[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 26, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4253-S4254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        SCHOOL SAFETY PATROLLERS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize several young 
people who were recently selected by the American Automobile 
Association to receive special awards for their work as school safety 
patrollers.
  More than 500,000 students in 50,000 schools across the country 
participate in AAA's School Safety Patrol program. These young people 
have taken on the important responsibility of making the streets around 
their schools safer for their classmates. Though their responsibilities 
are often routine, the patrollers on occasion must place themselves in 
harm's way in order to save lives. It is my honor today to recognize 
six students who were selected to receive the AAA Lifesaver Award for 
their selfless and heroic actions in fulfilling their duties as 
patrollers as well as the National Patroller of the Year.
  The first AAA Lifesaver Award recipient is Jessica Zeiter, a 10-year-
old student at Huron Park Elementary School in Roseville, MI. On 
February 9, 2004, Jessica was on a patrol when a pickup truck driver 
sped on icy snow in heavy traffic. The driver probably could not have 
stopped even if he had seen the small first grade student step into the 
street, but fortunately Jessica quickly grabbed the student by the coat 
and pulled her back to safety. Others who were at the crosswalk that 
day thought the child was going to be hit and were shocked that she was 
saved.
  The second AAA Lifesaver Award recipient is Michelle Grimm, a 12-
year-old student at Weems Elementary School in Manassas, VA. On March 
5, 2004, a kindergarten student fell off of the sidewalk and was lying 
directly in the path of a school bus. The student was struggling to get 
up but could not regain his balance because of his heavy book bag. The 
bus driver did not see the child lying in the street, but Michelle ran 
to the student's aid, helping him out of the way of the approaching 
bus.
  The third AAA Lifesaver Award recipient is Estefan Santos, a 10-year-
old student at Jackson Road Elementary School in Silver Spring, MD. On 
September 10, 2004, a 6-year-old child broke free from his sister's 
care and ran to cross the street towards her father who was waiting in 
his car. Estefan realized that the 6-year-old was not going to stop at 
the corner and held him back from the approaching traffic. Though 
bitten and kicked while holding the 6-year-old back, Estefan 
undoubtedly saved the child's life that day.
  The fourth AAA Lifesaver Award recipient is also from Maryland. Her 
name is Pytrce Avonnia Farmer, and she is a student at Eva Turner 
Elementary School in Waldorf. On October 4, 2004, a 6-year-old child 
was waiting on the street curb under Pytrce's direction. The child's 
mother, however, moved her car forward into the second lane of traffic, 
and the child stepped into the street without noticing another car 
approaching. Pytrce acted quickly and bravely to pull the child from 
the path of the car. The child's mother has said that her son would not 
be alive today if not for Pytrce.
  The fifth AAA Lifesaver Award recipient is Jared Smith, an 11-year-
old student at Combee Elementary School in Lakeland, FL. On January 7, 
2005, a 7-year-old student dashed past the group of children who were 
waiting for a van to pick them up, darting out into the path of the 
van. Fortunately, Jared stopped her before she was hit, though the van 
was only a few feet away.
  The sixth AAA Lifesaver Award recipient is Naomi Wall, an 11-year-old 
student at Dan Emmett Elementary School in Mount Vernon, OH. On March 
19, 2004, a 5-year-old student named Braden walked into the road, 
obeying a walk sign though against his sister Naomi's patrol flag 
telling him to stop. At the same time, a car had run a red light and 
was headed right for a car going through the intersection. Had Naomi 
not held her brother back by the arm, he would have been in the middle 
of the crash.
  In addition to honoring these six brave patrollers, AAA also 
recognizes one student as National Patroller of the Year for 
demonstrating leadership qualities, strong academic performance, and 
civic involvement. This year, the National Patroller of the Year is 
Deanna Constantino, a fifth grader at Cross Street School in Williston 
Park, NY. Deanna is a member of the student council, serves on the 
school newspaper, has been a Girl Scout for 4 years, and participates 
in charitable fundraising activities through her school. Deanna, like 
all the other safety patrollers recognized by AAA, is clearly an 
impressive young person with tremendous potential.
  I also thank AAA for making the school safety program possible. The 
program has helped save many lives over the years and has made our 
schools safer for our students, though, as the stories of the Lifesaver 
Award recipients demonstrate, the streets around our schools are not 
safe enough. That is why I have worked for the last 2 years to create a 
national Safe Routes to School program. This program would fund safety 
improvements on roads near schools so that children

[[Page S4254]]

can safely walk or ride their bicycles to school. I hope Congress 
passes my program this year, but whether or not it does, I am comforted 
to know that 500,000 AAA patrollers across the Nation will be working 
hard to keep the streets around our schools safe.

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