Safety video earns accolades

Elgin High School juniors, from left, Rachael Jones, Taylor Luse and Lauren Sauers, created a work safety video for their digital video. The video is a finalist in a state contest. PEGGY ANTHONY photo

Elgin High trio produce 46-second video that is finalist in statewide workplace safety contest

The students, Rachael Jones, Taylor Luse and Lauren Sauers, have produced a 46-second video that they recently learned is one of 10 finalists in a statewide workplace safety contest organized by the Oregon Occupational Health and Safety Administration.

“(Being chosen as a finalist) is very exciting,’’ Sauers said this morning.

The video made by the juniors is titled “Save A Life, Don’t Throw A Knife’’ and is about kitchen safety. It urges people working in kitchens not to toss knives.

The video, recorded by Luse, shows Jones and Sauers working in the kitchen of Stella Mayfield Elementary School’s cafeteria. Jones tosses a knife-like instrument to Sauers, who steps away from it with a genuinely frightened look on her face.

Getting the timing of the kitchen scene down correctly was challenging, Sauers said. The students needed about a dozen takes to shoot the scene.

Text is displayed on the video after the kitchen scene. It urges people to speak up when co-workers are throwing knives, cutting unsafely, not handling knives safely, not storing them properly or not being provided the proper clothing needed to protect themselves while working.

Music is played throughout the video. Sauers said that she and Luse and Jones worked hard at matching the intensity of the music with that of the images shown.

The students made their video as a part of a project for Peggy Anthony’s digital video class at EHS.

Elgin is the smallest high school with an entry making it to the finals and the only one from Eastern Oregon. The other finalists are from Crescent Valley, Summit, Glencoe, Lake Oswego, Parkrose and Springfield high schools. Summit and Springfield both had two video entries which are finalists.

The “Save a Life, Don’t Throw a Knife’’ video and those of the other finalists are posted on YouTube at youtube.com/user/OregonSafetyHealth. The other videos show students portraying people involved in incidents including a texting and driving accident and an auto shop mishap.

“The Save a Life, Don’t Throw a Knife’’ video has received close to 400 hits on YouTube.

All student teams entering the contest were encouraged to create a 45-second public service announcement based on the concept of “speaking up about potential workplace hazards.’’

The contest is sponsored by the Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology, the Public Health Division of the Department of Human Services, the Employee Safety Coalition, Oregon OSHA, the State Accident Insurance Fund and the American Society of Safety Engineers.

The video contest was open to all high school students in Oregon. It was designed to increase awareness about safety on the job for young people. Its theme is “Save a Friend, Work Safe.’’

The winning entry will be announced Saturday in Salem at a screening in Northern Lights Theater. A member of the team that made Elgin High School’s entry will attend.