The Chief Asks Halt To Tragic Accident Toll

Our Community Has Had 14 Unnatural Deaths During Past Year
By DAVID BURNS Chief of the Culver-Union Township Fire Department

During the past 12 months the Culver-Union Towns hi p community has suffered more than a normal amount of unfortunate incidents.

These accidents of various kinds include fires, automobile, drowning, construction, and others. Our loss of life in the past year has reached an all-time high to say nothing of the loss of property, time, and convenience.

The lives of 14 persons were taken by accidents in our small community in the short space of one year's time. This includes the seven members of one family who perished in the horrible Hibbard fire.

For an area of this size this figure is entirely too high.

The firemen are most concerned about this situation and are eager to do something about it.

Firemen are always loyal and devoted to duty regardless of whether they are of the volunteer or salaried type. Nevertheless it cannot be denied that some of their duties are most undesirable and in some cases almost unbearable.

At this particular time I want to encourage every person to give very serious consideration to the subject of safety in the Culver community with the hope of much improvement during the coming year.

This subject deserves more than just reading this article and then forgetting it and doing nothing about it until the next tragedy becomes a news item.

The head of every family should insist upon a discussion on the subject and to endeavor to establish a safety program for the family and see that it is faithfully carried out.

Every member of the family should be delegated the responsibility of looking for hazardous conditions, both within the home and elsewhere in the community, and report them to the proper authorities for corrective action.

Ideas from young and old will always be welcomed by firemen and other officials and immediate action is pledged on my part.

Faulty furnace pipes. poor wiring, a missing stop sign, a burned-out street light, hazardous conditions at school, on streets, and in the stores, or any unsafe operation of any kind should be noted by the public and brought to the immediate attention of the proper authorities.

I would like to encourage The Culver Citizen to actively promulgate such reports and continuously impress upon the minds of the general public at Culver the seriousness of this problem.

Small Town, U.S.A. could very well assist in this safety campaign for our community.

The only way to prevent accidents and tragedy is to remove the cause.

This can be accomplished only by the united and concerted effort of every citizen not just for one day or one week but all the time.

Culver cannot afford to lose a life a month this coming year!

Will every one cooperate in this movement and help improve our safety record at Culver?

DAVE BURNS