Tragedy keeps on teaching

Adam Ruff loves to ride his bicycle. The 11-year-old rides as often as he can along the neighborhood streets and nearby trails.

He always wears a protective helmet and not too long ago, after a tumble from his bike left him with a nasty case of road rash, learned not to ride without a shirt.

Now, thanks to the legacy of a boy who was struck by a motorist and killed while participating in an organized bicycle race almost 10 years ago, Adam knows the proper hand signals to use when he’s biking.

Adam was one of the first visitors to “Cooper’s Corner,” an interactive safety exhibit that opened at the Mobius Kids Center at River Park Square on Friday morning.

Accompanying his cousins, 9-year-old twins Rachel and Bethanne and 2-year-old Ella, Ruff moved through the exhibit. He pushed buttons to change the lights on the pair of stoplights mounted on the ceiling and pedaled one of the stationary bikes connected to video monitors.

He sat still while Ella held a stethoscope up to his heart and listened to hear it beat.

But until he was shown the sign telling Cooper’s story, Adam didn’t understand the circumstances behind the exhibit.

In 1997, Cooper Jones, a 13-year-old student at Chase Middle School, was killed on his bicycle. Jones was an avid cyclist and was participating in a sanctioned race when he was struck.

After his death Cooper’s parents, Dave and Martha Jones, focused on creating a lasting benefit from their personal tragedy.

Now, thanks to the efforts of the Cooper Jones Advisory Committee, fire and police agencies, volunteers and a grant from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, the interactive bike safety exhibit is a reality.

Gage Stromberg, executive director of Mobius Kids, and Mary Brandt, director of exhibits and programs, watched as children filtered into the corner outfitted like a miniature city.

“This was a huge, collaborative effort,” Stromberg said. “Once people in the community learned what we were doing, they stepped up and made it happen.”

He pointed to the colorful murals and said, “That’s a good example.”

The murals were painted by local muralists Rolf and Peter Goetzinger. “We couldn’t afford them ordinarily, but they worked with us and got behind the project and worked with our budget.”

Other materials and creative efforts were donated or provided at reduced cost. “The Inland Empire Electrical Training Trust, the electricians union apprentice program, helped us with our wiring,” Mary Brandt said. “It was like that with everyone we talked to.”

Adam Ruff stopped to read a copy of the school report Cooper Jones wrote when he was 12 years old. In it Cooper listed his ambition to become an Olympic cyclist.

“This makes you think,” Adam said. “It makes you think about being safe.”