SAFE team earns state honor

Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Fort Scott High School students Katie Jo Hull and Ashton Mason accepted this trophy on behalf of the FSHS S.A.F.E. Team during the Kansas Department of Transportation's 18th Annual Safety Conference on Tuesday in Topeka.(Angelique McNaughton/Tribune)

The Kansas Department of Transportation recently honored the Fort Scott High School Seatbelts Are For Everyone Team.

Two FSHS students, Katie Jo Hull and Ashton Mason, traveled to Topeka last week and accepted the 2012 SAFE Teacher's Pet award on behalf of the 15 team members who could not be present.

State S.A.F.E. Coordinator Laura Moore said the award signifies the FSHS team's outstanding ability to notify her of the programs' current activities and the success of those outreach efforts.

"In the speech I said something about how they constantly fill my in-box with pictures and notifications of their successes and programs," Moore said in a phone interview.

The award was handed out during KDOT's 18th Annual Safety Conference. About 450 people attended the conference, including about 130 S.A.F.E. Team members. ]Only 10 awards were given to the 80 S.A.F.E. teams representing 29 different counties across the state.

Throughout the two-day conference, Hull and Mason participated in various educational sessions with other students, which included information ranging from creating public service announcements to conducting research regarding state seatbelt use data.

In just its second year at FSHS, S.A.F.E. is a four-year-old law enforcement program that is student-driven and aims to increase teen restraint compliance through positive rewards and enforcement. Sponsored by KDOT, AAA Kansas Traffic Safety Fund, Kansas Trauma Regions, Kansas Department of Health and Environment and State Farm, the program increased seal belt use in participating schools by 14 percent last year. Locally, the FSHS S.A.F.E. Team provides monthly educational efforts about traffic safety including handouts, fliers, assemblies, videos and other activities.

Fort Scott Police Department School Resource Office and FSHS S.A.F.E Coordinator Toby Nighswonger said the students involved in the program are dedicated and work hard.

Speaking on behalf of the students, Nighswonger said they enjoyed getting the award. "The kids loved it," he said. "I mean if we're considered a teacher's pet at the state level... We're glad to have it."