SafetyTown +PLUS honors its fifth class of graduates
Local program used as model throughout U.S.
From left to right: volunteer Faith Davis, SafetyTown +PLUS graduate Joey B., shakes the hand of Eddie the Eagle, Sheriff Tom Miller and Capt. Ken Baca during the program’s graduation ceremony July 21. Photo by ANASTASIA NICHOLAS
GRANGER – Not all children learn the same. The Medina County Achievement Center takes this into account in its SafetyTown +PLUS program, the first of its kind in the United States.
Twenty-one students in kindergarten through third grade were honored as the center’s fifth SafetyTown +PLUS class July 21.
The weeklong program teaches students several safety lessons, including how to react in situations with animals, fires, guns and traffic.
For the first time, Akron Children’s Hospital supplied a helicopter for the program. Granger Fire Department brings their smokehouse and water house. Trained therapy dogs are brought in when the children learn about animal safety.
SafetyTown +PLUS uses many of the same programs as other SafetyTowns, but tailors them individually for children with developmental disabilities, said Sgt. Beverly Fraser of the Medina County Sheriff’s Department.
Before the program was created, parents came to the Medina County Board of Developmental Disabilities to say other local safety towns were not working for their child, Medina County Board of Developmental Disabilities Communication Relations Coordinator Patti Hetkey said.
“Our organization is about making sure children with developmental disabilities are safe in our community,” Hetkey said. “We saw the opportunity to jump in and create SafetyTown +PLUS.”
The program is now the third of its kind in the United States. There are a handful of similar programs across the country, and they are using this one as the model, Hetkey said.
“We are now mentoring programs throughout the United States,” Hetkey said. “We’re proud of that. It’s a great opportunity for our community.”
Belmont County in southeast Ohio, for example, is planning its own specialized safety town classes. They called on the Medina County Achievement Center to observe their program while planning their own.
SafetyTown +PLUS receives help from 12 community volunteers, including Cece Majoros, who studies special education at Kent State University.
“I absolutely love working with the kids,” Majoros said. “It’s awesome to have hands-on experience working with them.”
The graduating students received certificates and shook hands with SafetyTown mascots and teachers, as well as Fraser, Medina County Sheriff Tom Miller and sheriff’s office Capt. Ken Baca
After that, they sat down with their families and volunteers to eat cookies and ice cream. At the end of the ceremony they were given treat bags with coloring books from the sheriff and safety-themed toys.
Nicole Davis and Kurstine Blubaugh, parents of students in the program, said their children enjoyed SafetyTown +PLUS.
“Before they started this, I hoped there was some sort of safety town he could join,” Blubaugh said. “They started this two years later, so it worked well.”
Twenty-one students in kindergarten through third grade were honored as the center’s fifth SafetyTown +PLUS class July 21.
The weeklong program teaches students several safety lessons, including how to react in situations with animals, fires, guns and traffic.
For the first time, Akron Children’s Hospital supplied a helicopter for the program. Granger Fire Department brings their smokehouse and water house. Trained therapy dogs are brought in when the children learn about animal safety.
SafetyTown +PLUS uses many of the same programs as other SafetyTowns, but tailors them individually for children with developmental disabilities, said Sgt. Beverly Fraser of the Medina County Sheriff’s Department.
Before the program was created, parents came to the Medina County Board of Developmental Disabilities to say other local safety towns were not working for their child, Medina County Board of Developmental Disabilities Communication Relations Coordinator Patti Hetkey said.
“Our organization is about making sure children with developmental disabilities are safe in our community,” Hetkey said. “We saw the opportunity to jump in and create SafetyTown +PLUS.”
The program is now the third of its kind in the United States. There are a handful of similar programs across the country, and they are using this one as the model, Hetkey said.
“We are now mentoring programs throughout the United States,” Hetkey said. “We’re proud of that. It’s a great opportunity for our community.”
Belmont County in southeast Ohio, for example, is planning its own specialized safety town classes. They called on the Medina County Achievement Center to observe their program while planning their own.
SafetyTown +PLUS receives help from 12 community volunteers, including Cece Majoros, who studies special education at Kent State University.
“I absolutely love working with the kids,” Majoros said. “It’s awesome to have hands-on experience working with them.”
The graduating students received certificates and shook hands with SafetyTown mascots and teachers, as well as Fraser, Medina County Sheriff Tom Miller and sheriff’s office Capt. Ken Baca
After that, they sat down with their families and volunteers to eat cookies and ice cream. At the end of the ceremony they were given treat bags with coloring books from the sheriff and safety-themed toys.
Nicole Davis and Kurstine Blubaugh, parents of students in the program, said their children enjoyed SafetyTown +PLUS.
“Before they started this, I hoped there was some sort of safety town he could join,” Blubaugh said. “They started this two years later, so it worked well.”