AXTELL FFA HOSTS 3rd ANNUAL PROGRESSIVE AG SAFTEY DAY
by Kristen Strathman
May 08, 2009
A Progressive Agriculture Safety Day for children ages K to 6th grade was held on Friday, May 1st, at Axtell City Park from 12 to 2:40 p.m. on the cool and cloudy afternoon. There were 89 students from Summerfield Elementary, St. Michael’s school & one home school family that attended the safety day. This is the third year for the event conducted by Axtell FFA chapter in conjunction with the Progressive Agriculture Foundation. Each participant that attended safety day was able to get the safety day t-shirt provided by the Progressive Ag Foundation, a goodie bag filled with items and literature provided by local & national sponsors, information on various topics, and a snack.
Topics for this years Safety Day were:
* Animal Safety, presented by Amy and Joe Schmitz,
* The Seatbelt Convincer, presented by Trooper McCool of the Kansas State Patrol,
* Food Safety: Presented by Marlene Stumm, State Food & Health Inspector,
* 811 One Call, presented by Michael Pfender.
At each rotation students were able to hear safety information and participate in hands on demonstrations. This year the favorite station was the seatbelt convincer, even though many of the students were unable to ride on it.
Each year, many children are killed or injured on America’s farms and ranches. Safety days, such as the one being hosted by Axtell FFA, are being held in various locations across the U.S., Canada, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa to teach rural children how to prevent injuries and reduce the risk of farm incidents. During the safety days, children participate in interactive activities that reinforce the importance of taking responsibility for their own safety, respecting parent’s safety rules and sharing safety tips with their family and friends.
International, state and local sponsors of the safety days hope
participants will maintain a healthy respect for farm hazards
throughout their lives, and that, ultimately, the numbers of deaths
and injuries among rural children will decline.
The
following area businesses and organizations provided money,
services, or equipment to support the safety day: State Bank of
Axtell, Nemaha Valley Community Hospital/Seneca Family Practice,
Ronnebaum Seed-Rolan Ronnebaum, Blue Valley Telemarketing, Shelter
Insurance-Doug Heiman, Nemaha-Marshall Rural Electric, SBS
insurance-Brian Schmitz, State Farm Ins. –Seneca, Axtell Grain,
Baileyville State Bank, Little Joe’s Service, 1st State Bank of
Summerfield, Nemaha County Coop, Peschel’s Food Mart, and Mark’s
Repair.
The Axtell
FFA chapter is pleased to work with the Progressive Ag Foundation
to provide a worth while educational program that is one of twelve
similar safety Days in the state of Kansas and is one of the two
Progressive Agriculture safety days in this part of the state. For
more information on the Progressive Agriculture Foundation or
Safety Days, check out their website at www.progressiveag.org.
