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NEWS |
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Safety conference
highlights agriculture |
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By Mary Baxter,
Voice of the Farmer Staff |
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Denise Pockele
(left), Dave Wood and Kathy Tomecek say
agricultural safe practices will be one of the
central themes at a national Safe Communities
conference to take place in Chatham October 1-3.
(Voice of the Farmer photo: Mary Baxter) |
CHATHAM - Chatham-Kent
organizers of a national conference on safety
are hoping the event will generate some local
strategies on how to promote safe workplace
practices for the agricultural community. The
development of a workplace injury prevention
program for agribusiness as well as taking the
first steps towards building safety resources
for the small farmer are among the goals Denise
Pockele and Kathy Tomecek, co-chairs of
Chatham-Kent Safe Communities Coalition, said
they would like to achieve by the end of the
Safe Communities conference. ³Iım hoping, that
if anything comes out of this, that we can start
doing some networking and advocacy for the small
farmer and finding the information they need to
make their operations safe,² said Tomecek during
an August 21 press conference. To this end, the
three-day conference, to be held October 1 to 3
at the Wheels Inn in Chatham, will feature
workshops by Christi Cooper, an environmental
health and safety specialist from the University
of Guelph, geared towards the agricultural
industry. Cooper will discuss how recent changes
to the provincial Occupational Health and Safety
Act will apply to farming operations and also
how to develop an health and safety policy and
program on a farming operation. Iowa-based
Marilyn Adams, the founder of Farm Safety 4 Just
Kids will be one of the conferenceıs keynote
speakers. In 1986, Adamsı 11-year-old son died
when he was suffocated by shelled corn in a
gravity flow wagon. The next year, Adams
established the organization . It now boasts
nearly 140 chapters in communities across the
U.S. and Canada. Referring to Chatham-Kentıs
agricultural heritage, Pockele said the
conferenceıs theme will be ³honour our roots and
celebrate our future.² The organizers anticipate
about 200 delegates will travel to Chatham-Kent
for the conference. Many of those will be injury
prevention practitioners such as public health
unit staff, police, firefighters, emergency
medical services personnel, representatives of
workplaces with occupational health and safety
programs, organizations, representatives of
several provincial government ministries. ³
Anybody thatıs interested in some type of injury
prevention depending on whatever their
profession is,² said Pockele. The conference is
open to the public, who have the options of
attending the entire event, one day or a single
session. The 10th anniversary of the founding of
the national Safe Communities Foundation will
also be celebrated. ³The whole concept is based
on a World Health Organization model of injury
prevention at a grassroots community level,²
Pockele said. Locally, the coalition has helped
put into place programs addressing subjects such
as seniorsı falls prevention, young workersı
injury prevention, road safety and employer
health and safety. Partners range from the
Chatham-Kent public health unit and police to
East Side Pride, Chatham-Kent Childrenıs Safety
Village, the Red Cross and Block Parents.
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Chatham-Kent Safe Communities Coalition provides
$5000.00 for Injury Prevention Programs |
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On
Monday, May 2, 2005, Chatham-Kent Safe
Communities Partnership Program celebrated the
success of six projects that received funding to
support programs and activities to promote
injury prevention. |
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The six
projects that received funding: |
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Community Policing/Ridgetown
Optimist Bicycle Rodeo
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J.G. Taylor Community
Centre, Inc. Cycle Safe Program
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Industrial Accident
Prevention Association LINK Program
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R-U Safe C-K Restraint
System Safety and Railway Safety Program
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Chatham-Kent Workplace
Wellness Resource Project
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Suicide Prevention
Advertising Campaign
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One
injury in our community is one too many,
injuries are predictable and preventable and by
working together we can make Chatham-Kent the
safest place to live, learn, work and play. |
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