The Austin Fire Department held its annual Junior Fire Safety Program, fire poster contest winner’s party at McDonald’s on Oakland Avenue Thursday, Oct. 30.

The Junior Fire Safety program is conducted in the fourth-grade class.  Participating schools are: Austin Catholic Elementary School, Banfield, Neveln, Southgate and Sumner elementaries, with a total of about 425 students.

The program is about a four to five weeks long and is taught by the school teachers and members of the fire department.

As part of the program, there is a fire poster contest.  There are two winners from each school.  Members of the fire department choose the winning poster with the fire chief choosing the overall winner.  The overall winner’s poster will be sent to the state fire poster contest.

This year’s overall winner is Isaac Arnold and his poster is “Meeting places make happy faces.”  Arnold is a student at ACES.  At the fire poster party, each student received food and gifts from McDonald’s and a gift card from Kmart.