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There’s always a need, and always a season, for school crossing guards

By Brad Hundt staff Writer bhundt@observer-Reporter.Com 3 min read
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Joe Cawley of Bethel Park spent years working on and selling cars at the Don Allen Chevrolet dealership in O’Hara Township.

Now, in his retirement, he spends part of his days stopping cars.

Cawley is one of a corps of crossing guards that help Bethel Park students safely get to and from their schools. The creed of the United States Postal Service promises that snow, rain or heat will not keep its workers from their labors, and the same goes for school crossing guards.

Whether it’s the arctic chill of a winter morning, the summer heat that lingers in September, the brightest sunshine or the most torrential downpour, crossing guards are deployed at crosswalks in communities around the country to make sure students safely cross busy boulevards as they make their way to school buildings. They might seem to be a quaint throwback to a more distant time, like something from a Norman Rockwell illustration, but an estimated 11,000 school crossing guards are still employed in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Cawley has been one of them for 15 years. Like many crossing guards, he took on the job after his days working full time were done so he could remain active, but still have the bulk of his days free to pursue his own interests.

“I like working with children, and I like working with people at the school,” Cawley explained. “It gets you up in the morning.”

Next door to Bethel Park, the Mt. Lebanon School District is one of the rare districts that does not have a fleet of buses and relies on students either walking to school or traveling in cars. Throughout the school year, more than 40 crossing guards take up spots at key intersections in the morning and then in the afternoon. Along with being able to tolerate all kinds of weather, being a crossing guard requires standing for long periods, being able to tolerate a certain level of noise and fumes and a degree of diplomacy – being kind but firm to both children and drivers comes with the territory.

There can be some danger associated with the job, particularly as drivers become more distracted and, often, more belligerent. Last year, crossing guards were killed on the job in California and Michigan, and being a crossing guard crops up on lists of the most dangerous occupations, along with firefighters, roofers and power line workers.

“We haven’t had any incidents with our guards for a very long time,” said Laura Pace Lilley, a spokeswoman for Mt. Lebanon. Both Bethel Park and Mt. Lebanon school districts split the cost and responsibility for the crossing guards with their municipal police departments.

In Mt. Lebanon, the costs for crossing guards are shared between the municipality and the police department, an arrangement that is similar in other communities.

“It’s a good job for a second job or a part-time job,” according to Timothy O’Connor, Bethel Park’s police chief.

Individuals who are interested in applying to be a school crossing guard in the Mt. Lebanon School District can contact Sharon Kroner at 412-343-4540 or at skroner@mtlebanon.org.

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