Course at library to teach vehicular literacy

The majority of people Mark Sawatzky comes across, men and women alike, are "car illiterate."

"It's the way things are done now. Everybody buys vehicles with warranties and they get roadside assistance and everybody carries an AMA card and telephone. If it doesn't start when you put the key in, then it's somebody else's problem," Sawatzky said.

The owner of Sawatzky's Auto Repair will be teaching a class in the Olds Municipal Library's parking lot on April 18 on basic vehicle maintenance, including how to change a tire and do oil changes.

Those in attendance will also get some hands-on practice during the one-hour class, starting at 6 p.m. There are 20 spots available at $10 each. Refreshments will be served.

Sawatzky offers two reasons why people should learn about car care. One, in case nobody's around to do it for them. Another is to save money.

Almost everybody has a vehicle and learning how to care for them is just one of many different forms of literacy, said library manager Lesley Winfield.

"I think this will be a really great course for anybody who's interested in finding out a little bit more of the basics of taking care of their vehicles," she said.

Although the course is called "Mechanics 101 for women," Winfield said they won't turn men away.

The class is part of a ladies' night series. Self-defence lessons were part of a previous one.

"Our goal is to help people satisfy their curiosity for lifelong learning. That's one of our main guiding statements at the library," Winfield said.

"So we really try to think outside the box and have things people might want to learn that aren't necessarily a typical thing you'd associate with a library."

Registration is required for Mechanics 101. Contact the library for more information at 403-556-6460.

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