Child Safety Seats

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- Pennsylvania State Police will be checking child safety seats for proper installation and use as part of National Child Passenger Safety Week. Trained technicians will be doing inspections from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at the Summit Health Center, 757 Norland Ave. Children up to age 8 must be restrained in a safety seat, a news release stated. For more information about the inspections, call 717-264-5161. Also, the Franklin County (Pa.)

By MARLO BARNHART Staff Writer Last summer, Adam Barnhart's parents were all ready to bring him home from the hospital in a body cast when they realized there were no child safety seats for his special needs. "I was worried all the way home, just 2 1/2 miles," said Jo Ellen Barnhart, mother of the two-year-old boy. A telephone call to the Easter Seal Society in Washington County resulted in a special needs' seat being loaned to the family while Adam was in his cast.

Starting Thursday, child safety seat checkpoints will be available through the Maryland State Police for anyone wanting to make sure they have youngsters properly restrained in their vehicles. "We are participating in the Chief's Challenge, a nationwide effort by law enforcement to encourage the use of seatbelts and child safety seats," said Lt. Bruce Smith, commander of the Maryland State Police barracks at Hagerstown. Thursday's checkpoint will be at the barracks on Col. Henry Kyd Douglas Drive from 4 to 6 p.m. The barracks also will be the site of three additional checkpoints - April 28 and May 3 from 8 to 10 a.m.; and May 21 from 4 to 6 p.m. In addition, checkpoints will be available May 26 from 8 a.m. to noon at Children's Village of Washington County on Mount Aetna Road and on May 28 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Hancock's Widmeyer Park.

This is Child Passenger Safety Week By MARLO BARNHART marlob@herald-mail.com Area police and health officials will emphasize the use of child safety seats during Child Passenger Safety Week, Feb. 10-16. Proper installation and use of child safety seats will be demonstrated by Washington County Sheriff's deputies on Monday and Thursday from 7 to 9 a.m. at Boonsboro Elementary School at 5 Campus Ave. Deputies will also be stationed at Sharpsburg Elementary School at 17525 Shepherdstown Pike on Tuesday and Wednesday from 7 to 9 a.m. to show parents how to use the seats to prevent injuries to their children in an accident.

By MARLO BARNHART Staff Writer Community Rescue Service takes its mission of protecting children very seriously. And now the CRS ambulances are equipped to better serve those young patients. Thanks to Safe Kids of Washington County, all CRS ambulances are now equipped with five-point child safety seats, according to Brent Bankson, a CRS paramedic. The upgrade came about when Bankson called Safe Kids director Beth Kirkpatrick at Washington County Hospital. "Brent called and said he was interested in the work of Safe Kids of Washington County," Kirkpatrick said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Children can be fingerprinted and adults can have their child safety seats inspected by professionals Saturday at a family safety awareness event at Jennings Chevrolet, Cadillac, Oldsmobile in Chambersburg. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., volunteers from the South-Central Pennsylvania Highway Safety Committee will inspect child sheets and show people how to install them in their own car. The Chambersburg Fire Department will be on hand to fingerprint and photograph children for identification and will pass out educational safety literature.

Pennsylvania State Police reported that seven people were killed in crashes during the four-day Fourth of July holiday, a slight decrease from a year ago. WHTM-TV reported on its website Tuesday that  State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan said 723 crashes were investigated, 358 motorists were arrested for driving under the influence and 519 people were cited for not wearing seat belts. State police also issued 7,007 speeding citations, along with 103 citations to motorists for not securing their children in child safety seats.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - If a child safety seat moves more than one inch from side to side, if the harness does not seem to fit properly or if parents simply want to ensure their child's seat is installed correctly, they can come to a clinic Friday. Linda Heflin, assistant coordinator for the Eastern Panhandle Safe Community Program, said she has examined several child safety seats in people's cars. "Most of the time, when they come in, they are not in correct," she said.

Children escape serious injury in Pa. crash CHAMBERSBURG, Pa - Two children secured in child safety seats escaped serious injury early Saturday when the car they were riding in ran off Pa. 696 and crashed into a concrete wall, Pennsylvania State Police said. The driver, Tyson Loy, age unknown, of Shippensburg, Pa., was driving a 1990 Volkswagen at 8:20 a.m. when he apparently fell asleep at the wheel, police said. A 2-year-old girl was unhurt while an 8-month-old boy received minor injuries.

