Elementary school to host health and safety fair

The annual Houston Parents As Teachers Health and Safety Fair is 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Houston Elementary School.

During the free event, kids and their parents can visit booths featuring numerous organizations and businesses offering opportunities for kids to learn and to have fun.    

The Missouri Freemasons will conduct the Child Identification Program, which consists of five major components: digital photographs, digital fingerprints, vital child

information and emergency contacts, a dental bite impression and two laminated ID cards.

The photographs, fingerprints, and child data are burned onto a mini-CD that is compatible with the AMBER alert system already in place. The dental impression provides a virtual diagram of a child’s biting surface, which, like fingerprints, is unique to each individual and supplies enough saliva to provide a DNA sample that can also be used as scent source for trained canine search teams.

This process is known to provide a dramatic, time sensitive recovery tool for authorities. The Texas County Sheriff’s Department, Houston Police Department and Family Dentistry (Drs. Richardson and Wilson) will be on hand to help. 

Some of the organizations that will be represented at the fair are Red Cross, National Weather Service, City of Houston Fire Department, City of Houston Emergency Management, Texas County Emergency Management, Texas County Food Pantry, Forbes’ Pharmacy, Drury nursing program, Texas County Technical College and Christos House. For more information, or to sign up a business or organization to be a part of the fair, call 417-967-4484.