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NANTICOKE &mdash; It may be hard to believe, but the organization behind those iconic (at least for some) brightly-colored shoulder belts with AAA Safety Patrol badges turned 100 this year.
				Old timers may remember orange belts, or even white ones before that. These days they lean toward fluorescent lime (or chartreuse, maybe, depending on your tastes).
				And this year when AAA Mid-Atlantic picked winners of its &ldquo;Outstanding School Safety Patrol Students, only one local student received the honor, according to the organization: Kiele Maday, a fifth-grader from Greater Nanticoke Area&rsquo;s Elementary Center.
				The honor earns more than a plaque, which Maday received during a Zoom call with representatives from AAA Mid-Atlantic, her principal and safety patrol advisor. She also got a Visa Gift Card.
				&ldquo;Maday is described as determined with a great work ethic,&rdquo; according to a media release. &ldquo;She always exceeds expectations with each task that is asked of her and consistently places the needs of her peers and teachers in front of her own to truly embody the meaning of an outstanding safety patrol.
				Maday works with the &ldquo;morning helper crew,&rdquo; assisting kindergarten students with morning routines. She splits her school commute with a bus ride in the morning &mdash; where she assumes the duties of safety patroller &mdash; and rides a car in the afternoon, according to the release. At least, that&rsquo;s how she used to do it.
				&ldquo;This year, Maday realized the need for her presence on the bus in the afternoon due to the limited number of patrollers available and volunteered to ride the bus home even though her ride is the longest in the district.&rdquo;
				And lest you think the AAA safety patrol program has gotten a little old fashioned after a century, AAA Mid-Atlantic notes more than 1,400 students participated in the program in nearly 70 area elementary schools. &ldquo;It is the largest school-based safety program in the world with more than 679,000 patrollers in 35,000 schools across North America and 30 countries.&rdquo;
				Those who may have actually strapped on the belt and badge decades ago may recall doing things like standing at a corner near the school and holding both arms out to stop students from crossing the street until no cars were in site. The basic idea hasn&rsquo;t changed. The goal is to offer one of their own to help fellow students learn and follow traffic and bus safety.
				As the release notes, &ldquo;AAA School Safety Patrols direct children, not traffic. As school-age leaders in traffic safety, patrol members teach other students about traffic safety on a peer-to-peer basis. They also serve as role models for younger children.
				&ldquo;Patrols complete training in traffic safety so they can protect students from the hazards of crossing roads and highways on their way to and from school; assist bus drivers in safely transporting students to and from school; teach fellow students about traffic safety; and serve other leadership functions under the direction of school officials.&rdquo;
				OK, the arms are up, stop here.

Safety patrol work earns Greater Nanticoke Area student award