Kindergarteners through fifth graders from Newell Elementary School gathered excitedly for a Bike Rodeo on Thursday, May 8. Bike Rodeos are an educational community outreach activity supported by “Don’t Thump Your Melon,” a South Dakota EMS for Children program. They constitute an obstacle course that young bike riders take on after completing a series of bicycle safety courses, plus a bicycle safety inspection and helmet fitting.
Over the past few weeks, local EMS team members taught eight different safety skill stations to the kids during P.E. classes in the gym. These stations included proper mounting and dismounting; circling and changing direction; straight line control; weaving and maneuvering; stopping ability; short radius turning; slow speed control; and hand signals.
Thanks to Sherry Hocking, Director of the Newell Ambulance Service, 104 total free helmets were provided to students by South Dakota EMS for Children. “I applied to South Dakota EMS for Children and I had to state why—they usually give 24 helmets is about all they’ll give somebody—and so I had to state why I was asking for 104 helmets,” Hocking said.
“We’ve really stressed to the kids it’s important not to thump your melon. It’s very important not to be riding a bike without a helmet on. That’s the heaviest part of their body, and it’s important because their brain moves when they hit it. It’s dangerous out on the roads,” Hocking explained.
Newell EMS partnered with the W.I.T. Coalition and the Butte County Sherriff’s Office as well as the Department of Transportation for the event. The Newell Ambulance Service handed out the free helmets and provided helmet fittings for every student; the W.I.T. Coalition handed out drawstring bags with prevention and education items along with a flier about the “Don’t Thump Your Melon” campaign in honor of National Prevention Week; and D.O.T. members helped set up the obstacle course on 4th Street. The Butte County Sheriff’s Office inspected each bike for safety using criteria that checked every part of the bicycles, from handle bars to brakes.
Local community members were also a vital help, as a total of 11 bikes were donated for those who did not own one. “We put on Facebook—because there were like, eight kids that didn’t have a bike—so we put on Facebook, if anybody has bikes laying around that they don’t want, and they contacted us and donated bikes,” said Sabrina Harmon of the W.I.T. Coalition. Kurt Hocking of the Newell Ambulance Service took parts from several bikes to make safe, useable bikes for those in need.
“We’re pretty proud of working with the community and doing these things for the kids,” said Harmon.
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