The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

HE ONTARIO SAFETY CONFERENCE brings together a selected group of publicv spirited farm people who have but one ‘bject in viewâ€"the focusing of attention on meet- .ixg the farm accident problem,“ said the Hon. x. . A. Goodfellow, Ontario Minister of Agriculâ€" e in his welcome to the delegates. The Minister pressed his gratification at the recent report howing that there has been some reduction in .'_ e number of acidents “that for too long have can taking a heavy toll of our rural manpower nd entailing a great deal of suffering and eco- omic loss.“ He felt confident that the safety councils would create additional support from a ral groups in accident prevention and the de- velopment of safety programmes. Dr. H. W. Caldwell of the Ontario Agricul- tural College told the conference that education for safety must work toward both a change in ractices and a change in environment. The good extension worker will learn about local conditions and local events from the peOple and he will try to make the people aware of their needs. Leaders will accomplish most by a democratic approach, consulting with people about their problems and working with them rather than superimposing a programme. At the same time a safety campaign must be aggressive, taking an offensive in the preveniton of accidents, not waiting for them to happen. To get the support of the people it is important to have their participation, to give them a part in planning the programme and in deciding how to carry it out. Not only farm people but the clergy, bankers, merchants and others should be included in the campaign. To« gether they can decide on the programme and how to carry it back to the people through lay leaders. County Action Programmes Panels of men and women from the Farm Safety Councils of Waterloo, Halton and Dundas counties, told how they had carried on pro- grammes of education and action for farm safety. In Waterloo they worked through the school sections rather than through organizations hoping to reach every family; and as the project was for the benefit of all the people, they Went to the township councils for financial help. They got permission from school authorities to have poster competitions in the schools, the agriculâ€" tural representative visiting the schools and ex- plaining the plan to the children. They prepared safety kits and distributed them to the homes of the county, each kit containing a safety book- let, cards of Do’s and Don'ts to hang in the house and the barn, and for the children a large ‘ card with a picture containing sixty-two things likely to cause accidents. They had safety ex- hibits at fair demonstrations on fighting Brass fires and at the Junior Farmers” barbecue a fire- fighting demonstration with a fire department taking part . . . After a fatal accident, when SUMMER I96I Ontario Safety Conference a little boy getting off a school bus was struck by a car, the Safety Council working with the trustees and ratepayers of the county got a reguâ€" lation passed requiring traffic to stop when either meeting or passing an unloading school bus. Halton's Safety Council has representatives from the Federation of Agriculture, the Women‘s In» stitutes. Junior Farmers, Junior Institutes, Co- operative Medical Services. Cattle Breeders and Field Corps Associations and Fair Boards. At an evening when the Junior Farmers entertained their parents, safety hazards were set up in a barn and everyone took part in a contest to see who could find the most of these. First Aid kits (given “free” by the Reader’s Digest) were dis- tributedâ€"some of them handed out at the fall fair. With the help of the local weekly paper, accidentsâ€"falls, fires, motor accidents â€" were faked and photographed to use in safety exhibits at a fair. At present the council is working with the Fire Chief to map out areas in the county for service by different fire departments. In Dundas county the Safety Council asked the Federation of Agriculture to hold a meeting to organize the county for a safety campaign; the Women‘s Institutes were invited to have representation on the council; and committees of men, women and young people Were set up to cover the county. Through an affiliation fee, the Women's Institutes raised $900 to help with ex- penses. A Safety Quiz was sent to the Women‘s Institutes to use at meetings in the hope of directing attention to safety hazards. The council published a series of safety advertisements in the local papers, one of which read: “One of these days a Dundas county child will die because he was allowed to ride on a tractor.“ At a safety banquet. 5,000 safety place mats were given away. Pamphlets on accidents in the county were distributed. 4H Club members were asked to write essays on safety for a competition and everyone was invited to name a safety hazard on the road in their area. Women’s Institutes Projects Mrs. L. G. Lymburner, F.W.I.O. President, speaking for the Women's Institutes of the prov- ince. explained that the Institutes did not under- take a safety programme of their own last year because many branches were represented on their local Safety Councils and they believed they could serve the cause best by working with these groups. At the same time it was felt that every woman should become pcrsonnaly involved in the crusade for safety. so the F.W.I.O. Board asked the women to fill out a questionnaire and from these replies the Convener of the Safety Committee, Mrs. Clifford Gillespie compiled a report of what Institute members had done in their own homes and communities. Some of the facts reported were that 106 members had made repairs to stairs and steps; 3 had placed gates at the top and bottom 2|