Lancaster Farming. Saturday, Dec 13, 1975
54
Holiday safety tips
"T'wai the night before
Christmas and all through
the houac not a creature was
stirring, not even a
mouse ’’
Unfortunately, something
else was - a tiny spark, then a
flame which leaped from the
gaily decorated yule tree to
quickly become an inferno.
Santa had one less chimney
to struggle down and two
fewer children to enchant.
The holiday season is a
lime of beauty, anticipation,
excitement, love. Even the
neighborhood Scrooge can
manage a feeble smile, for
who can fail to be caught up
in the spirit 7 But instead of
joy, tragedy is the lot of too
many of us - fire, traffic
crashes, falls, kitchen ac
cidents and such pose a
special holiday threat.
Faulty Christmas lights,
dned-out trees, the trim
mings and wrappings are
good fire starters and
feeders. High holiday spirits
may be converted into high
consumption of bottled
spirits with the result that
public roads are loaded with
drivers who are likewise. In
mush of the nation, a Bing
Crosby-style White
Christmas brings not only
beauty and fun for the kids
but also slips, slides and
bone crunching falls for
many. (Instead of carols,
their song is Spike Jones’
“All I want for Christmas is
ny two front teeth .... ”)
Snow and ice also mean
winter driving woes.
The kitchen is a busy place
from Thanksgiving through
New Year’s. Burns, scalds,
cuts, shocks, collisions and
falls are the frequent kitchen
holiday dampeners.
Fortunately, most home
and holiday accidents can be
avoided with hardly a ripple
of inconvenience. In fact,
adding a bit of safety to the
holiday mu will help assure
a great -time for all, un
manned by injury or maybe
tragedy. Here are home and
holiday safety reminders we
hope you’ll pass along to
others, courtesy of the
Natmal Safety Council and
the U.S. Department of
Agriculture as part of their
ongoing safety information
program.
On the Road
Drive defensively and with
special caution; that is,
drive in a way to avoid
mishap regardless of the
mistakes of others and bad
road conditions.
Those who drink should
stay off the road. If a driver
has drunk too much, an
unimpaired person should do
the driving, arrange other
transportation, or put the
driver up for the night. Over
consumption of alcohol can
result in other mishaps. An
Intoxicated person is more
apt to slip and fall on ice
surfaces, stumble over
household obstacles or fall
down stairs. He is more
likely to set the place on fire
by dozing off while smoking,
dropping a lighted smoke or
match, or laying a smoke
down and forgetting where it
is.
Make sure your car is in
top condition. Keep windows
de-iced and de-fogged.
Leaking exhaust systems
are a special winter hazard if
the windows are rolled up
tight. How about your car’s
exhaust system? OK?
At Home
If little people are to visit,
check your place for hazards
that threaten kids. With tots,
make sure household
cleaning agents, pesticides,
medicants, sharp objects
and things they might put
into their mouths are safely
picked up or put away.
Dangling appliance cords
and protruding pot handles
are more “no-no’s.”
Youngsters at the climbing
stage can easily get into an
unlocked medicine cabinet
or clamber up on
something, then fall off.
Restrict toys and games to
areas out of household traffic
ways.
Check out electrical ap
pliances. If anything is
amiss, have it fixed.
Wipe up spills and tracked
in mud or snow to prevent
slips and falls.
Keep stairways and traffic
ways free of ice, snow and
clutter.
Outdoor lighting is im
portant. Can night visitors
safely see their way from
their cars to your front door?
Use only a sturdy step
ladder or step stool for
household climbing jobs.
Go carefully when
carrying heavy or bulky
items, especially up or down
stairs.
Use only a fresh Christmas
tree or a flame-resistant
artificial one. Place the tree
away from a fireplace or
other heat source, and away
frrap curtains and other
Qammables. Check out light
strings. Always turn off the
Pesticide instruction slated
at Garden Spot High School
By FaU of 1976 a law will
go into effect regulating the
application of restricted use
pesticides. Two types of
permits will be issued, either
a private or commercial
applicators license.
Although the specific
chemicals that will be
classified “restricted" have
not been named, a general
applicators course entitled
“Pest Management and
Environmental Quality” will
be offered to meet the
requirements to receive a
private applicators license.
The course, sponsored by
the Garden Spot Ag
Department, will be held on
three consecutive Tuesday
nights beginning January 6
and ending January 20 when
the licensing exam will be
given to all course par
ticipants. Each meeting will
be held from 7:30-9:30 in the
Garden Spot High School
Agriculture classroom. This
course will be open to all
interested persons in the
area.
It will be necessary,
however, to pre-register for
the course in order to receive
the licensing exam. An
excellent resource book goes
along with the course for
$6.00, which is recommended
but optional. The outline of
the course is based on the
content of the book and will
lights before retiring or
going out.
Wear shoes that give good
support and good traction.
On ice or snow, wear shoes
or boots that give the best
possible footing.
Best Wishes for a Happy
and Safe Holiday Season!
include such topics as
management of common
insects, weed control and
herbicides, plant disease
control, pesticide for
mulation and toxicity,
pesticide application
equipment and calibration,
safety, and federal and state
pesticide laws. In order to
sign up for this important
and valuable course, contact
Don Robinson at the
Vocational Agriculture
Department Office at 354-
5267. It is important to pre
register for the course by
December 31 so you may be
enrolled in the course and
sum
SiiaH
How Little Things Can
Really Mean A Lot
Sometimes the way to
solve big problems is to make
them smaller One good ex
ample is the use of micro
graphics (the science of re
ducing any piece of informa
tion to small images), which
touches the life of every
American in some manner
At the Poison Control
Center of the National In
stitutes of Health in Washing
ton D.C , a complete file of
all antidotes and treatments
for poisons is kept on micro
film. Doctors call from all
over the world and in seconds
a piece of microfilm can bo
retrieved that describes the
treatment and antidote of
any poison
TRY A
CLASSIFIED
get a copy of the exam.
If you plan to be able to
purchase restricted use
chemicals and spray or
apply them yourself, sign up
for the course today to
become a licensed private
pesticide applicator.
LOW INITIAL COST. FAST EASY
ERECTION. ALL STEEL LONG LIFE.
14' High Opening. Easy operating sliding doors.
• Two Widths 40 and 48 Minimum length 50 feet
• Additions to length in 25 sections, to whatever lengtl
you wish
• Multi-purpose building
• Optional accessories so you can have the building
just right for you
For a better Farm Building deal it's American.
C. DONALD COX
GENERAL CONTRACTOR
New Idea's Superpickers
) have a
nice weekend...
...lilt
up
your
ho« 4