Approximately twelve-hundred K4 through 4th grade students were set to attend Sagety Town, at the Louisville Coliseum on Tuesday, October 9. The students were from Louisville and Fair Elementary schools, Noxapater and Nanih Waiya Attendance Centers, Winston Academy and Grace Christian.
Safety Town is sponsored by the Pilot Club of Louisville and offered several different lessons for the children. MSgt. Criss Turnipseed and Sgt. Derrick Beckham of the Mississippi Highway Patrol talked about seatbelt safety, while Jay Shotts and Justin Blackburn of the Dept. of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks discussed boating safety.
Members of Lousiville Fire Dept. talked to the students about fire safety, and officers from Louisville Police Dept. and Winston Sheriff’s Office showed off their patrol cars.
One of the highlights was the Fire Safety Trailer from the State Fire Marshall’s office which is specially designed to show the effects of a fire. All of the effects were remotely controlled by Paige Bailey and Zach Purvis, and showed what might happen in a structure fire, including smoke coming from under a door, and the door being warm to the touch.
The emphasis of the presentation was having more than one way out of a building. Students were allowed to feel a door which was warm indicating a fire on the other side. Therefore, they had to exit the trailer through a window.
Jim McAdory with Winston Wellness on Wheels discussed bike safety and Tracy Gregory of the MSU Extension Service did a presentation on safety in the home and how to be careful of ‘look alike’ products.
The Air Care helicopter made a brief appearance to had to leave on a call, and the Brain Minder Puppets talked about bullying, which the children said is a real problem.
In the past, Safety Town has been done on a Saturday, but this year was changed to a weekday to increase participation.
