Community Safety Fair set for Saturday, August 10
by George Diepenbrock, Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department
Practicing safe habits doesn’t have to be stressful — it can be fun.
That’s the message of public safety and health agencies in Douglas County as they come together for the second annual Community Safety Fair from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Aug. 10, at South Park.
“The Community Safety Fair is a unique opportunity for Lawrence and Douglas County residents to come out to South Park and get to know some of the first responders in our community,” said Sgt. Amy Rhoads of the Lawrence Police Department. “It is a fun, family-friendly event that emphasizes overall general safety.”
Cram the Cruiser
The return of the Community Safety Fair also means the Cram the Cruiser competition is back. The Lawrence Police Department, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical and Douglas County Sheriff’s Office will have a food-drive competition at the fair. All three departments will bring an SUV to be filled with non-perishable food items that will be donated back to the Lawrence community via Just Food. Bring any non-perishable food that you can donate to the fair, then place the donations in the SUV of whichever department you would like to win. Ready. Set. Cram the cruiser!
All Lawrence and Douglas County residents are invited to the fair to learn more about personal, family and community safety best practices as well as about the local resources available.
The Lawrence Police Department, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office are co-hosting the event. Several other community partners are also involved and will be offering information about safety and health. Organizers have worked for several months to improve on the success of the inaugural fair in 2018.
“The Community Safety Fair provides an opportunity for the community to participate in hands-on activities that demonstrate the many safety resources available in Douglas County,” said Deputy Charlie Cooper, public information officer for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. “For us, this is a unique opportunity to work together with our first-responder partners across the county while at the same time having fun with our community.”
Similar to the first event, the fair focuses on a wide variety of safety areas, including information about bus safety, child safety restraints, gun safety, avoiding online scams and childcare safety.
Rhoads said first responders and partners seek to offer the fair as summer winds down and families and students gear up for a new school year. It’s also good timing for residents who are newer to the community and might need information on safety and various resources available.
The following organizations will be sharing safety information at the fair:
• Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center — WRAP Program and Mental Health First Aid
• Be SMART — Gun safety and securing guns
• The Chiropractic Element — Active Jenga and spinal screenings
• Crime Stoppers of Lawrence and Douglas County — Organization information
• Community Blood Center — Mobile donation bus and blood drive
• Douglas County Emergency Communication Center — Cell phone safety and an obstacle course
• Douglas County Emergency Management — General preparedness, wheel of misfortune and mobile command vehicle
• Douglas County Sheriff’s Office — Cell phone safety, an obstacle course and Cram the Cruiser activity
• KU Police Department — Campus safety information
• KVC Health Systems — General information
• Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical — Smoke house in the Touch-a-Truck and Cram the Cruiser activity
• Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department — Information about the organization’s programs and services, including childcare safety and information on becoming a licensed childcare provider
• Lawrence Police Department — Crisis Intervention Training, internet safety and scams, and Cram the Cruiser activity
• Lawrence Police Foundation — Coloring table for children
• Lawrence Public Schools — Back-to-school safety, including a bike safety course, school bus safety tips and safety information on vaping, ALICE, and the online-reporting tool, All Students Safe
• Lawrence Transit — Bus pass and bus safety
• LMH Health — Car seat education
• National Association of Trailer Manufacturers — Towing safety and U-Haul demonstrator
• Parks and Recreation — Healthy living
• Premier Martial Arts — 30-minute KIDS SAFE demonstration
• Sunflower Bank — Online banking safety, Plinko game
• Willow Domestic Violence Center — Domestic violence information
Entertainment:
• A&B entertainment — Bounce houses
• McGruff the Crime Dog
• Police, Fire and Emergency car tours
Food vendors:
• Air Summer Snow — Snowcones
• Sarah’s Sweet Tarts & Treats — Breakfast pastries
George Diepenbrock is communications officer at the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department.
