Once again it is that time of year, the end of the school year. I think that every one is glad to see the school year come to an end this summer. Everyone is ready for a break, before lots of new and exciting changes happen. For some they will have to work hard this summer trying to earn money to help pay for schooling next year. For some they will have nothing but time on their hands to enjoy the summer, doing activities like playing golf, going fishing, going camping, or just hanging around and enjoying the weather. I would like to wish everyone an enjoyable and safe summer, and I look forward to seeing you all next school year. When you see me walking down the street don’t be afraid to say hi. Also the Positive Ticket program is still going strong and we are always on the look out for positive behaviours. For those of you that still don’t know about the Positive Ticket Program I will give you a short description. The RCMP and the county Peace Officers have Positive Tickets to hand out for positive behaviour, the ticket is a five dollar gift certificate that you can redeem at participating stores in Flagstaff County (just look for the first symbol that is on the ticket). What are we looking for? Anything that helps the community for one, but positive actions are what we are looking for.
Also we are still looking for input for a Youth Project, we want to set up something that you, the Youth want. Like a skateboard park, or somewhere to play video games on a big screen or what ever you guys decide, but we need your input. So if you think of something let me know. Here is your chance to get something in your community going that is just for you.
On Thursday May 13, 2010 the Prevent Alcohol Related Trauma in Youth (PARTY) program was taken to the Daysland School. RCMP Cst. Mayer along with members of the Daysland Fire Department, Killam Rescue, and Alberta Health Services presented the school studets with a mock Motor Vehicle Collision. This years theme was a distracted driver who was texting while driving, and colliding with two pedestrians at the cross walk. Teachers put makeup on three students to make them look like one girl was severely injured and her boyfriend deceased. Students got to watch the Rescue crews extricate one patient from under the vehicle where ambulance staff stabilized and transported away from the scene. Afterward the deceased was carried away while Cst Mayer arrested the driver. Killam Towing donated the car towing it to Daysland and back to Killam free of charge.
During an assembly later students got to hear from the responders what it is like to have to notify parents their son or daughter was just killed and how the collisions affect responders. A parapalegic came in and spoke about what his dreams were before an instant changed his life, and how he survives day to day now.
Organizers hope the message about distracted driving are understood by the students. The effort is worth it if even one person learns from the demonstration.
Daysland school had students from grades 7-12 attend, Hardisty, Killam, Strome attended sending their grade 9 classes. We do this project because we value you guys, we want you to make good decisions because as you get older the consequences of your actions gets costlier. We don’t want to see you get killed or kill someone else. How would you live with your self is you killed your best friend? Why find out? Just avoid the whole thing and make smart decisions.
On Tuesday May 25, 2010 at the intersection at Sedgewick on Highway 13 and highway 608 a student was involved in a collision. They were traveling North on Highway 608 crossing Highway 13. They never completed what they were doing. As they crossed the Highway they were struck by a car that was traveling West, spinning them into a vehicle waiting to turn West. The student was so lucky! Words cannot describe it. If they would have been hit by that vehicle traveling at Highway speeds ( 100 km/hr ) or faster I would be talking about a fatality. Luckily the driver of the vehicle was slowing down when they approached the intersection. What I do not understand is there was a witness that stated the student stopped at the intersection before they proceeded. What were they looking at? The weather that day was clear and sunny, the vehicle coming down the road was a newer chevrolet which had running lights, and it was black in color. You guys might think that we like to hear ourselves talk because we go over this again and again. We do it because we do not want to see you get hurt. Driving is not a right, it is a privilege. It is that way because when you get behind the wheel you are responsible not only for yourself, but for other users of the roadways. When you make a mistake on the road it could cost you or someone else their life. That is why we keep talking about driving safely.
Did you know:
In Alberta motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death and injury among youth?
Young drivers aged 14-24 are also more likely to make driver errors such as tail-gating, running off the road, improper left hand turns, as well as engaging in unsafe behaviours such as speeding; distracted driving ( texting); impaired driving; and not wearing seat belts?
One in five new drivers is involved in a collision in their first two years of driving?
The first six months of solo driving are the most dangerous?
Young drivers often OVERESTIMATE their driving ABILITIES and UNDERESTIMATE the RISKS of driving?
It takes years of driving experience to become a safe driver?
Just some quick facts that I think you should know, and they come from stats. Think about it, you are saying to yourself right now, “that won’t happen to me, I am a good driver.” The driving statistics for Alberta show differently, it will happen to you unless you take your time and do not overestimate your driving abilities. So have fun but do me a favour and drive safely.
I have been made aware of this web site that was designed to talk about traffic safety (driving). They are running a contest with awesome prizes, you have to answer a short quiz on it, I think about 15 questions. I took the quiz and it was a lot of fun. Check it out!!
