Street Smart workshop set for tonight

Gold Cross Emergency Medical Services will sponsor a program tonight to help Columbia County residents reduce their chances of becoming victims of crime.

The free workshop, Street Smart, will begin at 7 p.m. at the Columbia County Government Complex on Ronald Reagan Drive.

"It's a very good class," said Sandra Culver, the captain of Gold Cross EMS. "It just makes you aware of what's going on. I think everyone will learn a lot and enjoy it."

The class, which will be conducted by the National Crime Prevention Task Force in Atlanta, will tell how to reduce by 60 percent the chance of becoming a victim of crime, how to look for signs of drug use in children, and where carjackings occur the most, she said.

"(The training) teaches you how to protect yourself from carjackings," she said. "You should (never) leave the scene if someone does grab you."

The workshop was brought back by popular demand.

"Two years ago, we had the same workshop," Culver said. "We had about 50 to 60 participants. Some of the people who attended asked me if I would get back in touch with the (task force) because they wanted their teenage daughters and all to go through it."

For more information about the workshop, call 869-8940.