Hutterite students take crash course on safety
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About 320 students from 13 different Hutterite communities came together on Friday at Rolling Acres Colony near Eden for Colony Safety Day.
The annual event, which moves around Manitoba colonies, has been running for more than 20 years.
This year it included K-12 students from Cool Spring, Deerboine, Delta, Grass River, Hillside, Parkview, Pine Creek, Plainview, Riverside, Sprucewood, Twilight, Westview and Rolling Acres colonies.
Students climb out of a training trailer while learning about fire safety from members of the Eden Fire Department during Colony Safety Day at Rolling Acres Hutterite Colony near Eden on Friday. About 320 students from 13 different Hutterite communities attended the annual event. (Photos by Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)
The event featured 15 stations for groups of students to cycle through, including but not limited to safety around farm equipment, chemicals and guns, water safety and online safety.
Co-ordinator David Gross of Sommerfeld Colony spoke about the importance of the event at the start of the day, before introducing keynote speaker, Benjamin Maendel of New Rosedale Colony.
Maendel gave an emotional account of when his 16-year-old son lost a foot last September after accidentally stepping into a running grain bin auger.
Speaking about colony injuries and fatalities, Rolling Acres Minister Johnny Hofer said, “We need to learn from them so they don’t happen again.”
The goal of the event is to drastically reduce injuries on colonies, including farming and machinery injuries and drownings.
Young Hutterite students try on goggles that mimic different levels of impairment during Colony Safety Day at Rolling Acres Hutterite Colony near Eden on Friday.
Volunteers from a variety of Hutterite colonies, Eden Fire Department, Neepawa RCMP and Richardson Pioneer led 20-minute sessions for groups cycling through all the stations. The event also included a lunch for all the participants and volunteers.
» tsmith@brandonsun.com
Students climb off of the Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team search and rescue boat while learning about water safety from HEART team members. The Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team is based out of Oak Bluff Colony and has been called out to water searches throughout the country.
Smoke fills the fire safety training trailer as Hutterite participants learn about fire safety from members of the Eden Fire Department.
Jeremy Hofer of Lakeside Colony tells children about how he lost his foot in a grain auger 17 years ago. Hofer was 21 at the time and now wears a prosthetic on his lower left leg.
Savanna Maendel with Oak Bluff Colony talks about water safety during the event. Maendel is a support member for the Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team.
Kevin Hofer with Airport Colony talks about grain safety, one of 15 different stations that more than 300 students cycled through during the day. Groups would switch stations every 20 minutes and had a break for lunch.