THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 5, 1995 TAG: 9507010129
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
City schools ended classes on June 16, but for about 100 public-school students the learning continued.
While academic subjects are important, what the children learned at the Virginia Beach Safety Camp might save their lives someday.
Robert Merrill, 10, a rising fourth-grader at Birdneck Elementary School found out how to escape from a house fire.
``They showed us how to keep our head low and crawl out,'' he said. ``And stay out.''
Kelli Blizinski and classmate Valerie Kohl attend Holland Elementary School, where they will be fourth-graders in September. The 9-year-olds nodded at what Robert said and Valerie added, ``We learned to check smoke detectors every month.''
The inaugural safety camp was the brainchild of Sara Hensley, an administrator with the city's Parks and Recreation Department. She attended a recreation conference in Minneapolis, saw a presentation and brought the packet and the idea back to the Beach. The safety camp was held at the Dam Neck Fleet Combat Training Center from 8 a.m. until late afternoon for three days.
``This is the first time I know of that a camp has been designed exclusively to teach children safety,'' said Hensley. ``Some camps may have safety programs, but safety is what this whole thing is about.''
Hosted by the recreation department, the camp received support from WVEC-TV, and local agencies supplied staff to demonstrate safety for the students.
Virginia Beach police, fire and rescue workers showed the students the dos and don'ts of danger.
Virginia Power employees Jonny Burdette and Conni Eilender used an electrical hazard simulator to warn the children of the danger of power poles and lines.
``If your car crashes into a power pole, try to get out fast,'' said Ryan Retzloff, 9. The rising fourth-grader at Birdneck Elementary said, ``When you get out, you have to jump with both feet at the same time, so you don't become a path for the electricity.''
Burdette concluded his talk with the warning: ``Never play around, or around with, power equipment.''
GEICO furnished the safety camp with an apparatus that allowed the children to experience the impact of an 8 mph crash, jogging speed.
``Even at that speed, the kids were surprised at the force of the collision,'' said Pete Hangen, a recreation supervisor for parks and recreation. ``They were strapped in and could see the importance of safety belts.''
Timi Martins, 8, and Jessie Adler, 9, will be fourth-graders at Strawbridge Elementary School. They relaxed with lunch and discussed safety camp.
``I Roller-Blade a lot and I'm going to wear a helmet, knee pads, ankle pads and elbow pads,'' Timi said.
Jessie may have left the camp with more than knowledge of bicycle safety:
``I learned about riding different kinds of bikes,'' said Jessie. ``The ones with brakes in the front are safer, and banana seats are bad. I have a banana seat now and I want to get a new bike.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos by GARY EDWARDS
Virginia Beach firefighters George Woodruff and Elayne Weinbrecht
stand by as Debbie Crisher prepares to lead children through a
mobile home to demonstrate the dos and don'ts of home fire safety.
Virginia Power employees Jonny Burdette and Conni Eilender tell
students about electrical safety. They used an electrical hazard
simulator to warn the children of the danger of power poles and
lines.
by CNB