News Notes 05/13/08

Quilts up for bid
Two quilts made by the Whispering Pines Quilt Guild are up for bid in the Quilt Pink Auction, which benefits the Susan G. Komen for the Cure campaign.
The quilts can be bid on until Saturday at the Web site www.auctionwire.com/quiltpink. The quilts are numbers 56649 and 56659 on the Web site.

Click It or Ticket
The Koochiching County Sheriff’s Office is ramping up patrols May 19-June 1 for a seat belt enforcement sweep.
The sweep is part of the statewide Department of Public Safety Safe and Sober “Click It or Ticket” enforcement.
The enforcement effort is a nationwide campaign and includes 400 agencies participating statewide. The enforcement leads into the summer driving season, which is the deadliest time on the roads.
When unbelted, the chances of surviving a crash are cut in half. In Minnesota there were 1,274 vehicle occupants killed in crashes between 2004 and 2006, and 658 were not wearing seat belts. The Department of Public Safety estimates that about half of those killed would have survived if they had buckled up.
The enforcement effort is also focusing on teenagers, which is the group with the lowest seat belt compliance rate.
The Ontario Provincial Police is also working to make roads safer during Canada Road Safety Week. Between today and May 19, the OPP will be targeting aggressive drivers, drivers who drink and drive and those who don’t buckle up according to the OPP.
Last year in Ontario, 451 people were killed in crashes on roods patrolled by the OPP. In 2006, 2,889 people were killed in collisions in Canada and more than 15,000 were seriously injured, according to Transport Canada.