Submitted by Lisa Hammond of Fillmore Citizen Patrol

On Saturday, May 12th the Fillmore Citizen Patrol, in partnership with the Fillmore Police Department and the Santa Clara Valley Explorer Post, hosted a public Bicycle and Skateboard Safety Event. The Bike Rodeo was held at the Two Rivers Park and included a safety course, free helmets and fitting assistance, bicycle registration, bicycle tune-ups, raffle prizes and food vendors. It featured displays from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad, SWAT Unit, K9 Unit, Search and Rescue Unit and the Fillmore Fire Department.

The Fillmore Citizen Patrol would like to extend a special thank you to the following sponsors of our event: Rotary Club of Fillmore, Lion’s Club of Fillmore, Fillmore Fire Foundation, TNT, Search and Rescue, Ventura County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, Bike Ventura, Baskin Robbins and Kona Ice.

After two separate injury accidents at the end of April involving a vehicle striking a juvenile who was riding a bicycle without a helmet, events like this are vital to the safety of children in our community.

During the upcoming summer months, the Fillmore Police Department, Fillmore Citizen Patrol and Fillmore Fire Department will be looking for children wearing helmets while riding bicycles, skateboards, and scooters in the community. Each child found to be wearing a helmet will receive one Baskin Robbins certificate for a free ice cream cone. For those children who are found without helmets, they will receive certificates for a free helmet that can be picked up at the Fillmore Police Station during office hours, 8 AM to 5 PM, Monday - Friday.