The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Safety efforts continue with crossing guards
Presence of guards underscores care for children and the community
Crossing guards hired by Lorain City Schools help protect youngsters and get them to school and home safely.
Weekday mornings and afternoons, some individuals wearing yellow vests keep a watchful eye on youngsters as they travel to and from a destination.
Those individuals are crossing guards hired by Lorain City Schools to help protect elementary school youngsters and get them to school and home safely, said Jeff Hawks, chief operations officer for the school district.
The district has 10 crossing guards on patrol from 7:30-9 a.m. and from 1:30-3 p.m., Hawks said.
The guards make sure students, who bike or walk, are safe as they travel to and from school in high-traffic or dangerous areas such as busy intersections or railroad tracks, he said.
“There are different areas that we feel are deemed dangerous, meaning, there needs to be a crossing guard there,” Hawks said. “So, there could be railroad crossings, major roads, an area that we feel we want our children to have an extra set of eyes and help stop vehicles.”
Any possible route that is unsafe or is a major distance for students to travel, the district provides busing, he said.
The crossing guard program has been with the district for decades, said Hawks who started with Lorain Schools 31 years ago.
The program previously was a partnership between the city of Lorain and the school district before Lorain Schools took complete ownership, he said.
Guards increase safety
Having crossing guards throughout the city increases safety for school children, Hawks said.
“I think this improves safety because it’s another set of individuals out there watching,” he said. “I think anything with the neighborhoods, some think (the guards) are a deterrent (to any trouble).”
Hawks said the crossing guards not only are available to help students safely cross streets, but are there to make students and residents feel comfortable and safe.
“They are that extra pair of eyes,” he said. “These are individuals that also say, ‘hi,’ everyday to these kids while making sure they’re crossing.
“So, it’s just another set of people trying to make it a good day for our kids.”
Some of the crossing guards are retired, some want to stay busy or to make money, Hawks said.
“Rain, sleet or snow, they are always there because they care about the students,” he said.
The crossing guards
Violet Hodge, 76, is one of the 10 crossing guards employed with the school district.
For the last five years, Hodge has helped students travel safely at the corner of Reeves Avenue and 21st Street.
She said her granddaughter Magdelena Hodge, now a 10th-grader at Lorain High School, talked her into becoming a crossing guard.
Hodge is a retired nurse from California who said she returned to Lorain for her family.
She said she wanted to pursue something that kept her busy and while helping others.
Hodge said she has enjoyed keeping an eye on students who walk near her location.
“You see many of the same students (or pedestrians) and get to know them in their every day of life,” she said
Students who walk or bike from Lorain High or Frank Jacinto Elementary have multiple busy streets to cross, Hodge said.
In her experience, she said she’s mostly witnessed accidents, but works to make sure all who pass by are safe.
Crossing guards in Lorain do well at keeping an eye out for students and others in the area, Hodge said.
“This is just to keep them safe, not only in this area, but in all busy areas throughout the city,” she said.
James Wilhelm, 76, began his experience as a crossing guard in 2001 after he retired from the U.S. Postal Service.
Wilhem said he delivered mail for 30 years and always talked to customers. “It fit right in,” he said. Wilhem first began working as a crossing guard at the Euclid Avenue railroad tracks on the city’s east side.
He later shifted to the next railroad crossing near the corner of Missouri and Garfield avenues.
Wilhem can be seen in his car or at the tracks waving to each passing car, pedestrian or students saying “good morning” and “good evening,” daily.
He said he waves to people to help them start their day in a positive way.
“If I get people to smile, that’s all that counts,” Wilhem said.
There have been instances he’s had to explain to people who stop and ask if he needs help, he said.
During the school year, Wilhem said he spends his days making sure students are safe, and that he wants parents to feel good knowing their children will be OK.
“I would never say take (the program) away because some kids may be daring,” he said. “It helps kids stay on their best behavior and keep the community safe.”