Polson entities offer safety seat inspections

For the second year in a row, two local entities teamed up to ensure car seats are properly installed.

Bishop Insurance in Polson reached out to the Lake County Health Department last year, owner Pete Bishop explained last Wednesday.

“We decided we’d find the experts that were good” with car seats, which is the health department, he said.

During the several-hour event, which was free and open to the public, two certified personnel from the department inspected car seats. Bishop said that his company purchased $500 worth of car seats to pass out, along with 20 bicycle helmets that were donated from businesses to the Polson Police Department.

The event, which organizers hope to see annually, began after an employee at the insurance company had a family member involved in an accident where a child died in a crash.

“That employee wanted to do an event to ensure child car seats are properly installed and properly used,” Bishop said.

Emily Colomeda, director of health services at the Lake County Health Department, said that there were others on hand to help keep kids occupied while car seats were inspected.

Any car seats and helmets not passed out went to the Department of Health for them to distribute for the rest of the year, Bishop said.