{"id":57205,"date":"2025-08-11T19:04:46","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T23:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=57205"},"modified":"2025-08-11T19:04:54","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T23:04:54","slug":"polk-county-fire-rescue-assists-community-members-with-back-to-school-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2025\/08\/11\/polk-county-fire-rescue-assists-community-members-with-back-to-school-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"Polk County Fire Rescue Assists Community Members with Back-to-School Efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Polk County students have returned to the classroom for another school year. Before the first bell, Polk County Fire Rescue (PCFR) members, along with our partners, hosted two back-to-school events offering families some last-minute fun and helping prepare them for school. PCFR also began their annual \u201cSlowdown for School Children\u201d campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polk County Fire Rescue members hosted the two back-to-school events on Saturday, Aug. 2, and Friday, Aug. 8. Over the course of the two events, PCFR members, IAF,F and IAEP union representatives handed out 200 backpacks filled with school supplies, including pencils, colored pencils, pens, notebooks, folders, and more. Free food was available while students received free haircuts provided by KOE Barber Academy and ECGs by Who We Play For.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPolk County Fire Rescue handing out backpacks to our kids is such a beautiful example of neighbors helping neighbors. It\u2019s not just about pencils and paper\u2014it\u2019s about showing our children that they are seen, valued and supported,\u201d said Polk County Commissioner Becky Troutman. \u201cThese moments build trust between our first responders and the families they serve, planting seeds of kindness and community pride that will grow for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Polk County mom said she felt the community building aspect of the event as it gave attendees an opportunity to meet their local first responders, presented families assistance with necessary school supplies and provided opportunities for children to meet potential classmates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the back-to-school events, PCFR members began their annual three-day \u201cSlowdown for School Children\u201d campaign which started on Aug. 11. Crews visit nearby schools during drop off and pick up times to remind drivers of the importance of slowing down in school zones, avoiding distractions and keeping an eye out for students and crossing guards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is important that we are proactive in helping make sure our neighbors have what they need no matter the situation,\u201d said Fire Chief Shawn Smith. \u201cBack to school events and a county wide reminder to motorists help ensure our county\u2019s most important members are not only prepared but safe as they return for another year of school. Caring for the children of Polk County is important and takes all of us playing a role in their success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polk County Fire Rescue leadership asks that you help us keep Polk County students safe by practicing safe driving techniques\u2014especially in school zones. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Polk County students have returned to the classroom for another school year. Before the first bell, Polk County Fire Rescue (PCFR) members, along with our partners, hosted two back-to-school events… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"6","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9sYWtlbGFuZGdhemV0dGUuaW5mb1wvbmV3c1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNVwvMDhcL0lNR19QQ0ZSX05HX0ZCX0JhY2tfVG9fU2Nob29sX1Nsb3dfRG93bl9Gb3JfU2Nob29sX1pvbmVzXzhfMTFfMjVfMDMud2VicD9maXQ9MTAyNCUyQzUzOCZzc2w9MSIsInR4dCI6IlBvbGsgQ291bnR5IEZpcmUgUmVzY3VlIEFzc2lzdHMgQ29tbXVuaXR5IE1lbWJlcnMgd2l0aCBCYWNrLXRvLVNjaG9vbCBFZmZvcnRzIiwidGVtcGxhdGUiOiJoaWdod2F5IiwiZm9udCI6IiIsImJsb2dfaWQiOjE2MzA0MDY2MX0.U6ZV7PbNuDXveFjw0ofUmaPL7sSTTs_81cWKfpPsGAMMQ"},"version":2,"attached_media":[{"id":57211,"url":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_PCFR_NG_FB_Back_To_School_Slow_Down_For_School_Zones_8_11_25_03.webp","type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[11967],"class_list":["post-57205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-polk-county-fire-rescue-assists-community-members-with-back-to-school-efforts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57205"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57212,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57205\/revisions\/57212"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}