Summer is around the corner, and Carle’s Center for Rural Health and Farm Safety wants to keep kids safe during the summer vacation period. Over 325 fifth and sixth-graders from some area schools attended Carle’s Progressive Agriculture Safety Day Wednesday at the Vermilion County Fairgrounds.
Illinois State Police Trooper Jayme Bufford described the rollover demonstrator that troopers were showing the students…
{Audio: ”It demonstrates about a 5 to 10 mile-per-hour rollover crash, and we have two dummies inside. And we show them what happens if they are not wearing their seatbelt, or not wearing their seatbelt properly. So the goal today is just to make sure the kids know that wearing their seatbelt, and wearing it properly is important – and to be a good passenger in the vehicle.”}
Bob Harris, a safety instructor from Frankfort, Indiana, gave students tips on ATV safety. He was asked what he hopes students will remember about his advice…
{Audio: ”Well, I hope if they have an opportunity to ride an ATV, or if they have one at home and they do ride it – that they will look at that ATV and think about what they’re doing before they get on it..and choose to ride it safely.”}
Amy Rademaker, Rural Health and Farm Safety Coordinator for Carle, says students rotated around ten different demonstrations at the fairgrounds…
{AUDIO: ”Some of them are ag-specific, like grain safety, tractor safety. But a lot of ’em have cross applications. So we’ve got chemical safety, drug awareness, nutrition, mindfulness. Mindfulness is a new one this year, and that’s about – kind of more about our mental health and making sure we can relax. … We have chemical safety which could be applied for the farm or at home. So it’s not just agriculture. Electricity, firearms — the list goes on and on.”}
Other Carle Safety Days are scheduled May 12th in Gibson City and on May 17th in Monticello.
{Note: The students in the photo above are from Oakwood Grade School. They were watching the ATV Safety session.}
