COLUMBUS, OH (October 15, 2002) – The Ohio Department of Public Safety will recognize the winners, their teachers and the EMS providers who supported theEMS Annual Children’s Safety Poster Contest in a ceremony today at 6:00 p.m. Each student winner will receive a bike and a bike helmet at the event that is being held in the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Atrium on West Broad Street.

"The goal of this contest was to provide teachers and students with the opportunity to learn about and increase awareness of the number one cause of childhood death and disability: preventable injuries," said Laura Tiberi, Executive Director of the Division of Emergency Medical Services.

In March 2002, the Ohio Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Medical Services initiated its annual Children’s Safety Poster Contest. Contest materials were mailed to all schools throughout Ohio with 4th through 6th grades.

This year, the Division received over 4,500 entries from across the state. Twenty-six winning entries were selected for use in the 2003-2004 Emergency Medical Services Children’s Safety Calendar.

Each month of the calendar will feature a winning poster, which offers a child’s advice on how to protect children from injuries.

Every day, more than 39,000 children are injured seriously enough to require medical treatment, totaling more than 14 million children each year. It is estimated that as many as 90 percent of these unintentional injuries can be prevented.

The following is a list the winners of the 2002 EMS Children’s Safety Poster Contest:

Ryan Bellmore, St. Michael, Independence
Justine Boggs, St. Mary, Mansfield
Karen Burris, Luckey ES, Luckey
Katie Carney, Gesu School, University Heights
Katie Chittenden, Farmer ES, Farmer
Cody Clark, Turkeyfoot ES, Akron
Lindsey Copley, Creston MS, Creston
Jerrod Cottrell, Claymont IS ,Dennison
Eileen Dise, Gesu School, University Heights
Kaitlyn Eckert, Townsend ES, Vickery
Delaney Giles, Heartland Christian School, Columbine
Douglas Hillman, St. John the Baptist, Cincinnati
Leah Howard, Caledonia, E. Cleveland
Molly Lehane, Our Lady of Angels, Cleveland
Jacquelin Louis, Longfellow School, Eastlake
Michael McGurn, JCCS, Mingo Junction
Molly Morgan, St. Paul School, North Canton
Kayla Munk,Townsend ES, Vickery
Lucas Richard, Arlington School, Arlington
Laura Risaliti, Clearmount, North Canton
Samantha Sabolsky, St. Michael, Independence
Kayla Schwieterman, Marion Local ES, Maria Stein
Abby Segers, Stinson ES, Canal Fulton
Adam Sherman, St. Peter’s School, Upper Sandusky
Katy Wheeler, Claymont IS, Dennison
Jessica Willesch, Kidder ES, Brunswick