Over 450 area students got a lesson on safety today (Wednesday) at the Progressive Ag Safety Day at the Georgetown Fairgrounds. The event, sponsored by Carle Hospital, Bunge Milling and a number of co-sponsors, is an effort to keep children safe this summer.
Amy Rademaker, Farm Safety Specialist at Carle Hospital, described some of the various stations where the children were getting mini safety lessons at the fairgrounds.
‘’We have electrical safety, internet safety, firearms, tractor and PTO (power take-off). We have roadway, chemical, ATV, grain – a variety of topics, I’m sure I probably missed one,’’ said Rademaker.
Several local industries cooperate with Carle and Bunge to stage the demonstrations. Doug Pirie is a Bunge employee from Georgetown who was helping. He was teaching children how to be safe this summer while cutting grass or riding tractors.
‘’A lawnmower is unforgiving. If you roll it over – the blades – a lot of times if the safety is not involved in it, the blades keep turning and they can get cut by the blades – or they can get injured in the rollover from the tractor landing on top of them and things like that,’’ said Pirie, ‘’and we want to keep the kids safe!’’
Students attending the session were from Georgetown – Ridge Farm, Salt Fork, Westville and Prairieview-Ogden.
Rademaker says the safety sessions have been held in Vermilion County for eleven years. She is not sure whether they have actually saved any lives – but adds: ‘’If they help prevent just one kid from getting hurt…they are well worth the effort.’’
