Patrol kids lace up skates with the Canes

By Sam Leishman - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on January 31, 2025.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman AMA School Safety Patrollers share the ice rink with Lethbridge Hurricanes players during a skating party Thursday afternoon at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.

The young heroes that keep school crosswalks safe across Lethbridge for their fellow students took to the ice instead of the streets Thursday with other community heroes to celebrate a job well done.

More than 300 AMA School Safety Patrollers and their supervisors joined representatives from the Lethbridge Hurricanes, the Lethbridge Police Service, Alberta Health Services and the University of Lethbridge for a fun afternoon of skating at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.

Allison Purcell, patrol co-ordinator, says volunteers from Grades 5 and 6 are specially trained to not allow anyone to walk into the road until they are certain that it’s safe. It’s a job that Purcell says the students take a great deal of pride in. “They’re happy to be out there helping their community. What we hear from patrollers that used to be patrollers years ago is how they’ve gone on to be leaders in their communities. Often they’re doing things with student leadership, or they go on to be a police officer. They go on to be leaders when they have these leadership opportunities at a young age.”

According to Purcell, there are “zero serious injuries or fatalities” as a result of having these brave patrollers visible at school crosswalks.

“Distracted drivers have changed. Distracted pedestrians have changed. The things that people are doing have changed,” Purcell adds. “Leave with enough time to go through your school zones so you’re making sure that you have time to slow down, be paying attention and put those distractions away.”