The Stewards Of Safety And Flags

WAITSBURG - Two very important jobs will be in the hands of elementary-aged children this school year that provide for safety of other stu- dents and honor our country.

Last Monday, about 15 children attended safety patrol training for the coming school year where they donned or- ange vests and safely ushered their peers across the street and learned how to fold flags with local veterans at Waitsburg Elementary School.

"You have a very important job this year," said Margie Douglas, who will teach the intermediate grades 4-6.

Douglas told the room full of boys and girls that day they were going to learn from spe­cial guests how to execute their responsibilities this year.

"(Flag raising) is an impor­tant activity," she said. "I want to make sure you understand."

The students were led into the multi-purpose room at Waitsburg Elementary School to meet with local Waitsburg veterans Ivan Keve and Dorne Hall.

The guest speakers had three 3-foot by 5-foot flags and demonstrated to the kids how to fold a flag after taking it down for the day. Hall and Keve folded the flag in quarters so there's blue on both sides. Then, they folded it toward the open side, up into triangles and then tucked the last piece into a big triangle.

The room was quiet with concentration as the children, in groups of two, practiced folding and unfolding the flags, never letting them touch the ground.

Douglas said new flags have to be purchased for the school's flag pole about every year and a half because the wind is hard on the red, white and blue.

Keve and Hall have been coming out to Waitsburg El­ementary School for the past 10 to 15 years to show the younger children how to re­spectfully handle the flag.

"It's something they're go­ing to be needing throughout their lives - to respect and honor the flag," Keve said. "We appreciate being asked."

Both men have been part of the American Legion Post in town for more than 60 years, and Hall said they are trying to keep their hometown patriotic.

"A flag display is very im­portant no matter where you are in the United States," Hall said.

Following the flag train­ing, the students were given a presentation by Brian Bush, a deputy for the Walla Walla County Sheriff's Office, on how to be an all-star crossing guard before and after school hours. He laid out the rules, including being on time, and said what to do in case there is a traffic accident outside of the school.

After the presentation, the children tried on the orange vests and practiced ushering one another across the busy highway and waving to drivers they know.

"Safety is no. 1," Bush said. "You really have to pay atten­tion."