Tips for holiday driving The American Automobile Association offers the following safety tips for motorists over the holiday weekend: -- Make sure everyone in the vehicle is buckled up and seated in the proper position while on the road. -- In vehicles with air bags, drivers should sit at least 12 inches away from the steering wheel while maintaining a comfortable position that allows proper control on the vehicle. -- Front-seat passengers should sit as far back from the dashboard as possible.

Pennsylvania State Police reported that seven people were killed in crashes during the four-day Fourth of July holiday, a slight decrease from a year ago. WHTM-TV reported on its website Tuesday that  State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan said 723 crashes were investigated, 358 motorists were arrested for driving under the influence and 519 people were cited for not wearing seat belts. State police also issued 7,007 speeding citations, along with 103 citations to motorists for not securing their children in child safety seats.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- Pennsylvania State Police will be checking child safety seats for proper installation and use as part of National Child Passenger Safety Week. Trained technicians will be doing inspections from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at the Summit Health Center, 757 Norland Ave. Children up to age 8 must be restrained in a safety seat, a news release stated. For more information about the inspections, call 717-264-5161. Also, the Franklin County (Pa.)

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- A new service provided by the Washington Township Police Department can send e-mails and text messages about missing persons, traffic tie-ups, police activity and road closings. Free registration is required at www.nixle.com . Users are prompted to register with an e-mail address, and they can add a cell phone number for text messages. "Its uses are virtually unlimited in the information we can provide," Police Chief Barry Keller said. He said the service would have been helpful during the April 27 mountain fire near Rouzerville, Pa. Fire officials initially thought part of the Ashton Heights mobile home park would have to be evacuated, and Keller said residents could have been kept abreast of the situation through nixle.

Beginning Monday, the State of Maryland will begin enforcing new requirements concerning child passenger safety. Any child younger than 8 years old will be required to be secured in a federally approved child safety seat, unless the child is 4 feet 9 inches or taller, or weighs more than 65 pounds, according to a prepared release from the State Highway Administration. The new law also states that a person may not transport a child younger than 16 years old unless the child is secured in a safety seat or seat belt.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Three children were injured early Sunday when their father wrecked a Chevrolet Astro in which they were riding while he allegedly was driving under the influence of alcohol, according to Berkeley County Magistrate Court records. Sabino Antonio Gonzalez, of 575 Myers Bridge Road in Berkeley County, was in Eastern Regional Jail on Tuesday after being arraigned on charges of DUI third offense, child neglect with injury, improper registration, no insurance and false information to a police officer, according to court and jail records.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Children dashed around the Waynesboro Area YMCA on Saturday, grabbing up freebies including pencils and stickers and, organizers hoped, bits of wisdom. For the ninth time, Waynesboro joined other YMCAs across the country in celebrating Healthy Kids Day with free activities promoting healthy lifestyles and activities. Amidst its ongoing construction effort, the Waynesboro Area YMCA offered an inflatable game, food, balloon animals made by clowns and giveaways at information booths.

Community Rescue Service will conduct child safety seat checks Friday from 1 to 7 p.m. at Ed's Mobile Home Supply II, 11912 Greencastle Pike, Hagerstown. Williamsport Volunteer Fire Department and the Williamsport Volunteer Ambulance Service Inc. representatives will be on hand. The ambulance and rescue workers will be at the business during its open house.

W.Va. man charged in pharmacy break-in HEDGESVILLE, W.Va. - One person was arrested Friday in connection with a pharmacy break-in that happened more than a year ago. Brandon Lee Young, 21, of Martinsburg, W.Va., was charged with one count of breaking and entering after turning himself in to officers with the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department, Cpl. B.F. Hall said. Young was charged with breaking into Reed's Pharmacy in Hedgesville on May 15, 2003. Hall said two men, wearing masks, broke the store's front door and ransacked the pharmacy before leaving with a large amount of prescription medication.

gregs@herald-mail.com Maryland State Police at the Hagerstown barracks are putting extra resources toward seat-belt law enforcement through Thanksgiving in a program that began Monday. The "Click It or Ticket" campaign is part of local State Police efforts to target aggressive driving during the holiday, said Capt. Rob Turano of the Hagerstown barracks. The seat-belt efforts are part a national movement over the holiday weekend to target young drivers with the message of the importance of using seat belts, according to a news release.