Here are brief thoughts on some of the events taking place around Franklin County and the North Quabbin area.
We believe in the adage, “Plan for the worst and hope for the best.”
That’s why we’re proud of the work of students at Pioneer Valley Regional School, who recently learned how to reduce blood loss during emergency situations as part of the national Stop the Bleed campaign.
The campaign began in the wake of the Dec. 14, 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn. Bystanders become trained, equipped and empowered to help in a bleeding emergency before help arrives, improving the odds that those who are injured will survive.
“If people were able to stop bleeding until EMS got in there, then more people would have survived,” Northfield EMS paramedic Erik Davidson, who spoke to students in Pioneer’s intro to medicine and emergency care class, said in reference to the 1999 Columbine school shooting. Under Davidson’s guidance, students practiced applying tourniquets on classmates and treating faux wounds.
While we sincerely hope that none of Franklin County’s schools experience the tragedy of a shooting, we also want to ensure that our schools’ students, faculty and staff are prepared. Furthermore, the practical knowledge of applying a tourniquet could save lives in more situations than just school shootings. Teaching students this basic skill sets them up to be an asset during a variety of emergency situations, and will benefit the county as a whole.
As new students come to Pioneer and our other Franklin County schools, we hope these skills will continue to be taught. You never know when it could make a world of difference.
Whether it’s a mayoral election or a presidential election, we’ve seen first-hand that every vote counts, especially in small towns where candidates are often separated by only a handful of votes.
As such, we’re thrilled to see that Greenfield Community College was recently recognized for excellence in student voter participation as part of the “ALL IN” Campus Democracy Challenge.
GCC received accolades for “Best in Class for Overall Most Improved” and “Best in Class for Highest Voting Rates.” Data provided by the Institute for Democracy in Higher Education shows GCC’s voting rate increased to 47.1 percent in 2018 from a rate of 25.6 percent in 2014. By comparison, the average institutional voting rate was 39.1 percent in 2018, up from 19.7 percent in 2014.
Voting is a crucial part of our democracy, and we’re glad to see it’s something that so many GCC students are taking seriously.
Over the course of 17 years, more than $87,500 has gone a long way toward ensuring that all children have warm clothes this winter, regardless of their economic background.
That number includes more than $3,000 raised during the most recent “Breakathon” organized annually by the Greenfield Tae Kwon Do Center in support of Warm the Children. Students solicited donations and pledges of 10 cents up to $1 for each board they broke, or offered single, flat-rate donations.
It’s wonderful that these students have found a way to exercise, practice their tae kwon do skills and support a meaningful cause all at the same time. We look forward to seeing the Breakathon return for many years to come, and thank everyone who was involved in making it a success once again.