LOUISVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) – The Kentucky State Police is encouraging families to visit the new and improved “Safety Town” at the Kentucky State Fair starting Thursday and lasting through Aug. 28.
“For a better and safer Kentucky to be built we must educate our children starting at a young age on traffic, community and school safety. This includes knowing and trusting law enforcement so when they are faced with danger, they reach out to our first responders for help,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “Thank you to KSP for connecting with our youngest Kentuckians and making this year’s Kentucky State Fair experience unique and memorable for people of all ages.”
For more than 60 years, KSP has not only provided security for the state fair, but they have also managed the Safety Town booth.
The Kentucky State Police Foundation has been collecting donations, which has allowed KSP to enhance the booth.
“As children enter Safety Town, they will receive a custom-made driver’s license and participate in a short briefing by a trooper about traffic safety,” said KSP public affairs commander, Cpt. Paul Blanton. “Children will get to select a pedal car and hit the driving course to apply what they learned. KSP is committed to training not only law enforcement officers but Kentuckians of all ages to make the commonwealth safer for future generations to come.”
Safety Town will have exhibits geared toward teaching citizens about the perils of substance abuse. The Office of Drug Control Policy’s HARM grant helped make the Mobile Substance Abuse Educational Exhibit possible.
According to KSP, Kentucky had 2,250 people die from drug overdoses in 2021, a 14.5% increase from the previous year. There were 107,000 reported overdose deaths nationwide from Dec. 2020 to Dec. 2021.
“While Safety Town is the fun-loving focus of the agency exhibit, we also host the KSP Mobile Substance Abuse Education Exhibit with a goal of decreasing addiction and overdose deaths,” said Blanton. “From tobacco to fentanyl, this unit includes every potential substance that could endanger Kentuckians. Thousands of visitors attend the fair each year, and we hope to educate as many people as possible about the dangers of drugs.”
To learn more about the public education exhibits, visit the website.
