Manassas museums 10/25/00

Kids

By

Staff

Woodbridge at 6:30 tonight in the auditorium.

Safe Kids is a national organization, made up of nearly 300 local coalitions,

dedicated to the prevention of unintentional childhood deaths and injuries.

Dr. Raul Rodriguez, chairman of the local coalition, said preventable

injuries such as motor vehicle crashes, fires, burns, scalds, drownings,

falls and sports-related head traumas, are the leading killers of children

14 and under in the country.

The annual meeting will highlight some of the coalition’s main initiatives

as well as recognize board members and volunteers. One of the programs that

Safe Kids helps to sponsor is “Make the Right Call,” which recognizes

children who have dialed 911 in an emergency situation.

During the meeting four children will be honored:

· Jackie, 6. On Oct. 6, 2000, she was home alone with her mother

and called 911 because her mother, who was 37 weeks pregnant, had become

ill. Jackie’s mother, who had gestational diabetes, was also on medication

for treatment of bronchitis. Jackie did an excellent job of following her

instincts that told her that her mother needed help. Rescue units responded

to give first aid.

· Jennifer, 8. On Dec. 13, 2000, Jennifer was alone with her

mother and called 911 because she had noticed that her mother was “acting

strange and talking funny.” Jennifer’s mother, who is a diagnosed diabetic,

was experiencing symptoms of low blood sugar and was unconscious when rescue

units arrived and revived her.

· Stephanie, 7. On Jan. 22, Stephanie and her siblings were home

with their mother who had begun bleeding heavily from an injury to her nose.

Stephanie called 911 and cared for her mother until rescue units arrived

on the scene. Stephanie also provided valuable information to the call takers

on how to contact her father and took care of her siblings until her father

arrived home.

· Tiffany, 9. On Jan. 27, 2000, Tiffany was at home with her

mother and younger brother when her mother became sick with a high fever

and was unable to call for help. Tiffany took over and called 911 herself,

informing the call takers of her mothers’s condition. Tiffany followed directions

in caring for her mother until rescue units arrived.

Snow contingency date is March 12.

Michael Lythgoe of Gainesville will be one of three people to give a

poetry reading at the Takoma Park Branch Library on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

The readings by local poets will continue each Tuesday for the next

three months.

Through the years, Lythgoe has had many of his poems published in periodicals.