Portland Observer D ecem ber 8. 1979 Page 6
vancouver students meet policemen
by Judy Delà Vega
“ Who puts our forest fires? asked
the Washington State trooper.
“ Smokey the Bear” , shouted a
kindergartener.
“ W ell, all troopers wear blue
Smokey-the-Bear hats,” said the
man from the state patrol.
“ Who watches ‘ Adam 12’ on
television?" he queried again.
“ I do, I do, I do,” came the five-
year-olds' cries.
“ Vancouver policemen wear
uniform s like the ones on that
show,” he said. “ And the policemen
and state troopers are your friends
and helpers. Rember that, all right?"
These “ fiends and helpers” - the
officers o f the Vancouver Police
Department (PVD) and the troopers
o f the W ashington State Patrol
(WSP) - are represented in the Van
couver Schools by safety education
officers Gus Lehto, VPÜ; Cary Mat
thews, WSP; and Gary Rasmussen,
WSP.
The talk to the young citizens
about subjects especially appropriate
to their grade levels. Kindergarteners
hear about the duties o f law enfor
cement officers, first and second-
grade children about pedestrian
safety, fourth graders about bicycle
safety and high school students
about the responsibilities and haz-
zards o f driving a car.
Trooper Matthews shows a kin
dergarten class the objects in a state
patrol car that enable troopers to
“ help" people;
"This must be a orange ice cream
cone, right?” (The youngsters giggle)
“ No, it’ s a tra ffic cone. It shows
drivers where they should drive if
something is blocking the road.
“ Is this dynamite? No, it’ s a flare.
Some o f your moms and dads might
have these in their cars. Does anyone
know what they are used for?
“ Oh, here’s my bowling ball and
bag. You don’t think so. Well look,
there’s a helmet in here. You’ ve all
seen ‘ Chips' on television, haven’ t
you. Well, in Washington we have
SPORTS HOUR
JOE’S PLACE
o f blood, booze and gas. I t ’ s a
distinctive com bination: one you
don’ t forget.
“ I f I took you to Vancouver
M em orial or St. Joe’ s hospitals
tonight, I promise you we’d smell
those smells on someone being
delivered to the emergency room.”
An especially warm and personal
kind o f presentation is given to
special education youngsters by the
law enforcement officers.
In a recent visit to Harney Elemen
tary, Officer Lehto began his presen
tation by going from child to child to
answer questions or listen to per
sonal stories or concerns. The
children -- their faces flushed and
alive w ith pride that policeman
("th e ir friend” ) was kneeling with
his arm around them -- told Lehto
about their cat being run over, their
mother making them go to bed early
and about their Halloween masks.
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Safety tips . . .
Lehto used every child's statement
as a lead-in to a point he wanted to
make on safety. The cat that was hit
was compared to a child who might
also be struck if he or she failed to
look both to the right and the left.
“ Inside the house is the place to be
after dark because people walking or
playing cannot be seen by drivers,”
Lehto told the child who was upset
by early bedtimes.
What sort o f an impact do these
talks have on VSD students?
“ The only real feedback we get are
the impressions left at the tim e ,”
commented VSD tra ffic e safety
teacher Lowell Neil. “ The concen
tra tio n o f the kids and their
questions - which indicate a real in
terest — say to me it ’ s a valid ex
perience and that, for at least some,
it has a lasting efect.
"T ro o p e r Matthews does a
beautiful job relating to th students
- he handles them well. I think the
Days: Sat., Sun. & Mon.
Annual Membership Meeting Et Luncheon
“ H i” O fficer Letho- pure delight is reflected in the face of this special
education child at Harney Elementary as he receives the policem an's
undivided attention.
statistics - particularly the way he
presents them in comparison to Viet
nam fighters and the number o f
students in our own high school -
make them startling to these stud
ents. I suspect that it makes them feel
the way I do when I see a horrible car
accident.”
Elementary teacher Connie Wyatt
had this to say: “ Beyond the actual
discussion o f rules and regulations -
which obviously helps — the most
im p o rta n t benefit is that these
youngsters have a chance to meet
Date: Dec. 8, 1979
Time: 10:30 to 2 p.m.
Place: Holiday Inn-Portland/South
25425 SW Boones Ferry Road
Wilsonville Or. 97070
Cost: $6:00 Donation
All are invited to attend this annual membership meet of
O.A.B. A. The main topics for discussion will be:
A) The 1980 Oregon Black Political Convention
B) Current and future legislators
C) 1980 Local, State and Federal elections
a policeman and see that he really is
their friend.
“ Through listening and talking to
Oflieer Lehto, they began to see that
policemen really do care - that they
really help people. The impression
they form from the presentation is
taht policemen are ‘good guys’ .
"Hopefully, that impression will
stay with them for a long time.”
Ms. Vega is editor o f the VSD
newsletter "The Bridge. ”
L
Tor more information call Randy Mantengale 243-4360
Bedtim e starts with
our white Freneli
Provincial furniture-
‘•WHIPSs’.
O fficer Lehto o f the VPD talks
w ith some fo u rth graders about
bicycle safety as well as teh dangers
o f talking to strangers.
“ David here is going to show us
bow to make a right-hand turn signal
while rid in g bikes. T h a t’ s great,
David. Remember, it's not stupid to
use these signals while riding your
bikes. In fact, it makes a lot o f sense.
It lets drivers and other people know
what you’ re going to do.
“ I also want to mention something
I ’ m sure you’ ve all been warned
about by your teacher and parents;
Don’t go anywhere with a stranger!
In my years as a police officer, I’ ve
heard about lots o f kids your age
who are reported missing and never
seen again.
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" I t doesn’ t matter if the strangers
are teenagers or sixty-year-olds,
don’ t go with them!
“ And it doesn’ t matter if it ’ s a
man or a woman, don’t get into the
car!
" I f anyone offers you candy or
toys - or asks to take you somewhere
fun - run as fast as you can in the
opposite direction. Then, as soon as
possible, report what happened to
the police. We d efin itely want to
hear about it.”
The fo llo w in g quotes are from
Trooper Matthews again. This time
he's talking to high school students.
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“ This is your big chance to ask a
cop a question while you’ re not in
the back o f his car tryin g to
rationalize away your actions. So,
please ask any questions . . .
" I f all the students in this high
school were lined up in a row, that’ s
how many people are killed in one
year in car accidents in the State of
Washington.
“ In Clark County, we've had 41
deaths so far this year. Two o f those
killed were students I talked to in a
class like this last year!
"T ra ffic accidents are the Number
One cause o f death o f people your
age.
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M ore than half . . .
“ Alcohol is involved in more than
50 percent o f fatal crashes. We’ re
not talking about being drunk, either
- we're just talking about being af
fected by alcohol.
“ Only two percent o f the drivers
on the road are driving while affect
ed -- yet they’re causing more than
h a lf the fatal accidents. And the
statistics are the worst for your age
bracket.
‘ There are three things I remem
ber - even when I don’t want to - no
matter what else I'm doing, if I pause
to think about my job. It’s the smell
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