Safety
AROUND YOUR HOME

Bill Campbell

Each year, I receive numerous calls from people who are interested in planning events with safety as a theme. I thought many of you would like to see examples of the program offerings available from the University of Illinois Extension Service. Keep in mind that these are examples and not the complete list of available programs.

As always, the Extension Service has a variety of programming related to agricultural safety. Included in this list are the typical tractor driving and machinery safety programs. In addition, specialized programs such as FARMEDIC, a rural rescue training program for emergency response personnel, and "First on the Scene," designed to educate rural residents about emergency response and EMS (Emergency Medical Services) activation, are available. If you want to provide your own program, there are numerous safety videos available from Unit offices, Extension Centers, and the Agricultural Engineering Department at the U of I.

Agricultural safety is not the limit of Extension's offerings. Programming examples exist in the areas of food safety, domestic safety, personal safety, and the dangers that confront youth on a daily basis.

Food safety programs cover everything from purchasing or growing food to preservation, preparation, and storage of food items. As a highlight, you might consider the poison look-alike program that teaches children to be wary of household chemicals that look similar to candy, medication, or soft drinks. Programs covering safe food handling requirements for preparation and serving, and guidelines on safe refrigeration and freezing times are also available. There have been programs developed recently showing children how to safely prepare snacks when they arrive home after school.

The domestic safety programs include indoor air quality, domestic violence prevention, and disaster preparedness. Additional programs about remodeling, mold control, etc. are also available. For disaster preparedness, survival kit preparation programs are available to supplement the natural disaster page maintained by the University of Illinois (address: http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/~disaster).

The youth personal safety programs include "Street Smarts," avoiding gangs, and drug and alcohol education, and many other programs are available through 4-H and other youth organizations.

Additionally, there are constantly new programs being developed. Contact the Extension Unit office in your county if you need help developing an event. Extension staffers will do their best to make your safety event an educational success.

I will be handing responsibility for writing this safety column to some of my colleagues in the Springfield Extension Center after this month. I have taken a position with South Dakota State University and will have already relocated when this issue has been delivered. Let me take this opportunity to say I appreciate the interest these articles have generated over the last two years. I will miss the friendly and helpful people I worked with in the Illinois Cooperative Extension Service as well as the clientele who made each day both challenging and rewarding.

Bill Campbell is an Extension Educator, Farm Systems, at the Springfield Extension Center, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Illinois. You can write to him in care of Illinois Country Living, P.O. Box 3787, Springfield, II 62708. Telephone: (217) 782-6515. E-Mail: campbellw@idea.ag.uiuc. edu

14 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING OCTOBER 1997