Bushland Summer Day Camp

If you live and work in this small town, you wear many hats, as Stephanie Braddock can attest to. She is an Elementary School Counselor, District Homeless Liaison, District Safe and Drug Free School Coordinator, Elementary Health Committee Chairperson, School-wide Behavior Committee Chairperson (STARS Committee), Crisis Prevention Intervention Instructor, as well as “Mom” and a few other non-paying titles.

Bushland, Texas is fourteen miles west of Amarillo on Interstate 40. At one time the land had been part of the Frying Pan Ranch located in the southwest corner of Potter County. In 1908 the town site was dedicated for a right-of-way for the Rock Island and Gulf Railway. Since then a school district was established, a post office opened, a Baptist church, and a grain elevator were added. Farmers and ranchers settled in to increase the population to 130. Today it is home for Conservation and Production Research Laboratory established by the USDA Soil Conservation Service and the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station to address erosion problems.

Preparations for the Day Camp started months before when Braddock contacted this Texas Bicycle Coalition Local Outreach Coordinator Joyce Cunningham to provide information on bicycle safety. Approximately 40 students attended the day camp for Kindergarten through 5th graders on Thursday, May 31st, 2007. Many of these kids are homeless or at-risk due to economic conditions in this small community. A bicycle is more than just entertainment for them. In many cases, it is a transportation necessity. The students were so hungry to learn everything Cunningham and Martinez presented on Rules for Riding, Texas Bicycle Laws, why you should always wear a helmet (egg drop demonstration), proper Helmet Sizing and Adjustment, proper bicycle size/fit, A-B-C Quick Check (bicycle safety check list), hand signal demonstration, and Bicycle Parts Identification quiz. Handouts were given to take home to display to their family and friends the many facts they learned and will want to remember from now on.

Thank you Stephanie, for inviting us to present our Safe Routes to School Program to your eager summer-time pupils.