Atlantic Air Three visits children in 'Safety Town' at Long Pond School

By Mandy Coriston
Incoming kindergartners in the Andover School District have spent the last two weeks at “Safety Town,” learning about community helpers, bike and outdoor safety, and what to expect when they get to school in September. On Tuesday morning, July 16, they had a visit from Atlantic Health when Atlantic Air Three, blades kicking up the grass, landed on the field behind the Long Pond School much to the delight of the students and their instructors from the Andover Township Police Department (ATPD).
The flight crew, Captain Ryan Barrett, paramedic Jane Noonan, and flight nurse Jim McGrath, told the children about the helicopter's function as an air ambulance, and some of the places they get to travel to help people who are sick or seriously injured.
“It’s just like a regular ambulance,” Noonan said, “but we can get to the hospital really fast.”
The children were able to explore the helicopter, sitting in the jump seats and peering through the cabin spaces and calling it "really cool."
The Safety Town program has been run as partnership between the Andover Township Police Department and the Andover Schools for more than 20 years, and this year, needed to be moved from the Florence M. Burd Elementary School over the Long Pond due to ongoing maintenance at FMB. Detective Ed Diklich is running the 2019 program, which is being attended by nearly two dozen incoming students.
“We’ve been doing this so long, and we really wanted to keep it alive,” ATPD Chief Eric Danielson said, “Det. Diklich really took the bull by the horns to get us moved over to Long Pond and make sure we had faculty support to get this done.”
Megan Garman, a 5th-grade special ed teacher in the district who helps oversee the students, says the program is a wonderful learning opportunity.
“These kids get taught about a lot of facets of safety, from riding their bikes properly to animal safety and how emergency services work," Garman said. "It’s also great that they get to see so many different presenters. And it’s good for them to start meeting their classmates and forming friendships before school begins.”
Safety Town was held the weeks of July 8 and July 15, and is concluded with a graduation ceremony for the participants.