Students from two of Humboldt鈥檚 Catholic elementary schools learned how to be safe both at home and on the farm.
This year鈥檚 Progressive Agriculture Safety Day was held at the Uniplex Oct. 3.
鈥淸I learned] not to put your fingers in the auger that mixes up the grain and stay low when smoke is in a house,鈥� said Jake Hoppe, a Grade 4 student from St. Augustine. 鈥淲e learned about the ambulance and what they do, about electricians. We learned about grain [bins] and how you can get stuck.鈥�
Hoppe and Michaela Lukan, also a Grade 4 student from St. Augustine, were among the 271 students at the event.
鈥淚 learned that there are many dangerous spots on the tractor and things that can connect to a tractor,鈥� Lukan said, 鈥渢hat you can get very hurt if you don鈥檛 have a helmet on your bike.鈥�
Both students said they had fun at the event, which featured 10 presentations that included what to do if there鈥檚 a fire, how to safely go out on frozen lakes, how to properly ride a bike and how to be safe around agricultural items like grain bins and equipment.
Shari Hinz, the co-ordinator of the event, said it鈥檚 been held for 10 years,
鈥淲e鈥檙e in an agriculture region so it鈥檚 common that people live on the farm, visit the farm or sometimes work on the farm with their family as well, so to be able to give information to students that help keep themselves, friends and family safe when they鈥檙e doing all of those things is really key,鈥� she said.
Hinz said there鈥檚 evidence the messages from the day is sinking in among local youth. She recalled an incident where a child, who was in a home when there was a house fire, managed to get their family members out and called 911. The firefighters asked the child how they knew what it do and it was because they had attended a safety day.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a scenario where just taking one simple message from the day could help make a difference in terms of being safe and not jeopardizing any lives.鈥�
