HARRODSBURG — A group of eager sixth-graders watched as Burgin sophomore Dustin Stewart reached toward his menacing lawn mower blade Tuesday outside the Mercer County Cooperative Extension Service. The machine wasn’t on, but Stewart explained the consequences if it were.
“It could take your arm or your leg or your boot and just rip it to shreds,” he said. “You always have to be aware of the power of these things.”
While, Stewart and fellow Future Farmers of America members offered the most colorful descriptions, all 10 presentations in the extension service’s annual safety day taught valuable lessons to sixth-graders from King and Burgin middle schools.
About 300 students soaked up safety information about sun rays, railroads, guns, electricity, animals and more from local professionals and FFA students, said Linda McClanahan, Mercer County extension agent for agriculture and natural resources. She noted the extension service targets 11- to 12-year-olds for the event because of the increased independence and curiosity of pre-adolescence.
“They’re at the age when they’re involved in a lot of activities on a daily basis,” McClanahan said.
To cover all bases, some of the 20-minute lessons focused on situations that students routinely encounter while others highlighted emergency events.
Harrodsburg chiropractor Kellye Brown taught a session about backpack safety, stressing that backpacks should never weigh more than 15 percent of their carrier’s body weight, or back pain and headaches may occur.
Meanwhile, representatives from Harrodsburg Fire Department explained how to put out a grease fire with a fire extinguisher, baking soda or pan lid rather than water, which fuels the flames.
Another hot topic captivated students during Rachel Settles’ electricity safety session. Settles, an energy solutions representative with Blue Grass Energy, used a Van de Graaf generator for conductivity and static demonstrations, which left the hair of one lucky student in each group standing on end.
King Middle School’s Steven McCarty described the feeling as “kind of ticklish” while Loren Hahn explained it simply as “really cool.”
Some students were equally engrossed by the verbal illustrations of FFA members and Burgin sophomores Stewart, Hunter Harrison, Cody Boone and Matt Johnson. The four advised the sixth-graders how to remain safe while operating riding and push lawn mowers and weed trimmers. Though their cautionary tales of dismemberment seemed gruesome, the boys swore the stories were toned down from an FFA camp video they watched over the summer.
“We’re not trying to be Michael Myers,” Stewart said. “We’re just trying to let them know.”
Burgin FFA Advisor Bart Mattingly said it was rewarding to watch the boys get serious about safety in order to protect the younger generations, which Stewart said was precisely his goal.
“It feels good that our community is learning proper lawn safety,” Stewart said. “Hopefully, it will reduce the amount of emergencies and injuries.”
