The Scoop... March 12, 2012
The March 12th Rotary meeting opened with a rousing edition of Wild Irish Rose led by Judge Warren and Father Ross. Bob Fett provided an interesting story about manure and how the shipping of it led to the use of our word SH**. The meeting quickly moved to higher ground as Bob promoted next week’s clothing drive and Jim Osmon asked everyone to fill out their involvement profile, indicating in which areas they’d like to participate. Bill Timmermeister presented scholarship awards to 13 students, though only 3 were able to attend the meeting. That brings the total to 637 scholarships in 11 years.
Members of the Lima Noon Optimist Club were the guest speakers to talk about the Safety City renovation. Since it was built in 1978, more than 100,000 youth have attended Safety City, learning street safety, fire safety, and how to avoid threats of personal harm. The lessons are hands-on, requiring students to escape from a smoke house, negotiate the streets of Safety City, and escape from strangers. They pointed to two instances of success: a girl used the lessons she learned at Safety City to escape from a man trying to lure her and friend into a car with an offer to “see his kitten.” The information she provided to police led to the man’s capture just 45 minutes later. Another boy used his bicycle to fend off an attack from a pit bull, as he’d learned to do in class.
The renovation will feature 56 new buildings, the addition of curbs & sidewalks to the streets, a classroom expansion, a two-story Survive Alive house for fire safety training, and storage. 17 lots have been sold to local businesses and 39 are still available. It’s hoped that the renovation will be completed by the end of September. For information, log onto www.limasafetycity.org.