Photo by JARED ORZOLEK SAFETY WEEK - This
week is National Child Passenger Safety Week and
the Henry County Health Department partnered with
Heartland Disposal Service of Napoleon to
demonstrate car seat safety by crushing 55 unsafe
car seats Friday. Above, Kara Estelle, health
department car seat technician, and Aron Deblin of
Heartland Disposal Service load some faulty seats
into a disposal truck.
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Heads turned and cars slowed
Friday afternoon in front of Henry County Health Department
headquarters in downtown Napoleon as two area organizations
crushed unsafe car seats to promote Child Passenger Safety
Week.
Health department officials Becky Kille and Kara
Estelle, both car seat technicians, and Aron Deblin of
Heartland Disposal Service crushed 55 seats in hopes of
reducing the numbers of area children traveling in an unsafe
manner.
“All those seats have either been recalled, are
over six-years-old or have been in accidents,” Kille
said.
“When that happens they should be disposed of by
cutting the harness straps and being placed in a garbage bag.
I think (crushing the seats) helps raise awareness,” she
added.
Motor vehicle crashes are the number one killer of
children ages 2 to 14. In 2002, 329 children age 4 to 7 and
1,209 children 8 to 15 were killed in crashes while traveling
in a vehicle, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA).
The NHTSA also reports child
passenger restraints reduce the risk of death by 71 percent in
infants (children less than a year old) and by 54 percent in
toddlers (children 1 to 4 years old).
Kille said the most
important thing people can learn about child safety seats
involved children many parents believe are old enough to ride
without a special restraint.
“The most important thing
right now is making sure children four to eight years old are
in a booster seat. It’s very important to reduce injuries in
case of an accident to have them in a booster seat,” Kille
said. The NHTSA reports safety belts are designed for
adults and will not fully restrain a child in a crash. A
booster seat will raise the child up so the seat belt protects
them properly. There are four steps the NHTSA recommends
to keep all kids safe when traveling in a vehicle.
•
Rear-facing infant seats should be used in the back seat from
birth to at least one year old and 20 pounds.
•Parents
should choose forward-facing toddler seats in the back seat
from age one to about age 4 from 20 to 40 pounds.
•Booster
seats should be used in the back seat from about age four and
40 pounds to at least age eight, unless the child reaches four
feet, nine inches, tall.
• Parents should make sure the
child wears a safety belt at age eight and older. All children
12 and under should ride in the back seat.
E-mail comments
to
jaredo@northwestsignal.net.
"Photo and article by the Northwest
Signal"
Heartland Disposal Service takes 1st place in
the Christmas Parade
"Photo and article by the Northwest
Signal"
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
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Photo by BRIAN KOELLER
HOLIDAY PARADE - The Napoleon/Henry County Chamber of
Commerce held its annual Christmas parade and tree
lighting ceremony Tuesday night. Float winners in the
parade were Heartland Disposal Services (above) in
first, Napoleon Lions Club in second and the Napoleon
Pride and Promotion Association in third. |
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