Experts stress safety at all-day children’s event
Published 6:00 am Thursday, March 10, 2005
Fifth-graders from all over Lincoln County visited the LincolnCounty Multi-Use Facility on Wednesday to learn about safety.
The Lincoln County Farm Bureau Federation sponsored the KidsSafety Day to teach local students the importance of safety.
Fifth graders from each Lincoln County school, BrookhavenAcademy and Lipsey heard safety tips on a variety of topics such asall-terrain vehicles, tractors and lawn mowers, pesticides,household chemicals, nutrition and food, electricity, fire, 911 andhealth.
Mike Blankenship, Farm Bureau Federation safety director, spoketo students about ATV safety.
“Hopefully, some of them will listen,” he said, of the 500students that attended the event.
He said the goal was to make students aware of the dangersaround them, either at home or on the farm.
“Most wanted to tell me their ‘war’ stories,” Blakenshipsaid.
The building was sectioned off into eight areas, where differentspeakers talked about safety in 12 to 15 minutes presentations.
Besides Farm Bureau, speakers were present from the MississippiState Extension Service, King’s Daughters Medical Center, theBrookhaven Fire Department and Southwest EPA.
Kim Bridge, a registered nurse and director of KDMC communityeducation and staff development, told students the importance of911 and what to do once 911 is called.
“I also asked students to encourage their parents to havelettering visibly displayed on their homes,” he said.
Bridge also taught students the signs of a heart attack orstroke.
Students were given “goody bags” containing handouts, pencils,sports bottles, stickers and literature on safety.
This is the first time for Lincoln County Farm Bureau Federationto sponsor an event of this type in Lincoln County, said RickyFerguson, Lincoln County Farm Bureau manager.
Event officials hope to make the safety day a yearly event forfifth-graders.