Safety Town coming to Monroe for first time this summer

Incoming kindergartners in the Monroe school district will have the opportunity to spend some time at Safety Town this summer.

Monroe police have been working for the past few months to raise funds to establish the new safety program for young students entering Monroe Primary School, said police Chief Bob Buchanan.

“We are hoping to have about 200 kindergarten kids registered this summer,” Buchanan said. “As Monroe continues to grow and as our population grows, there’s a need for this type of outreach and education to keep our kids safe on the streets.”

Officer Joshua King, police community service/public information officer, said Monroe police didn’t have the staffing available to put this program on in the past.

“This is the first time it’s been done in Monroe,” he said. “I believe a program like this will be successful.”

While the city has participated in the Respect for Law camp and has held bike rodeos to promote safety with children, it has never had a safety town program similar to long-running programs in Hamilton and Middletown.

Monroe’s Safety Town program will educate children on safely crossing roads, riding in a car, obeying traffic signs and signals, and how to react to fires.

A morning class will take place from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and an afternoon class from 1 to 3:30 p.m. the weeks of June 12, June 26, July 10, July 17, and July 24. Each class will be limited to 20 children.

King is starting from scratch as he has been working with local businesses to sponsor the pedal cars, the special mat that will be put over the gym floor at Monroe Primary School, traffic lights, buildings, etc. Those tax-deductible sponsorships can be purchased for a year or multiple years.

He said the project has already reached the halfway mark in sponsorships from local businesses.

“So far, the community has been very generous about helping us start our Safety Town,” he said.

One major donation was from the Hayneedle Company, an e-commerce firm, which is donating 20 pedal cars for Safety Town.

Another company, Paradise Graphix will be providing a vinyl wrap for businesses that sponsor a pedal car.

Applications for Monroe’s Safety Town can be picked up at the police station or downloaded online at www.monroeohio.org starting April 1.

For more information about participation or sponsorships, contact King at 513-539-9234.

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