Crime-prevention event is scheduled in Girard

By Linda Linonis

The seminar will focus on personal safety strategies.

GIRARD — A crime-prevention seminar this weekend will teach participants to avoid becoming easy targets, said Pam Karousis, instructor.

Karousis, a National Rifle Association certified instructor, will offer the class Saturday afternoon at First Christian Church, 130 E. Broadway St.

Pastor Ron Maurer said the church’s action committee is interested in sponsoring such programs as an outreach to the community. The committee plans fundraisers and programs. A committee member met Karousis at a financial planning event and learned that she taught various safety-issue programs.

“This is our first endeavor in doing something like this,” Pastor Mauer said. “People, especially the elderly, need to know how to handle phone and door situations so that they don’t end up being a victim.”

He said because Girard has a high number of senior citizens, he thought the program would be beneficial.

Karousis said an experience she had a shopping mall parking lot changed her outlook. She said she was hesitant to leave the mall because it was dark and no one else was around. But, she did anyway. Two men confronted her in the parking lot, aiming to rob her. Though she managed to get away unharmed, the experience forced her to assess her ability to maintain her personal safety. “I went to get trained,” she said.

Karousis, who works as a full-time nail technician, is an NRA certified instructor in pistol, concealed carry, rifle and personal safety. She teaches adult education classes in these areas at Trumbull Career and Technical Center.

But her experience highlights points she will share with seminar participants. She said two points are important — always be aware of your surroundings and listen to your intuition. “When you’re texting or talking on a cell phone, you’re not paying attention,” she said. Karousis said her presentation will include information on stun guns and how they work and pepper spray as two examples of personal protection devices.

She also will discuss home alarm systems. But, she noted, there are less-expensive and less-complicated devices such as remote controls to turn on house lights and devices that turn on lights at certain times.