CCSO Back-To-School Countdown Under Way

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office’s annual seven-day Back-To-School Countdown starts today.

Look for CCSO banners and lighted marquee message boards around Collier County reminding the public that the first day of school is Aug. 22.

The outdoor banners will be at Collier County Sheriff’s Office Headquarters at the county government complex, Big Cypress Elementary School in Golden Gate Estates, Shadowlawn Elementary School in East Naples, and East Naples Middle School.

In addition to the seven-day countdown, the lighted marquee boards will carry the safety message, “Give Kids A Brake.” They will be on Collier Boulevard near Oakridge Middle School in Golden Gate; on Golden Gate Boulevard near Big Cypress Elementary; on Airport-Pulling Road near Pelican Marsh Elementary School in North Naples; and at the construction corridor of Oil Well Road by Corkscrew Middle School in the Estates.

The countdown is a way to remind motorists that our roads will soon be filled with cars and buses filled with schoolchildren, and that school speed zones will be back in operation. It’s also a way to remind school kids that they need to think about their own safety whether they’re on the bus, on the sidewalk, at school, or with friends.

Additional marquee message boards will be posted the week school starts.

During the first week of school look for deputies in marked patrol vehicles and in unmarked vehicles with their emergency lights flashing parked at school speed zones, crossing guard intersections and other areas where large groups of students walk to and from school.