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Written by: Kelly Jo Ross - Breese Journal News Editor

AirEvac helicopter loads a “patient” into the helicopter during the mock demonstration of a car crash.    On Thursday, Sept. 26, over 400 Clinton County sixth grade students participated in a Progressive Ag Safety Day sponsored by the Clinton County Farm Bureau’s Agriculture in the Classroom Program.
    Ag Literacy Coordinator Susan Kleiboeker served as the program coordinator for the event, with the assistance of many other county groups and volunteers.
    This was the 15th Annual Progressive Ag Safety Day in Clinton County, however, two years were skipped due to the Covid pandemic.
A live line demonstration on behalf of Clinton County Electric Cooperative during Safety Day Sept. 26 at the Clinton County Fairgrounds in Carlyle.    There were 10 schools involved at the Ag Safety Day, comprising of only sixth graders from the schools. This year, students from Albers, All Saints Academy, Aviston, Bartelso, Breese District 12, Carlyle, Damiansville, Germantown, Wesclin, and Willow Grove, attended the event and rotated through various safety-themed stations throughout the day.
    The day was broken into morning and afternoon sessions, with approximately half of the students attending at one time.
    Stations included: Hunter Safety, Grain Safety, Animal Safety, ATV Safety, Chemical Safety, Confinement Safety (Manure Pit), PTO Safety, Water Safety, Electrical Safety and more.
Ag Literacy Coordinator Susan Kleiboeker tells the students what is going on during the mock demonstration on Sept. 26 at Safety Day at the Clinton County Fairgrounds in Carlyle.     One of the stations was a mock demonstration of a one-vehicle accident, where a vehicle crashed due to the driver texting and driving. Fire and medical personnel, as well as a medical helicopter (AirEvac), assisted in the mock demonstration to show students the dangers of driving and texting.
    "The goal of the program is to keep our community safe both on and off the farm," said Kleiboeker. "If each of the kids can take away just one thing from the day, we have won."
    She said they want people to understand that just because they have always done something a certain way doesn't mean it is the right thing to do.
Jenny Litteken talks to the students about PTO Safety.    "Getting rid of bad habits is the hardest thing to do," she said. "Educating against those bad habits is something that we strive to accomplish."
    Students attending the event received free Farm Safety t-shirts provided by the Progressive Ag Safety Foundation as part of a nationwide program teaching kids about farm safety.
    The event is made possible by the generosity of many of those who volunteer their time and money's for this program to happen.
    The biggest donations coming from the Clinton County Farm Bureau and then Maschhoffs. High School FFA students also volunteered their time to educate the students about safety as well. A special thanks to all those local volunteers!