2009 Bicycle Safety Program Huge Success

IRONWOOD, MI - Saturday, June 20, 2009 - The Ironwood Public Safety Department hosted the 2009 Bicycle Safety Program today from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. This long-standing tradition has been an annual event for years. IPSD Officer Matt Sterbenz, who currently directs the program, showed the Chronicle a bicycle registration card dating back to 1947. He said he was pretty sure the program was initiated even before that.

Each year, the community comes together and donates money and prizes for the program. This year, even with the downturn in the economy, is no exception. The box below features a list of sponsors for this years program:

A sizable crowd turned out for the free bicycle registration; free prizes; free helmets; free snacks provided by the American Legion; the free bicycle tune-ups donated by the Hobby Wheel; and the free Bicycle Safety instruction.

Nearly the entire Ironwood Public Safety Department staff was on-hand (both on-duty and off-duty officers) to make today's event a success. Volunteers helped kids register their bikes and sign up to watch the Bicycle Safety video. The video showed kids the importance of wearing a helmet and some very important safety practices to follow when riding. Officers showed kids how to signal turns and stops with hand gestures. After the video, officers gave out free bike helmets to kids that didn't have them. Throughout the day, they also helped kids adjust their helmets and they showed kids the "inner workings" of the police and fire operations.

Once everybody went through the course, thirty brand new bikes were raffled off to kids who attended. Winners of the 3 large boy's bikes were: Jason Johnson; Jake Colassaco; and Kyle Avery. Winners of the 3 large girl's bikes were: Samantha Baumann; Megan Volaski; and Kaylan Volaski. The winners of 4 medium boy's bikes were: Tommy Lundin; Mark Vallone; Nick Niemi; and Ian Bentley. Clover Steva; Shawna Jackson; Haley Rhenlund; and Brittany Colassaco won the four medium girl's bikes. Five small boy's bikes were given away to: Andrew Vallone; Jaiden Lyons; Ryan Allen; Von Lyons; and Alex Bale. Melissa Digiorgio; Ava Gouine; Tia Lahti; Abagail Baldowin; Nicole Digiorgio; Brea Barto; and Gracie Houtari won the seven small girl's bikes. The single extra-small boy's bike was won by Zakery Edyvean. Three extra-small girl's bikes were awarded to Amanda Dehaven-Delvis; Reese Munn; and Haley Tull.

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