COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • NOVEMBER 14, 2018 •
9A
‘Speak up. Work Safe’ video contest open to Oregon high school students
High school students
across Oregon are invited
to let their video skills shine
for a good cause: increasing
awareness about workplace
safety for young workers.
Th e annual “Speak up.
Work safe.” video contest is
now open for submissions.
Th e top three entries will
take home cash prizes rang-
ing from $300 to $500, and
students will earn a match-
ing amount for their school.
DORENA
from A1
in September were at mile
post 11.”
When April Klein and her
husband bought her house
in Dorena, she said her real
estate agent didn’t tell them
the area was not covered by
a fi re district. And when a
brush fi re was spotted up the
hill from her home, neigh-
bors came with buckets of
water from their wells, wa-
tering down the lawn.
“In case any of the embers
landed. Th ey could have
started a fi re,” she said.
Klein started a social me-
dia group aft er the commu-
nity mourned three houses
that were lost in the Septem-
ber fi re and started looking
around for a solution.
“Our water is turned off
when they fi ght a fi re here
on BLM land or Weyerhae-
user land and they should,
I don’t think they shouldn’t
protect that land, but when
you see someone’s house
burn down, everything they
worked for and they’re using
Students must create a
90-second or less video that
inspires young workers to
do at least one thing diff er-
ently to stay safe on the job.
Th e video must include
the theme: “Speak up. Work
safe.”
Th e video must educate
young workers about the
importance of speaking up
in the workplace.
Participants are encour-
aged to develop a key mes-
sage or slogan, use humor,
and get creative while em-
water from Row River and
turning our water off , those
are our resources but they
won’t be used if our house is
on fi re,” she said.
Th e Dorena Fire-Explor-
ing the Options Discussion
Group was launched shortly
aft er the September fi res as a
way to consolidate informa-
tion and generate ideas on
how the community could
protect itself.
Member
Dan
Holt
planned on leading a group
down to Reedsport where a
1962 Ford fi re engine that
was off ered to the group
sits in need of repairs. But
not everyone in the group
is convinced the truck will
solve the community’s prob-
lem. If the truck were re-
paired it would still need
a volunteer force that met
OSHA requirements, a place
to be stored, a way for those
volunteers to be notifi ed of a
fi re, equipment that would
allow volunteers to safely en-
ter burning structures, fuel,
water and liability insurance.
According to Raade, it
would take a vote of the res-
idents in the area and con-
versations with SLFCR sur-
rounding whether or not the
district could absorb Dorena
for the area to be covered by
SLCFR.
Th e fi re district responded
to the incident in September
because it has an agreement
with the South Lane School
District to protect schools —
like Dorena School — that
are within the school district
but outside of the fi re dis-
trict. And that crew, accord-
ing to Raade, was a skele-
ton crew, leaving behind
the majority of resources
for incidents that may have
occurred inside the fi re dis-
trict.
Now, the group is left
looking into grants, the 1962
fi re truck and other options
but hope to engage with SL-
CFR and other local groups
to fully explore the issue.
“Th ere’s two big issues,”
Klein said. “We deserve to
have fi re protection and
people are right, we have to
pay for that and we have to
fi gure out how to do that but
we need local offi cials and
co-workers — from getting
hurt on the job.
The deadline for contest
submissions is Friday, Feb. 1,
2019.
phasizing ways to protect
themselves — and their
Submissions
will
be
judged on certain criteria,
including:
• An original health and
safety message that appeals
to teen workers and safety
educators
• Overall production val-
ue (video/audio quality, act-
ing, and editing)
• “Speak up. Work safe.”
theme is used eff ectively
Th e deadline for submis-
sions is Friday, Feb. 1, 2019.
Videos can be submitted
online or mailed.
Contest winners will be
unveiled at a screening event
in spring 2019, and winning
entries will be posted on
YouTube.
For contest information,
including rules, tips, entry
forms, workplace safety and
young worker resources, and
a playlist of past fi nalist vid-
eos, go to www.youngem-
ployeesafety.org/contest.
COURTESY PHOTO
Dorena, just outside of Cottage Grove is not protected by a fi re district. After the latest fi re
in the area, residents began exploring options to obtain fi re protection.
bodies around us to engage
in that conversation.
“Th en we need to know
from our water district:
What is the alternative when
you are protecting Weyer-
haeuser land with my re-
sources?”
Are you ready?
D ISASTER P REPAREDNESS
Safety Kit for the Car
First and foremost, you should always carry around items of necessity in case
you are left stranded. Much like you should keep a kit in your home for unfavor-
able weather, you should bring along foods that won’t spoil, plenty of water and
several other crucial items. A few other items the Department of Motor Vehicles
recommends are:
• First aid kit: Supplied with bandages, bug spray, aspirin, bandages, tweezers
and antibiotic ointment; and
• Fire extinguisher: You can easily fi nd vehicle-sized ex-
tinguishers at a local auto parts store.
Many states use fl ashing highway signs to indicate dangerous weather in the
area. Do your best to get to a town that offers shelter.
If you are facing a tornado threat, pull over and park. Keep your seat belt se-
cured, and cover your head with a blanket lower than window level. This should
be considered a last resort only if you are unable to reach a safe building before
the threat arrives.
Other Valuable Tools
The above items can keep you from starving and safe
while you wait for vehicle assistance. You also can re-
pair some common mechanical issues yourself to get
your vehicle running until you fi nd a qualifi ed repair
shop with the following items:
• Spare tire changing kit: Be sure your vehicle is fi tted
with a proper spare tire, jack, wrench to remove the
lug nuts and safety triangles. Refl ective triangles can
be lifesavers when repairing a vehicle on the side of
a busy interstate.
• Jumper cables: With the assistance of another vehicle,
you will be able to jump start a dead battery.
• Additional fl uids: Bring along proper oil, antifreeze
and transmission fl uids. If a vehicle runs low on any
of these, it can cause big problems.
Severe Weather on the Road
Ideally, you want to be in a safe indoor environment
when a storm hits, but it doesn’t always work out that
way.
Make sure all the pieces are in place to render you and your family prepared in the event of a natural disaster.
• Listen to radio or television newscasts for the latest weather information, and follow all evacuation directions and suggestions.
• Keep a stock of non-perishable food items as well as bottled water on hand inside your home.
• Keep a 72 Hour Kit on hand inside your home that is easy to get to in the event of a disaster.
For more information and tips on disaster response and preparedness, contact your local emergency services center.
South Lane Fire & Rescue • 233 Harrison Ave, Cottage Grove 541-942-4493 • 55 South 1st Street, Creswell 541-895-2506
Twitter: @southlanefi re
Facebook: southlanecountyfi reandrescue