Kids’ summer starts with a KISS
By Bobbi Mlynar
Originally published 02:10 p.m., May 21, 2008
Updated 02:10 p.m., May 21, 2008
Free food, prizes, games and activities for children and their families are promised for the eighth annual Keep It a Safe Summer event sponsored through Emporians for Drug Awareness and a host of supporters and local agencies.
The event will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Lyon County Fairgrounds. More than 50 agencies are expected to provide information and entertainment for youngsters, in addition to providing information about general safety.
“We try to make it kind of a carnival-type atmosphere so they’re getting information but doing it in a fun way,” said Teresa Walters, EDA director. “... It’s not just for Emporia folks, it’s for anybody who lives in the county.”
When the project was begun, EDA leaders “brainstormed with agencies that offered activities or had good messages to get out to families,” Walters said.
Walters said the groups are concerned about the safety of youngsters during the summer months, when school is out and youngsters are left to their own devices.
“Especially in those hours in the evening, 3 to 6, when parents aren’t home and again in the summer, children are often left unsupervised,” she said.
The KISS event is offered to help families plan enjoyable activities and subsequently reduce unhealthy behaviors. The requirement for organizations or businesses to participate was that each provide a booth with information and fun activities, Walters said.
Among the approximately 50 different offerings will be:
Canine officer Tito and his partner, Lyon County Sheriff’s Deputy Cory Doudican, will present demonstrations of drug searches and perhaps a patrol demonstration for the youngsters and adults. Doudican also expects to talk about what they can and cannot do as they work as a unit.
At the Emporia Police Department’s booth, children will learn how to make a 911 phone call for help and what to expect when they do.
Three dispatchers — dispatch supervisor Krystee Pearson, Roxanne VanGundy and Selena Klumpe — will bring along a 911 simulator for children to practice 911 calls.
“We will talk about what a 911 emergency is, knowing your address and phone number, calling 911 from cell phones,” Pearson said, “and we just want to let kids know that 911 is there for them, especially during the summer months when they may be home alone or with an older brother or sister babysitting them.”
The Emporia Masonic Lodge No. 12, A.F. & A.M., child identification unit will continue its project of providing parents with permanent records of their children, including fingerprints, a photograph, a DNA swab, audio track of the child’s voice, and other pertinent information that will be recorded on a DVD included with the packet.
Docents from the David Traylor Zoo of Emporia will be on hand with an assortment of animals from the zoo, and 4-H members and leaders will have additional animals at a petting zoo on-site.
Fire Pup will accompany Emporia Fire Department firefighters to the fairgrounds with a mock-up of a house fire. Children will be able to spray the “fire” and put it out. The identity of Fire Pup will not be revealed, although a source at the department predicted it would be “our biggest guy, because it takes a big guy to do that.”
The booths will offer a variety of entertainment options, including making a decorative fish at the Emporia Arts Council booth, and summer activities like bowling, gymnastics, music, swimming, dancing, family health, vacation Bible schools, 4-H, skating, as well as general activities through the Emporia Recreation Commission.
The Midwest Life Team helicopter will be on display, barring emergencies.
Drawings for prizes will begin at approximately 7:30 p.m., with the grand prize expected to be given by 8 p.m. Winners must be present when their names are announced.
The grand prize will be a portable DVD player, swim passes to the Aquatic Center, LCAT tickets and perhaps some free movie rentals.
An assortment of prize packages have been put together, including $100 Country Mart gift certificates, wheel rotations at Mel’s Tire, summer movie passes, and gift certificates to Amanda’s and Bobby D’s. Out-of-town activities include four passes to the Sedgwick County Zoo, tickets to Royals, T-Bones and Wizards games; all of those packages include a $40 gas card and a $30 food coupon.
Four packages, each containing movie passes and a ball, will be given away, as will 10 packages that each will include a backboard, ball, bags and one summer movie pass.
Other prizes will be: an item donated by the Kansas City Chiefs, movie and miniature golf passes, LCAT bus passes to use for children’s activities, Blockbuster movie rental coupons, and gift certificates from Carlos O’Kelley’s, the Olpe Chicken House, La Hacienda Mexican Restaurant, Shanghai restaurant and Wings restaurant.
Other donations are still being received for the drawings.