Painted Rock Scavenger Hunt In Strongsville

STRONGSVILLE, OH — Pedestrians throughout Strongsville should be on the lookout for little painted rocks that are hidden throughout the city. Strongsville Police have hidden the colorful rocks and residents who bring a photograph of a found rock to the department will receive a free police pen. Do not bring the rock itself into the station, instead re-hide a found rock.

The scavenger hunt for the rocks is part of the Strongsville Police Department's participation in the Safe Communities Coalition, run by University Hospitals, and the Rock the Seat Belt program. Students from Ford Middle School painted the rocks and handed them over to the police on Monday.

All of the rocks should be "hidden" in plain sight. Pedestrians that pass the rocks by should be able to see them. The goal of the program is to spread the Click It or Ticket message. The rocks all bear a message asking the finder to "buckle up!"

A spokesperson for the city of Strongsville said the hope for the program is that folks who find the rocks will post pictures of their discovered on social media, encouraging others to both find the rocks and buckle up.

Millions of people every day fail to buckle their seatbelt, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. In 2014, 21,022 passenger vehicle occupants died in motor vehicle traffic crashes and more than half of all those deceased were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of their crash.

An additional, 2.3 million people were taken to the emergency department for motor vehicle related injuries in 2014. Young adult drivers (18-24) have the highest crash-related non-fatal injury rates, so holding these awareness campaigns at high schools is particularly important.

Strongsville isn't the only Northeast Ohio town focusing on the Click It or Ticket campaign. Police and students at Solon High School put together a campaign to imagine the emotional impact a severe injury or death due to lack of a seatbelt could cause for a family. Students were asked to fill out paper circles imagining the real, human impact of such a loss. The circles were then hung on a banner in the high school cafeteria.

Photo from City of Strongsville
Photo Caption: Officer Derek Apo signing the giant rock at the event kickoff.