SAFE KIDS WEEK GEARS UP

This week is Safe Kids Week, and the Missouri State Safe Kids Coalition called on parents to "gear up" to keep their children free from injury. The coalition is winding up the week with a focus on bike safety.

St. Francis Medical Center and Southeast Missouri Hospital will sponsor a "Bike Smart" program from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday in the St. Francis parking garage on Gordonville Road. Kathy Leimer, Cape Girardeau Area Safe Kids Coalition representative, said the safety program had a tremendous response.

"More than 3,500 children, grades first through fourth, registered for the program from area schools," she said. "We could only take 150 with 20 to 25 children participating at a time." She said children will receive a free bicycle helmet and their bikes will be checked by the Cape Girardeau Police Department. Children will then receive, "rules of the road" and go through a safety course.

Booths by area safety organizations will be set up. There will be giveaways and children may have their pictures taken with Vince and Larry the Crash Test Dummies.

The event is coordinated through the Cape Girardeau Safe Communities Program and is also sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Police Department, Cape Girardeau Public Schools, Southeast Missouri Hospital, St. Francis Medical Center, Cape County Private Ambulance Service, Community 2000, University of Missouri Extension Service, and KBSI-TV.

The National Safe Kids Week focuses on the need for safe products and environments for children. Leimer said injury is the No. 1 cause of death in children. "Injury is the leading cause of death in children ages one to fourteen," she said. "We need to assess our surroundings for safety. We need to be proactive not reactive." She said parents and care givers need to make their homes and play areas safe places. "Children need to have a happy life and a healthy life."

To end Safe Kids Week, Johnson and Johnson, the founding sponsor of the National Safe Kids Campaign, will sponsor a CBS Network television special episode of "Touched by an Angel" to air Sunday. The program's content will center on children's safety.