Why did it not surprise me to see kids in the street running to pick up candy during Sunday’s parade? And why, when asking two police officers if there was not an ordinance keeping kids on the curb, not in the street, was I told Albert Lea has none. In several places I have resided, such an ordinance has been enacted to keep people from being injured or killed. The danger of being run down by a following vehicle or float is intimate when running into the street to pick up something worth next to nothing, compared to a kid’s life! In some cities, candy and other favors have been eliminated after the death of a child during this kind of event. This could be the answer to what we witnessed during Sunday’s parade. Of course, prevention is a word that is not well-known to the city of Albert Lea. As an example, we can not get a watch for children sign on a street where a dozen or more kids play and ride bikes with no sidewalks and has a daycare in the middle of the block. The police once ticketed a driver for 47 mph on that street, but that kind of speed still continues. Prevention saves lives and eliminates pain in more ways than one, if you have ever lost a loved one in an accident!

Signed, an ex-safety officer in a large printing company,

James R. Jirele

Albert Lea