West Liberty hosts the“Put A Lid On It” event to encourage bicycle safety for kids at the Sherman Ricketts Memorial Park and trailhead from 4 to 7 p.m. today, Wednesday, June 29, open to area children and their families to promote bike helmet safety awareness.
Since 2021, West Liberty has been a part of the Put a Lid On It program. Village clerk Cindee Boyd has completed the grant to get hundreds of bike helmets for youths in the community.
The Put A Lid On It campaign is sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Ohio Department of Transportation and Honda.
This year, the village received 72 helmets and then the Mary Rutan Hospital Foundation donated 36 additional helmets.
Bike helmets prevent injuries and save lives, but not a lot of kids wear them. In the state of Ohio, only 10-20 percent of children wear bike helmets but around 70-80 percent of kids in Ohio regularly ride their bikes.
“We hope with events like this we can make our children safer by encouraging the wearing of helmets,” village representatives said.
West Liberty has the benefit of three different bike trails running through it.
The Cardinal Trail enters the village at County Road 5, rides through the downtown and exits right here at State Route 245. The Top of Ohio Trail rides through the eastern part of West Liberty.
But the trail our village has the closest relationship with is the Simon Kenton Trail. Jim Cook, president of the Simon Kenton Pathfinders, will participate in the day’s activities as well.
Parking for this event will be at King Feed and around the Village Street Department garage. Attendees are asked to park in the grassy areas not blocking the driveways.
Music will be provided by Rise FM, along with food from food trucks Pig in the Pickle and Traveling Brew, and snow cones provided by Oak Grove Church.