Tobacco Valley Bike Safety Rodeo
Every spring, Tobacco Valley's law enforcement makes sure every child in town on a bike has a helmet. Montana Highway Patrol Neil Duram heads up the effort, arranging a date for the event, ordering helmets and collecting donations from generous community businesses On the appointed day, Neil, along with local police and the county sheriff, gather at the Eureka middle school parking lot. Community volunteers stop by to help. A course is laid out to see how well smaller children manage their bikes on curves and if they are able to stop quickly. Bikes are examined to make sure they are in good working condition. Every young person who shows up under the age of 18 is measured for a bicycle helmet that fits properly. And of course there are healthy treats for all once the work has been done.
This year the event in Eureka is on May 2 after school gets out. It usually runs until about 5:00 pm.
Later in May, Neil and his colleagues take the Bike Safety Rodeo to the smaller schools in Fortine, Trego and the West Kootenai. They know what a difference a good helmet can make if a child is involved in an accident when riding a bike.
Help get the word out so that the children you know know that they are eligible for a cool free helmet and a chance to hang with our cops. This is definitely a great program for everyone involved.
About the Author: Rita Collins. I am a believer in the power of community and for now I call the Tobacco Valley home. I have lived in nine states and three counties and this community here amazes me - how people reach out to neighbors and even travelers. I've never lived in a place that demonstrates people caring for each other so well. And I've never lived in a place that has such a high percentage of talented musicians and artists. I work with the the Sunburst Community Service Foundation, a nonprofit that began in Eureka twenty years ago and now serves numerous communities in western Montana. And I just started a new business, St. Rita's Amazing Traveling Bookstore and Textual Apothecary. I never could have imagined life being this exciting in my sixth decade.
