No Title 1009

Dollar Corvette tours
Plan now to tour the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green next month and it will only cost $1 a person. With the special Dollar Days offer, residents will only have to present a Kentucky driver’s license to receive the discount; children will be admitted for the special $1 price when accompanying adults present their Kentucky ID. Executive Director Wendell Strode says Dollar Days is the museum’s way of thanking regional friends and supporters during the past 10 years. The museum is open daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Central Time, and is located at Exit 28 from I-65 in Bowling Green. For more info, visit www.corvettemuseum.com or phone (800) 538-3883.

Farm kids safety
Children and adolescents are injured or killed in farm incidents every year. Following basic farm safety practices could have prevented many of these tragic incidents.

“Agricultural studies show that an estimated 20,000 youth have serious, long-term injuries, and more than 100 children die in farm-related tragedies each year,” says Larry Piercy, Extension agricultural health and safety specialist with the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture.

In Kentucky, 13 people ages 9 through 19 years were killed while working in agricultural industries from 1994 through 2003, says Terry Bunn, a project manager with the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center.

“Many people think farm incidents are inevitable, but they are preventable when children and adults know how to be safe on the farm,” Piercy says. “Parents should thoroughly train children in safe farm practices, enforce all safety rules with consequences, and set a good example of what to do, and not do, to prevent incidents.”

Farm children are especially vulnerable to injuries because the home and workplace are combined. Farm visitors are often not aware of potential dangers. Young children are naturally curious; older ones may want to impress their parents or peers. Although a task may appear to be age-appropriate, some children may not have the size, strength, coordination, and maturity to safely handle the job.

“To reduce incidents, identify farm hazards and find ways to deal with them,” Piercy says. “Until children are old enough to safely help around the farm, do not allow them in areas where work is under way. Know where young children are at all times, and be sure to supervise the younger ones. It is a good idea to carefully plan a ‘safe play area’ with limited exposure to agricultural work hazards.”

Piercy says studies show some of the most dangerous things around farms are equipment and tools, especially tractors, livestock, all-terrain vehicles, chemicals (pesticides, fertilizer, fuels, paint, and oils), and structures such as grain bins, silos, hay lofts, animal pens, ponds, and manure pits.

Farm machinery, especially tractors without roll-over protective structures, is a leading cause of fatalities, accounting for 30 percent of those among children below 5 years. Extra riders, often children, fall off and are run over. Other run-over incidents involve unseen bystanders, such as small children.
—Ellen Brightwell, UK Extension

Health in Hillsboro
A small northeastern Kentucky community is banding together to encourage healthier lifestyles for its residents.

Get Healthy Hillsboro is aimed at people of all ages and is a part of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture’s Health Education Through Extension Leadership initiative.

“We wanted to focus on a small community in our county,” says Donna Fryman, UK Extension agent for family and consumer sciences in Fleming County. “Hillsboro is a close-knit community and they are away from the main county seat, so a lot of the county activities are not available to them. We thought we’d take something to them so they didn’t have to travel. We’ve been overwhelmed by the participation.”

Get Healthy Hillsboro is a community-wide program that includes nutrition and aerobic classes, walking programs for adults and school children, and pedometers for anyone enrolled in the program. About 140 people are involved in learning how to change their lifestyles to incorporate healthy choices.

“I had already been walking for about a year and a half,” says Hillsboro resident Connie Saunders. “I had some good success with it, so I decided to take the nutrition classes and they have been wonderful. Even though I’d read about correct portions and serving sizes before, this was a great reinforcement.”

Fryman teaches nutrition classes in a local church basement, and teaches adults and children about healthy food choices and serving sizes.

“We’re halfway through the program and folks are already reporting they’ve lost inches and pounds,” she says. “They’ve learned so much and changed the way they’re eating. We want them to practice a healthier lifestyle and we’re giving them tools to do that. I’ve been excited because they are excited.”
—Aimee Heald-Nielson, UK Extension