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Learning to play it safe

East Central Electric offers safety demo to children

Lightning Liz and Neon Leon died horrible deaths, over and over again. The “couple,” which are glass figures with neon lighting flowing through their bodies, were taken through a display of potentially dangerous electrical hazards and zapped numerous times in a presentation to a group attending the Henryetta Lions Club this week

The presentation was given by Mandy Flanary and Billie Been, East Central Electric Cooperative employees, to educate about the dangers of electricity. The demonstration, mainly geared toward children, can be given upon request to classes or children’s organizations.

Been says students prefer Liz and Leon to a straight lecture. But this time the target audience was adults.

“We also want community and business leaders to realize what services East Central Electric provides,” Been said. “They help us get the word out to their children’s teachers that we are available year round to give a presentation to individual groups.”

“As for the demonstration, it really gets kids’ attention,” she says. “I think it makes a lasting visual impression on them that they’ll remember from now on.”

The goal of the program is to reach as many children as possible, according to Flanary. “It’s basically to teach kids about electricity. We want them to realize it brings great things to their homes, like TV and video games but that electricity shouldn’t be taken for granted because it can be fatal.”

Flanary and Been took Liz and Leon through a series of dangerous situations on a fictitious rural home surrounded by powerlines.

Each time one got into trouble Liz or Leon got zapped by an electrical current flowing through the lines.

“Everyday activities can become dangerous very quickly,” Flanary said. “Planting trees without consulting the electric company, moving aluminum ladders through the yard, and flying kites are just a few examples where safety should come first.”

Flanary and Been also explain grounding, conductors, and insulators to students. Grounding, they tell the students, is what prevents birds and squirrels from being electrocuted as they sit on electrical lines. They also demonstrated why children shouldn’t climb trees when their branches are among powerlines and how ECE’s linemen are well protected when repairing poles and lines.

For more information on staying safe around electricity or booking a safety demonstration, call Been or Flanary at 918-756-0833.