Elementary school signs up new student safety patrol

Washougal — Nearly 50 Gause Elementary School fourth- and fifth-graders took an oath on Nov. 18 to serve as the school’s new School Safety Patrol. Students watch safety videos, observe current patrol members as a part of the training and are supervised on patrol for two days before being approved for a shift at the school’s crosswalk. The group continues their training with monthly meetings for safety lessons, to discuss safety issues and listen to guest speakers. Each patrol member gets an ID badge and earns a field trip to Oaks Park at the end of the year to join safety patrol students from throughout Clark County. “I will help people in the crosswalk to go across the street safely by stopping cars with flags,” Abby Keeler, one of the new patrol team members, said in a release from the school.