AUGUST 5, 2016, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3 Small rewards, big change at skate park GRASSROOTS GOVERNMENT By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes Kelly Owen’s fi rst trip to Keizer’s Carlson Skate Park was discouraging. The Salem Health emer- gency room and trauma nurse estimated that less than a third of the park’s users were wearing helmets while they rode their bikes, skateboards and scooters. And that was the best rider-to- helmet ratio of the four parks she and co-workers visited in the mid-Willamette Valley. “It’s important that everyone wear helmets because brain in- juries are so tragic, but so pre- ventable,” said Owen. Getting kids to wear their helmets has become something of a crusade for Owen. “In spring and summer of 2015, we had some really tragic events resulting from longboard and skateboard crashes. We had some local kids end up with life-changing traumatic brain injuries and one was killed,” Owen said. Owen herself cared for more than one of the injured riders, and it got her thinking about what more she could do to in- tervene. “I already do a lot of talks in the schools about wearing helmets, so it’s not like the kids don’t have the information. We have to get them to actually KEIZER CLASSIFIEDS SERVICES DIVORCE $155. Complete preparation. Includes children, custody, support, property and bills division. No court appearances. Divorced in 1-5 weeks possible. 503-772-5295. www.paralegalalternatives.com legalalt@msn.com ONAC HEALTH & BEAUT Y Got Knee Pain? Back Pain? Shoulder Pain? Get a pain-relieving brace at little or NO cost to you. Medicare Patients Call Health Hotline Now! 1- 800-349-1450 ONAC MISCELLANEOUS DISH TV 190 channels plus Highspeed Internet Only $49.94/mo! Ask about a 3 year price guarantee & get Netfl ix included for 1 year! Call Today 1-800-394-5170 ONAC ULTIMATE BUNDLE from DIRECTV & AT&T. 2-Year Price Guarantee -Just $89.99/month (TV/fast internet/ phone) FREE Whole-Home Genie HD-DVR Upgrade. New Customers Only. Call Today 1-800-243-0916 Above: Kelly Owen talks with Aaron Sanders and Cameron Hatfi eld. Right: Kaia and Silas Branch were two of the riders wearing helmets on Owen’s recent visit to Carlson Skate Park. KEIZERTIMES/ Eric A. Howald wear the helmets,” Owen said. The team decided that re- warding good behavior might be their best option. Armed with donated $5 gift cards from Dutch Bros. and Jamba Juice and others that were purchased, Owen set out on the fi rst of fi ve unannounced visits to Carlson Skate Park this summer. In addition to goodies, Owen brought along a poster board advertising free gift cards and featuring photos of two of the crash victims she cared for. On her fi rst visit, still only about a third of riders were wearing helmets. On her sec- ond visit, helmet usage was up to 50 percent. When she visited for a third time Tuesday, July 26, about 80 percent of riders were sporting headgear while riding. “I think we sometimes try to make thing too hard. I truly am amazed how something like rewarding kids with a $5 gift card seems to be making such a huge difference,” she said. For riders who don’t own helmets, she keeps some on hand to pass out, but even then there are holdouts. “Kids are very fussy about their helmets and what they look like,” Owen said. She ran through a small supply of mul- tisport helmets quickly and the bike helmets remaining don’t have the same look. Her ace-in-the-hole at Carlson is 14-year-old Cam- eron Hatfi eld. Owen met Cameron on her fi rst visit and enlisted him as an ambassador to talk with the other kids he meets at the park. “Most of them say it’s un- comfortable or looks dumb, but after talking to Kelly I started wearing my helmet a lot more,” Hatfi eld said. “If you fall and get hurt that’s your fault. You have to care about your life.” Hatfi eld said the older park visitors are less receptive to his message, but riders his age and younger have been more open to it. “This parks gets a lot of kids who are middle school and younger, and I think we have a better chance of redirecting their behavior,” Owen said. “It’s been our most successful park in regard to increasing helmet usage.” Owen also hopes that in- fl uencing behavior at the park will increase helmet usage in other community spaces. The kids who were injured last summer were riding on city and county streets. “The thing to remember is that this is only a start. Parents need to reinforce helmet usage at home. It can change lives later on,” Owen said. To support helmet program, contact the Salem Founda- tion, 503-561-5576 or foun- dation@salemhealth.org, and make a donation to the injury prevention program. The Keizer Public Arts Commission had its most recent meeting July 26. Here’s what was discussed: • Commissioners voted to renew agreements with the seven artists who currently have art featured along River Road North. The agreements will keep the artwork in place through December 2017. • KPAC is also looking to add additional pads for public art on River Road. Options currently being explored are in front of Dollar Tree, Can Staff, Leaving the Cold by Ace Cash Express, Shari’s and Deborah Reid Denno, the focal point on the southwest part of the Artist’s corner of the Chemawa Road Trunk Show at Keizer North-River Road North in- Civic Center. tersection. Community Devel- opment Director Nate Brown said reception from owners at some of the locations has been lukewarm while others are still being contacted. • Commissioners are looking to fi ll open art display spaces in the Keizer Civic Center between January and March 2017. • Fifteen portraits on the Keizer Mural Project at Town and Country Lanes are complete with a dozen more left to fi nish. Organizers are shooting for a Sept. 10 dedication ceremony. Tour Keizer with KPIC guides The Keizer Points of In- terest Committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 16, will be a tour of all the Points of Interest. The public is invited. The tour will begin at the Keizer Civic Center, 930 Che- mawa Road N.E., at 5:30 p.m. Participants will carpool from the civic center and be given a map showing the points of interest with informational paragraphs as well as an agenda with driving instructions. For more information, contact Debbie Lockhart at 503-856-3418. 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