The Prizes are:
47″ LG 1080p Flat panel LCD HDTV with LG Blu-Ray Disc Player (1)
64GB WiFi apple ipads (2)
Play Station 3 Game console with Rock Band 2 Special Edition (2)
Samsung SD Camcorders with 8 GB SD cards (8)
Here is the link: http://www.nofunbeingdead.com/
I need your help, I have been told that the County of Flagstaff has some money to spend on youth programs. Which is good, but there is a problem, they do not know what to spend the money on. This is where you come in, what does the youth in Flagstaff county want? Do you want a place to go where you can play pool? Would you like a place to go where you learn some new skills? Drop me a comment and let me know.
As some of you have noticed I have not been blogging very much this last week or so, I have been busy organizing and traveling back and forth to Edmonton for some training. I do have some interesting things to talk about. You might know that the Olympic Gold medal winner Kevin Martin was in Lougheed on April 27 for a dinner. Did you know that Kevin took time out of his busy schedule to attend the Lougheed School to talk to the students there. Not only did he talk to the students, but everyone at the school got to handle the Olympic Gold medal that he won. Everyone that was there got to have their picture taken with the medal and received a signed picture. Once everyone had a chance to look at the medal, Kevin talked about what it was like to be at the Olympics. He then gave the students a chance to ask questions. It was a very exciting visit and I am very glad that I was there, it is easy to see why Kevin Martin succeeded at the Olympics, he is very enthusiastic about his sport and he wants everyone to know it.
Another thing that happened during the last week of April, was the Lougheed school DARE graduation. On Wednesday night the 28th of April, 12 grade 6, 7 students Graduated from the DARE Course. All the students attended the ceremony and were beaming with pride. They now have the beginnings of the tools needed to help them make decisions that will really be needed in the future.
When I started this blog, it was with the intention of being able to start a two way discussion with people/students. I have the blog set up so that when people comment on it, the comment goes directly to me. Meaning I get notified of the comment, I look at it and decide if it should be posted or not. There are numerous reasons why a comment would not be posted, it could be spam, it might not be applicable to the topic, it could contain insulting language or it could be a private message to me. The reason you are asked to register is if you left a comment which is a question, I have two options. I can email that person a message with the answer, or I can post the answer to the question on the blog. The great thing is if someone has posted a comment and they should be contacted to ensure their safety, I can do that. Even if they have made a mistake in typing their email, or by putting in a fictitious email address I have a way of contacting them.
We (F.I.R.S.T.) are proud to present David Adie in Daysland on April 26th at 6:30 at the Daysland Theatre. I encourage everyone who can attend to attend. David Aide is an excellent speaker and very interesting, his gift of story telling is unbelievable. The range of life experiences that David has had is unbelievable, for instance did you know that he has run the great wall of China? He has also ran across Japan, Australia, and a few others. He has stories from all these experiences, and they are incredible. The last time he was here, he started talking and before you knew THREE hours had went by. So put the above date on your calender, you won’t regret it!!
I had the privilege of attending the Red Serge Ball on Saturday March 27, 2010 in Killam. The event started as a way to raise some money for Victim Services and for the community to say thank you to the local police and emergency services. I must say that the Ball has been a large success, not because of the law enforcement community but because of the community. This small community was able to raise somewhere between eleven thousand dollars for Victim Services and the Flagstaff Food bank, and about fourteen thousand for a little boy in Lougheed that has some serious medical problems. I love going to the dance for numerous reasons, I get to show the community some traditions that the R.C.M.P. have, and I get to see every one dressed up and coming together for a good cause. I can’t forget the dance, I like to dance so I enjoy this event even more.
I thought that I would let every one know about “Think you can Drive, Flagstaff” this is your chance to show your parents who’s best at driving. Think you can drive, Flagstaff is an event that is designed as a competition between you (the learner driver) and your driving teacher. The driver and driver teacher are considered to be a team, because there is going to be a competition between teams as well. Of course there is going to be prizes! What kind of competition you ask, well I will tell you. This competition consists of two parts, one is a knowledge test, and the second is a skill test. You will have to actually drive on the roads of Sedgewick and show a tester that you really know what you are talking about. This is where you new drivers are going to excel, the old drivers will have bad habits that will show up and cost them points. There is also going to be an ATV component. If you feel that you could learn some new skills for driving a quad this is the place, plus it is free! All you have to do is pre register. I think it is an awesome deal, you get some proper instruction, you get fed lunch, there is going to be prizes, and all for free. We are not taking registrations yet, but once we are you will see more posters and the such. I am just giving you a heads up as to what is going on in our county. We want you have fun, but do it while you are safe. If you have any questions feel free to ask me, some things I might not know as this is still in the planning stages.
