Safety first!

With the summer break a few short months away, the Sidney Police Department partnered with the First United Methodist Church to sponsor a bike rodeo last Saturday at Legion Park, giving children an opportunity to receive free safety gear and have their bicycle checked for mechanical issues.

"It's important for kids to know about bike safety because they are on the road with other vehicles," SPD Officer Jennifer Woodis said. "And they need to realize that they should be observant of the other vehicles as much as possible. Nobody wants to deal with a kid getting hit."

Woodis asked that children remember when riding their bicycles that they should go with traffic, use arm signals and be observant of their surroundings by looking side-to-side. She also said bicycles are not for sidewalk use.

"They can take their bikes on the trails here (at the park), which is really nice," she said.

During the rodeo, children were able to have their bicycles repaired by volunteers from the First United Methodist Church, and participated in an obstacle course where they were challenged to practice safe riding.

Attendees were also provided materials that gave them examples of hand signals and other safety tips, as well as safety gear, during the rodeo.

"We have helmets we are giving away," Woodis said. "We fit it for them to make sure they are fitted right. We prefer that kids wear helmets because even the smallest fall can be bad. I am a brain trauma survivor myself."

Woodis said the police department also registered bicycles during the rodeo.

"So if it's lost or stolen, we know who to give it back to," she said.

James Harmon, a member of First United Methodist Church's mission board, said the hope is to make the bike rodeo an annual event at Legion Park.

"This is just the start," Harmon said. "Hopefully, we'll keep getting bigger and bigger as we move forward."