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Bike riders' rodeo
McCook, Nebraska, Elementary students Kaydence Steinbeck, below left, and Spencer Baker, below right, weave and wobble through the obstacle courses of the bike skills rodeo at school Monday. Trying to follow the example of School Resource Office (SRO) John Smith, above, was a giggling, smiling Parker O'Toole tested by volunteer Isaac Langan of McCook Senior High. The courses tested students' skills in mounting and dismounting, stopping and starting, turning short radiuses, weaving and maneuvering, straight line and slow speed controls, and circling and changing directions. Tom Poore, of Tinker Tom's in downtown McCook, inspected the kids' bikes and made/suggested repairs or alterations where needed. The bike rodeos at McCook Elementary and St. Patrick's Catholic Schools have been hosted annually for about 24 years by Linda Maiden's State Farm Insurance. First graders were presented with new safety helmets provided by the McCook Clinic and Community Hospital Health Foundation. Volunteers who helped with the bike rodeos represented Sertoma, PBL at McCook Community College, Student Council and the dance team from McCook Senior High and Wal-Mart. Emilynn Karre of McCook shared her experiences after a 1984 bike accident -- without a helmet -- caused massive closed-head brain injuries.
