[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 14 (Thursday, February 1, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E130]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO EUGENE JUNETTE

                                 ______


                       HON. GEORGE P. RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 31, 1996

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I want to bring to the attention of my 
colleagues an extraordinary program that began in government but has 
for the past 20 years been supported by the private sector to the 
benefit of millions of children in this country and countries around 
the world.
  Most particularly I wish to point with pride to the individual who 
has carried this splendid program forward from its beginning in a U.S. 
Justice Department agency in the 1970's to the worldwide anticrime 
program that is has become today. He is my constituent, Eugene Junette 
of Fresno, CA.
  The program that Mr. Junette has spearheaded since 1976 is Play It 
Safe, a crime prevention program launched by the Law Enforcement 
Assistance Administration [LEAA] Office of Public Affairs in 1974 by 
its director, Malcolm Barr. Mr. Junette has asked that Mr. Barr, who 
retired Feb. 3, 1996, as an Associate Director of Public Affairs, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, following an illustrious 26-year government 
career, and other Federal Government officials who helped him--Wilbur 
Brantley, the late Cornelius Cooper, and Joseph Mulvey--share credit 
for this highly acclaimed program.
  Play It Safe is, in fact, a simple coloring book, originally approved 
by the U.S. Justice Department and various sheriffs, police, and 
juvenile justice organizations.
  It began in Mr. Barr's office on a shoestring budget and was 
visualized and developed by Mr. Barr and his small staff. When funds 
ran out, Mr. Barr approached Kiwanis International which agreed to 
promote, print, and distribute the booklet among preschool, 
kindergarten, and elementary school children in the United States, at 
no cost to the Government. Eugene Junette was appointed chairman.
  Under Mr. Junette's enthusiastic guidance, the Play It Safe program 
multiplied to all 50 States and into 61 foreign countries. The coloring 
book is translated into 31 languages. Thousands of volunteers now work 
with what has become Play It Safe International, Inc., whose address is 
1289 N. Temperance Avenue, Fresno, CA 93727.
  Numerous service clubs and other nonprofit organizations are 
responsible for the distribution of some 26 million copies of the 
coloring book. Play It Safe, through Mr. Barr, used the nationally 
syndicated children's television program ``Romper Room'' in Baltimore, 
MD, to jump-start the project that I am told cost the American taxpayer 
no more than $20,000. As a result, millions of young children have been 
effectively educated about how to minimize criminal opportunities 
against themselves and their friends.
  Play It Safe volunteers have also helped develop a parent/teacher 
guide and home safety check list. Mr. Junette has dedicated the last 20 
years of his life, often working 16 to 18 hour days, to help protect 
children from criminal activity. I join him in drawing attention to Mr. 
Barr, of Alexandria, VA, who he credits as the man with the vision to 
see the future possibilities of Play It Safe, not as a Government-
sponsored project, but as a private sector program dedicated to the 
safety and wellbeing of children in this and many nations around the 
world. Mr. Barr described Play It Safe as a major accomplishment of his 
long Government career. I join his colleagues and friends wishing him 
well in his retirement.
  As the Play It Safe program completes its 20th year of private sector 
sponsorship, I wish to particularly salute my constituent Mr. Junette, 
and all the thousands of volunteers who have helped in furthering the 
Play It Safe project, and to point to this amazing display of 
volunteerism that I am proud to say has emanated from my congressional 
district for two decades.

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