Pine Lake History - 1990-1999

              Central Alberta Adviser, Tuesday, September 21. 1999
New centre for farm safety
BY HEIDI GIBSON
Staff writer
^ Central Alberta Women's Institutes
a> j breaking new ground in promoting
safety on farms.
Red Deer Centre, Red Deer West and
Innisfail constituencies of Women's
Institutes have thrown their support to
a separate section in the Kiwanis Safety
City, about to start construction in Red
Deer.
The announcement last week comes
amid a warning by the Alberta Centre
for Injury Control and Research for
farmers to take increased precautions
during harvest time.
" The very nature of farming is dan­gerous,
given the machinery and ani­mals
involved, and the distance to emer­gency
care services," said Joanne
Vinceten, executive director with the
provincial injury control centre.
Women's Institutes spokesperson
Marion Brown said of the four other
Safety Cities in Edmonton, Calgary,
Medicine Hat and Lethbridge, not one
can boost a farm safety component.
The Safety City will service an area
within a one- hour school bus ride radius
and is scheduled to open in May next
year.
Everything began two years ago when
the three Women's Institutes constitu­encies
staged a summer farm safety
camp for children living in rural Alber­ta.
The event was attended by 75 chil­dren
and the money left over was later
used to hold similar events for their
organizations in Falun, Rush Centre,
Walsh and Stony Plain.
It also marked a turning point for the
women's group, whose efforts to raise
awareness about farm safety paid off
when the Kiwanis Club invited them to
be part of the Safety City project.
" We thought it only fitting to ask ( the
Women's Institutes) to set up the farm
safety section because of the tremen­dous
amount of work they had done,"
said Kiwanis Safety City finance com­mittee
chairman Ross Hay.
The club received a $ 125,000 grant
from the provincial government's com­munity
facilities enhancement program
to kick start the project.
The rest of the funds required will be
raised from other Kiwanis Club projects.
Provincial Treasure! and Red Deer
North MLA Stockwell Day handed over
a cheque Thursday.
Hay said the project was divided into
two stages with an initial $ 325,000 ear­marked
for training and huilding.
" The second stage being the farm
safety component which will cost an
estimated $ 80,000," he said.
Once completed, Brown said the farm
safety section would be in a typical
quonset- styled area where demonstra­tions
and workshops will be held.
" We will show them what happens
when you get caught in a swather using
straw dummies," Brown said.
There will also be a place where the
children will watch videos on farm safe­ty,
she said.
The Safety City is expected to draw
school children aged five to eight years
as well as new citizens and disad­vantaged
communities.
" Obviously there is going to be an
area where farm safety and safety in
general would overlap and we will be
looking into that.
" But on the farm safety aspect we will
teach them everything from animal safe­ty
to chemical safety; from how to
respond to an accident, to how to use
the 9- 1- 1 emergency number," she said.
" We will also show them the dangers
involved in using everything from a
lawn mower to an all terrain vehicle.
" If we can educate the young children
now then thev might influence their
She said although the group had only
made a small financial contribution to
the Safety City project " we have a lot of
other expertise to contribute."
MOVING ON UP
Provincial Treasurer Stockwell day r.
the thermometer up after present
cheque tor St25,000 to Bruce Mc
president of the Red Deer Kiwanis
( left to right) Bev Yeun, president of Ki
Safety City, and Ross Hay. chair of tn
committee. um
T H E INNISFAIL P R O V I N C E THURSDAY, S E P T E M B E R 23, 1999
W . I . l e a d s a f e t y i n t h e c i t y
THE WOMEN'S
1 SAFETY
INSTITUTE
Three of Central Alberta's Women's
Institutes are putting their stamp on a Red
- Deer Millennium project.
The Innisfail W. I, Red Deer Centre W. I.
and Red Deer West W. I. donated $ 400 to
the rural component of the Red Deer Kiwa­nis'
Safety City.
W. I. members Marion Brown, Faye
S a f e t y : Day camps
spread in Alberta
continued from page 3
" When the smoke had cleared and everything was set­tled
we had about $ 1,000 left over," said Brown. " We
decided with that $ 1,000 we would like lo see further
farm safety camps done for children in Alberta. So we
issued a challenge to the rest of the Alberta women's
institutes that anyone who wanted to put one on we woul
help them get started. We didn't promise them a lot t
money but we promised them help."
After all the camps and support, the three constituei
cies had $ 400 left in their safety fund. Then the Red DC'
Kiwanis Safety City came along with a rural compone
- something none of the similar projects in Alberta hav
" We decided we could put our money in no belt
place," said Brown.
The ground is now being leveled on 3 1/ 2 acres a t :
Ave. and 55 St. in hopes the Safety City will be ready
May, 2000.
The specific displays are still being planned.
Brown said they hope to have some seasonal displays
some ongoing displays.
Mayberry and Doris Northey also sit on the
board with the Kiwanis to help set up the
rural component.
The three W. I. groups first started work­ing
with safety in August of 1997, when
they held a Farm Safety Workshop for
Children
We were contacted by Manon Brown and Five
Mayberry of the Red Deer \ V. I Since this
organization had planned and run a very successful
one- day safety show near Pine Lake. Thes saw
much potential in our plans to include farm safety in
the program at Safety City So much so that they
arranged a meeting with some of us and volunteered
to work with us in developing the farm safety
program It was so gratifying to meet someone with
so much enthusiasm for our concept and knowledge
of how we may proceed _ Jt*. ne. ' f)
Marion Brown makes S400
W. I. presentation to
Ross Hav O f SAFETY CTTY