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August 27, 2010

Senator John Pippy E-News

School and Educator Resource Center Ready for New School Year 

Back-to-school preparations frequently involve two areas of focus – one includes supplies like pens, paper, and backpacks, the other clothing, ranging from shoes to jeans and jackets.  Parents and educators are urged to “shop” through the back-to-school resources offered by the PA Office of Attorney General.  

Operation Safe Surf is designed to help educate kids, parents and schools about the importance of being safe online.  Truth & Choices introduces middle and high school students to a popular kid from a suburban Pennsylvania school, sharing his true story of hard choices and near death experiences due to drugs and alcohol.  The presentation features interviews with him (from prison), his family, law enforcement and the medical community.   

Stop Gun Violence helps students work through this serious issue and understand the consequences of gun and gang-related choices.  The program presents interviews with those having a first-hand experience with gun violence including a mother and activist who lost her son; a trauma center director; and agents and prosecutors who have dealt with gun violence cases.  There are also interviews with Pennsylvania’s Attorney General, the Philadelphia District Attorney and the Philadelphia Police Commissioner.    

Consult the School and Educator Resource Center throughout the year for school safety projects, Pennsylvania laws affecting children, a challenge to learn and develop consumer skills, and an interactive learning site Just for Kids for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.   

Impaired Drivers Target of Law Enforcement Crackdown 

Impaired drivers are the target of a nationwide campaign garnering the support of more than 600 municipal police departments in the Commonwealth and the Pennsylvania State Police.   

More than 450 alcohol-related crashes and 16 fatalities occurred during the 2009 Labor Day holiday, including the weekends surrounding that timeframe, according to the PA Department of Transportation.   

Law enforcement is responding with the full-force of Pennsylvania’s impaired driving law including fines, jail time, and license suspension.  Repeat offenders face equipping their vehicles with ignition interlock systems requiring drivers to blow into the device in order to start the vehicle and randomly during vehicle operation.  Costs of installation, routine monitoring and maintenance of the interlock device average $1,000 and are paid by the offender.   

More than 5,700 Pennsylvania drivers currently have ignition interlock systems.  During 2009, these systems prevented more than 47,000 impaired driving attempts and logged more than 45 million sober miles driven. 

 Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission Offers Family Fishing Program this Fall 

Fall fun is just around the corner with Pennsylvania’s Family Fishing Program offering basic angling skills and an opportunity to practice those skills while fishing together, according to the PA Fish & Boat Commission (PF&BC).  

During September and October your family can learn fishing safety and manners, how to cast the line and tie knots, fishing tackle basics, and about laws and regulations.  The second half of the PF&BC program provides your family with the opportunity to fish together using the new skills.  

The program is open to all ages; however, the course is designed for children ages 5 and up.  The fishing license requirement for those 16 and older is waived for the program.