightning Safety Tips:
• If caught in the open during a thunder and lightning storm and the hair on your head or neck begins to stand on end, go inside the nearest building immediately! If no shelter is available, crouch down immediately in the lowest possible spot and roll up in a ball with feet on the ground. Do not lie down!
• If outdoors during a thunder and lightning storm, avoid water! Also avoid metal objects such as wires, fences, power tools, railroad tracks, etc. Unsafe places include: tents, golf carts, underneath trees. Avoid hilltops and open spaces. Where possible, find shelter in a building or in a fully enclosed metal vehicle, such as a car, with the windows shut.
• If indoors during a thunder and lightning storm, avoid water! Stay away from open doors and windows. Hang up the telephone and take off headsets, because lightning may strike electric and phone lines and induce shocks. Turn off and stay away from appliances, computers, television sets, power tools, etc. Stay inside until the storm is over!
Within a year of Wade's death, the Park Ridge Park District installed new lightning predictors throughout the city's 18 parks. The local Rotary Club, the youth baseball league and Indian Guides groups raised $50,000 to cover the cost of the new equipment.
Park Ridge was the first community in the country to install the devices throughout its park system. The system that was installed is a prediction system. Most other systems are warning systems which detects lightning activity as it strikes. Park Ridge's system tracks storm activity. Using electronic sensors, it measures static electricity in the atmosphere. When conditions that could trigger lightning are present, the device emits a long blast that sounds like an air horn. The alarm system Park Ridge installed gives people in the park a 10 to 15-minute warning that lightning could strike, allowing them to take cover. Once the storm has moved on, three short blasts signal an all- clear.
Additional Hints
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