October is Walk to School Month in Lacey

To encourage residents to promote children’s health and safety, the Lacey City Council officially proclaimed the month of October “Walk to School Month.”

The council said it continuously works to add more bike lanes, trails, and sidewalks and improve street crossings to provide safer school routes.

“Regular walking, biking and rolling to school is fun,” read the council’s proclamation. “ improve the health of our youth and increase students’ readiness to learn.”

The council also mentioned how driving students to school contributes to traffic congestion and air pollution. It also emphasized the importance of the role of parents and caregivers in teaching children how to be safe pedestrians and bicyclists on our streets.

Kerri Wilson, supervisor of the Intercity Transit’s “Walk and Roll Program,” said the department will once again support North Thurston Public Schools (NTPS) in organizing events to raise awareness of the benefits of walking and biking to school.

Wilson said that for this year, they will help Lydia Hawk and Olympic View elementary schools hold their Walk and Roll Program this month.

NTPS Director of Activities, Arts and Athletics Haley Ortega said she is looking forward to how they can continue to expand the use of bicycles and bicycles with training wheels in the schools.

“We believe in safety and in our students to have the opportunity to travel safely to and from school,” said Ortega.

Phil Eckert said he hopes his account of turning his life around from being homeless to becoming a productive member of society will help others do …