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State to hold child safety seat clinic in Clovis

CLOVIS — Buckle up for safety, and be sure to do it properly: That’s the message from the state, which for the first time will include Clovis in its annual “Child Safety Seat Clinics” Saturday morning at Wal-Mart.

Efforts to educate local parents on the “proper selection and use of their child safety seats,” have taken place sporadically in the city in years past; but this is Clovis’ first time to be included among seven other cities statewide in the “National Child Passenger Safety Week Seat Check Saturday.”

Certified technicians will be on site at the store from 10 a.m. to noon and parents can bring their car seat and their child. The event is free, and the first to arrive will be first served, according to a news release from New Mexico Department of Transportation.

“We try to get all over the state,” said Lisa Kelloff, chief executive officer of Safer New Mexico Now, which is assisting with the project.

“Clovis is doing really well, and to me it’s a really underserved area. I’m going to try to help them throughout the year.”

Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration “estimated three out of four child safety seats are not used correctly. However, the use of child safety seats reduces fatal injury by 71 percent in infants and by 54 percent for toddlers ... in passenger cars,” said the release.

Those who cannot attend the clinic Saturday morning can access educational resources by calling 800-231-6145. There are car seat “fitting stations” in various locations in the state but none yet in Clovis — although that could change in the coming years, said Kelloff.