The annual Light up the Night Rally will take place Thursday in Blaine Lake. (submitted photo/Karleigh Warkentin) : Angela Brown

By Angela Brown

Support for first responders

Rally for emergency responders planned for Thursday

Mar 6, 2019 | 1:49 PM

Local residents travelling through the Blaine Lake area Thursday evening will want to look out for emergency responders taking part in the Light Up the Night Rally.

The second annual event aims to raise awareness of the need for drivers to watch their speed when passing by first responders and other professionals assisting people in emergency situations.

Light up the Night is organized by Aztec Towing Ltd. based in Blaine Lake.

Co-owner Karleigh Warkentin said she hopes to see emergency responders take part in the rally.

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“We encourage all paramedics, first responders, tow truck drivers fire departments, anybody who is on the road working in dangerous conditions helping people who may be in distress or having issues with their vehicles,” she said.

To participate in the rally, people will meet at 6:30 p.m. at Gas Plus at 701 Main St., at the Highway 40 and Highway 12 intersection.

The event starts at 7. Participants will run their lights for an hour in a procession of vehicles lined up on the road facing southbound on Highway 12.

“We’re going to put our vehicles in park and then we will light up the lights and bring awareness that anyone passing us in that hour slows to 60 km/h (and) pulls over,” Warkentin said.

Warkentin said she personally knows professionals who have had close calls in the past due to drivers not following the law and reducing their speed properly when they pass them on the road assisting in emergency situations.

“It’s a very dangerous job,” she said adding her brother and husband “have come home with some pretty scary stories of people not slowing down. “

Warkentin added the rally is not only to increase awareness of the issue but also to honour the emergency professionals who have been injured or killed in the line of duty, and haven’t made it home to their families at the end of the day.

—

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow