The Third Annual Salute to Safety is set for Saturday, Sept. 8, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at Clarkston Health Center.
The free event encourages safety and wellness throughout the community, and salutes local police, fire, and EMS personnel.
‘It’s a great opportunity for families to come out and say thank you to local police and fire fighters,? said Marie Bristow, director of community relations.
Activities will include bike rodeo, comprehensive child identification, smokehouse encounter, kids? safety relay, helmet giveaway, bike inspections, and car-seat inspections.
‘About 90 percent of car seats checked are incorrectly installed,? Bristow said.
Demonstrations and exhibits will include emergency vehicles, Haz-Mat, CPR, defibrillators, and choking prevention. Always popular is the water tower rescue, in which fire fighters demonstrate their climbing skills by scaling the blue water tower next to the health center.
Other activities include rock climbing, dunk tank, carnival games, therapy and rescue dogs, free gun locks, emergency preparedness, basic health screenings, facility tours, entertainment, raffles, and refreshments.
‘There is definitely something for everyone,? Bristow said.
Why so many activities?
‘Accidental injury is the number one killer of children 14 and under,? she said.
‘The good news is that education and other prevention efforts, such as Salute to Safety, are successfully impacting injury death rates.?
Donations from the event will be contributed to the Oakland County Sheriff Marine Division’s community safety programs for boating, hunting, off-road vehicles, and snowmobiling.
The event is coordinated by Clarkston Health Center and Sunrise Assisted Living of Clarkston, in cooperation with several community partners.
It will be held at Clarkston Health Center, 5625 Water Tower Place off Dixie Hwy., northwest of White Lake Road, next to the blue water tower.
For more information, call 248-620-4290.

Help save lives, break record

When Bernie Reuter of Clarkston pulled an injured diver from Lake Hamlin, he knew what to do.
‘I was a medic in the army and CPR trained,? Reuter said. ?(The diver) was blue from head to toe. My friend from the army and I worked on him for 45 minutes and revived him.?
He saved that man’s life in the incident 20 years ago. Just in case, he plans to keep his lifesaving skills sharp, and help set a world record, at the World’s Record CPR Challenge Sept. 29 at Oakland University.
‘CPR guidelines have changed drastically even since a year ago,? said organizer Marie Bristow of Clarkston Health Center. ‘It’s a great opportunity to get caught up.?
Current GuinessWorld’s Record is 2,308 people trained in CPT in one day, set at the St. John Ambulance Center in Australia on June 28, 2006.
The record-breaking attempt will be held Sept. 29 in two-hour sessions, starting at 6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 a.m., and 2 p.m. Registration is free, 11 years old and older.
Register at www.ocmca.org/cpr, or call 248-858-8020 ext. 5180.