To all Marbleheaders:
I am a crossing guard who works at the corner of West Shore Drive and Jersey Street, crossing fourth- through sixth-graders safely to and from the Village School.
I have the responsibility to protect our future generation, and I take that responsibility very seriously. The kids I cross every day I refer to as “my kids.”
And on the morning of Friday, April 14, the day before their vacation started, I was crossing a set of twins, and all three of us were nearly killed by a distracted driver, driving way over the speed limit.
I was wearing my reflective vest, and I have even attached flashing lights to my stop sign for added visibility. There was plenty of time for this driver to see us and to safely stop if he had been paying attention to the road ahead of him. This could have been any intersection in our town, with or without a crossing guard.
I cross these sisters every day, and I can relate to them as I am an identical twin myself. I am 75 years young and, although we live in separate towns, my twin brother and I remain close. We don’t see each other as much as we like, but we golf together, our families have gone on vacation together, and we remain very close. I say this because those sisters almost did not have that opportunity.
Our town is only 4 square miles small. The roads are narrow and hilly. And we have a lot of children walking or biking to school.
I urge everyone to please pay attention while driving through town, but especially between 7-8:30 a.m. and again from 2-3:30 p.m. Our kids deserve nothing less than our full attention. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can be that important that you need to ever take your eyes off the road.
It takes more than crossing guards to keep our kids safe; it takes ALL of us. I thank the majority of safe drivers who pass my crossing post every day. But it only takes one. My wish is that every child gets a chance to grow up.
Thank you.
Dana Kiernan
Sunset Road
