Students learn emergency skills for ‘life’

These students are ready for just about anything that comes their way – even earthquakes.

Members of the People First Club of the Life Skills class at Sequim High School recently completed the "Ready, Set, Go" emergency preparedness program with Clallam County for developmentally disabled individuals.

Under the direction of instructors Randi Jones of Pierce, Jones & Associates, and Jayme Wisecup of Clallam County Emergency Management, students learned the dos and don’ts of preparedness. The two-month-long course had them learning what to do in the case of an environmental emergency and assembling their own duffel bag kits filled with items needed to survive and help others until help arrives.

Kits include everything from a flashlight, radio and batteries to a space blanket, water, whistle, can-opener, tent, shovel and first aid kit.

Students also got real-life emergency situation skills such as ducking under tables during an earthquake.

The program included a guest speaker discussing Red Cross services, and Capt. Dennis Kettel from the Carlsborg Fire Department, taught them how to use a fire extinguisher.

On Friday, with one last lesson, People First Club members celebrated by putting away the final pieces of their kits and receiving a course completion certificate.

Participating students included Evan Angenendt, Kelsey Bartlett, Courtney Brown, Calli Bullard, Sam Camacho, Zachary Dove, Blake Fling, Ian Jackson, Quintin Pace, Nathan Patton, Michael Rief and Robert

Thompson.

Life Skills class team teachers are Barbara Cooper and Louise Chitwood, with help from teacher aides Patty Jackson, Clay Wilson, Julie and Victor Lancheros, Mike Lovejoy and Terry Richard.