JACKSON, Miss.—Brownies and Tigers and Bears. Oh, my.
The First Methodist Church of Magee will be the scene of a menagerie of sorts Saturday, as Sammy Safety, Methodist Rehabilitation Center’s injury prevention mascot, spreads the word about bicycle safety to members of Boy Scout Pack 83 and Girl Scout Troops 711 and 895.
Sammy will be joined by Tom Martin, owner of The Bike Rack in Flowood, and Lisa Valadie, injury prevention coordinator for Child Safety Programs.
The group will discuss with the kids the importance of wearing bicycle helmets and general safety tips to help them earn various safety badges, as well as prepare the Boy Scouts for a bicycle trail ride planned for this spring.
“We are very excited about the program. I know it will help prepare them for the ride. We’ll be on asphalt, riding up and down hills, and it will be important for them to understand what to do and not to do on a bike,” Walter Burkett, one of the Tiger den leaders, said.
The scouts, ranging in age from first to fifth grades, will learn about the importance of wearing bicycle helmets, how to properly select a bicycle, the rules of the road, along with other general safety tips. About 60 children are expected attend the safety session.
“We are very pleased to know that the scouts in Magee have an interest in being safe during their upcoming trail ride. Sammy’s message is one that will help them with that and benefit them everyday,” said Lisa Uzzle Gates, Think First coordinator for the Jackson hospital.
Cindy Barr, leader for Troop 711, a Brownie group, said she personally understands the importance of wearing a helmet through the experience of a friend. The little girl broke her arm, but only dented her bicycle helmet, in an accident.
“I’m sure it would have been much worse than a broken arm if she had not been wearing her helmet,” she said. “We are very excited about this program because it will help the girls understand the importance of helmets.”
For more information:
Area schools to get lesson in seat belt use | The Clarion-Ledger