Westlake Kiwanis host program on Safety Town
Olivia Kostecke, director of Safety Town for Westlake, was the guest speaker at the Feb. 25 Westlake Kiwanis meeting. Olivia spoke on the history of Safety Town and their future plans.
Safety Town is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Safety Town is a two-week summer learning experience for children entering kindergarten and teaches youngsters street safety and introduces them to the police department as their friend. It was conceived by Westlake Mayor Alexander Roman and Service Director Lloyd Barnes and was opened on June 22, 1970.
The program began behind City Hall and continued there until 1990. In 1990, Safety Town was moved to a location behind Dover Elementary School during the construction of the new police station. It has since been returned to the City Hall complex.
According to Westlake Police Chief Kevin Bielozer, “The Safety Town program is our original Community Oriented Policing program here in the City of Westlake has served as a model for other cities' Safety Town programs. The program reaches over 600 students and youth volunteers each year.The program establishes the foundation of a positive relationship between the students and parents within the community and the police officers that serve these families."
Olivia said that she is a graduate of Safety Town and she later became a volunteer and now is the director of Safety Town. They are looking to replace many of the buildings and add some new buildings for Safety Town. Anyone wishing to construct a building, donate materials or money, please contact Olivia Kostecke at 440-892-3156.
More information about Safety Town is available at www.cityofwestlake.org/safety-town.
Victor Rutkoski
I am a member of the Westlake Kiwanis and and advisor for the Westlake Kiwanis Aktion Club. The Aktion Club is sponsored by the Kiwanis the same as a Key, Builders and Circle K Clubs. Aktion Club is for adults with disabilities 18 years of age and up. The new President of the Westlake Kiwanis asked me handle publicity for the Kiwanis and Aktion Clubs.I am a retired Manager of Expenditures for the CSX Corp. I moved to Cleveland's exteme Westside 10 years ago from Freeport, PA a town about 30 miles northeast east of Pittsburgh where I had lived all my life. Work related issues brought my family to Cleveland.