Children learn how to be safe
HARDYSTON. The annual Safety Town program includes lessons on dealing with bears, fire, water, bikes and buses as well as healthy eating.
| 13 Aug 2024 | 10:51
Hardyston Police Sgt. Alan Carbery teaches bike safety during Hardyston’s Safety Town program. (Photo provided)
Children pet Ace, a German Shepherd who works with Detective Michael Scott in the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office Canine Unit.
Children tour an ambulance of St. Clare’s First Aid Squad.
Participants and teen volunteers with the Safety Program pose with McGruff the Crime Dog.
Children run through water from a fire hose after a lesson on fire safety.
Hardyston Police Sgt. Alan Carbery teaches bike safety during Hardyston’s Safety Town program.
Children met a variety of first-responders who taught them how to be safe in a number of situations during Hardyston’s annual Safety Town program.
The week-long program, which started July 29, was held in the pavilion at Wheatsworth Park. It was sponsored by the township Recreation Department and funded by a youth leadership grant awarded to the Wallkill Valley Drug Alliance by state Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
Ten teenage volunteers assisted the children, who were split into groups.
They learned about bear safety with Fish & Wildlife Conservation Officer Adam Merritt; bus safety with Jennifer Cimaglia, principal of Hardyston Elementary School; water safety with representatives of the Sussex County YMCA; fire safety with members of the township Volunteer Fire Department and Fire Marshal Eric Stahl; and body safety with staff of Ginnie’s House Children’s Advocacy Center.
Hardyston Police Sgt. Alan Carbery taught a lesson on bike safety, and the children practiced what they learned in a small “Safety Town” area built by the Department of Public Works staff two years ago. It has buildings, traffic signs, roads, crosswalks and railroad tracks.
McGruff the Crime Dog made a surprise visit to teach about Stranger Danger and the importance of knowing the emergency number 911. The children also toured the police station and bandaged small bears provided by the Police Department under the guidance of St. Clare’s First Aid Squad staffers.
Erin Palinski-Wade, founder of Vernon Nutrition Center, taught the children about healthy snacks and lunch.
And Detective Michael Scott of the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office Canine Unit brought Ace, a German Shepherd, for a demonstration on how dogs can track a missing person or criminal.
Each child was given a graduation certificate and gifts from the Hardyston Police Department at the end of the week. The program concluded with a pizza party for the children and their parents.