Fire safety poster excellence

Editor’s note: The winning entries from North Main, Sapphire and Central Valley Elementary appeared in last week’s paper. Central Valley — The Monroe-Woodbury School Board honored 19 students from Monroe-Woodbury’s five elementary schools earlier this month for their artistic interpretations of fire safety. The first-place winners of the district’s annual Michael J. Fitzula Fire Safety Poster Contest received trophies in the competition featuring the theme, “Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With.” The contest was sponsored and judged by the Harriman, Lakeside, Monroe and Woodbury fire departments in cooperation with the Monroe-Woodbury School District. Each fall, firefighters from these departments conduct Fire Safety Prevention Week activities at all schools, instructing over 2,200 students on fire safety tips and practices. School officials expressed their gratitude to these firefighters, who use their vacation and personal time — and even leave their places of business — to teach students in only two days.