Committee backs Rail Safety Awareness Week push, plans Operation Lifesaver outreach

Chair Jonathan Ring and committee members spent the bulk of the meeting hearing a detailed proposal from Anna to mark Rail Safety Awareness Week with modest, targeted activities rather than a large festival.

Anna urged the committee to adopt Operation Lifesaver themes and to take a public pledge: “Safety is important to me, my family, and friends. I recognize it is my responsibility to make safe choices at the train station and when riding rail transit,” she said, describing age‑appropriate pledges and school materials she would circulate to the group. Anna proposed asking the select board to adopt a safety proclamation, distributing one‑pagers to schools, and staging short platform outreach on days when trains are scheduled to maximize visibility.

Brian Beer, identified in the meeting as manager of passenger services for the Northern New England Passenger Rail Forge, described Operation Lifesaver training and resources and recommended the committee contact the New Hampshire coordinator (named in the transcript as Jay/Gadon) to arrange certified presenter training or to obtain printed rack cards and giveaway materials. “Think train,” Beer said, summarizing Operation Lifesaver’s core message and urging members to use the organization’s teacher‑ready presentations and pledge materials.

Committee members discussed logistics for a platform presence and asked staff to coordinate with Amtrak police (Josh Roberts was mentioned as the Amtrak police contact) and CSX to ensure outreach can occur without violating railroad property rules. The committee agreed to form a small working group to pull the materials together and to announce event details at its next meeting on Sept. 17.