THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996 TAG: 9607010173
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBRA GORDON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 106 lines
Oily black clouds of smoke billowed in the light easterly wind Saturday as 12-year-old Vicky Ayers nervously approached the flames, a fire extinguisher in her hands.
``Drop the pin. Pull the nozzle out. Walk into it,'' directed assistant Suffolk fire marshal A.G. Barrett. ``Come on. Talk to me.''
Clumsily, Vicky pulled the pin and aimed the metal canister. A gush of white foam sprayed out, smothering the flames.
It was just one of the many safety skills this Chesapeake youth would learn Saturday during the first Farm Safety Day Camp, co-sponsored locally by the Virginia Cooperative Extension Agency and Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Services.
The camp was part of a national effort to teach children safety skills on farms, around animals and in rural areas.
Its timing was particularly appropriate. Twelve days earlier, 8-year-old William G. Drake of Newsoms was killed in a farm accident when he fell into a fertilizer buggy. Saturday's camp was dedicated to his memory.
``It seemed fitting,'' said Tom Baker, the Virginia Beach extension agent who organized the camp. ``It does let kids know that accidents can happen and that it's not always happening to someone in Kansas, but in our own backyard.''
About 120 children from Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Southampton County, Suffolk and Isle of Wight attended Saturday's camp at the Tidewater Agriculture Research and Extension Center. Most live on farms. Some live in rural communities and spend time on friends' farms. All needed to be there, Baker said.
``Farming is an extremely dangerous occupation,'' he said. ``Maybe something they'll see will stick in their minds.''
Nationally, an estimated 300 children die on U.S. farms and ranches each year, according to the National Farm Medicine Center in Marshfield, Wis. Another 150,000 to 200,000 children are injured on farms each year.
Vicky, who lives on her grandfather's farm, understands those numbers all too well. A thin scar on her forehead that disappears into her blonde hair is a daily reminder of the 84 stitches she needed after a horse kicked her when she was 9.
The day camp, said her grandfather, Charles Sholes, ``is a must for farming families.''
That's because it's impossible to keep kids from helping out on the farm, Baker said. ``Farming is a way of life. Kids growing up on farms are bugging their daddies to take them out to the field from the time they're toddlers.''
But agriculture has consistently ranked as one of the most hazardous industries in the United States. Tractor accidents, electrical shocks, animal kicks and chemical burns await the unwary farmer.
The empty right sleeve on Jonnie Wayne Hedgepeth's candy-striped shirt attests to that. Hedgepeth, 54, an Isle of Wight farmer, attended Saturday's camp to show the kids what could happen if they didn't pay attention. He lost his arm 11 years ago when he was cutting silage. His mind drifted, he said, and the next thing he knew his arm had been sucked into the silage wagon.
So he had some advice for Saturday's campers: ``Keep your mind on what you're doing. Don't drop your guard. Listen to your parents, and listen to older farmers who have more experience.''
The kids appeared to be listening. They spent the day circulating through eight safety stations. At the tractor safety station, E. Bruce Stone, safety coordinator for Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Services, demonstrated the dangers of driving up a sharp incline, when the toy tractor he was pushing flipped over.
``Always back up a steep hill,'' he told the children.
Glen Hetzel, an extension safety specialist from Virginia Tech, showed how easy it is to drown in a grain bin. The carbon monoxide released by grain, coupled with the weight of the grain, make the storage areas highly dangerous, he told the kids.
And Southampton County extension agent Wes Alexander used fluorescent dye and a black light to demonstrate that even the most careful farmer can still get dangerous chemicals on his hands, face and clothes.
Patty Flemming of Windsor brought her three children, ages 14, 11 and 9, to the camp. Even though the Flemmings live in town, her children spend a lot of time on their friends' farms, she said.
``I do worry,'' Flemming said. ``Especially about the 14-year-old who thinks he's invincible.''
The message Saturday was that no one was invincible. It really sank in for Vicky during lunch, when she glanced down at the program in her hands.
``Look, Grandpa,'' she said to Sholes, pointing to the line about William Drake. ``He was only 8 years old.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
CANDICE C. CUSIC/The Virginian-Pilot
Suffolk firefighter Andre Barrett shows 7-year-old Houston Gray of
Chesapeake how to extinguish a fire at Saturday's Farm Safety Day
Camp at the Tidewater Agriculture Research and Extension Center in
Suffolk.
TIPS FOR FARM SAFETY
Take time to be safe. Don't take shortcuts.
Teach children about farm safety early and often.
Just say ``no'' to riders on tractors and other equipment.
When you work alone, tell others where you are.
Make sure equipment is working properly.
Read the operator's manual at least twice.
Shut equipment off before you get off it.
Make sure equipment is operating properly. Do regular inspections
for loose or worn parts.
Make sure your tractor has a roll-over protective structure and
seat belt.
Never start a tractor from the ground.
Don't let children operate farm machinery until they are tall
enough to easily reach all pedals.
- Source: National Safety Council by CNB