Bike riders wearing helmets and skateboarders with knee pads could be rewarded with free food and store coupons thanks to a new safety program on Marine bases on Okinawa.

Starting next month, safety inspectors will be on the lookout for servicemembers, civilians and family members practicing safety standards at work or play, said safety specialist Shawn Curtis, of Camp Foster’s Installation Safety Office.

Inspectors will pass out vouchers that can be redeemed for food or a 10 percent discount on purchases of $100 or less at Army and Air Force Exchange Service establishments, Curtis said.

The effort is part of Camp Butler’s 101 Critical Days of Summer Safety program, which runs through Labor Day. For more information, call 645-3806.

U.S. Navy ships headed to assist PhilippinesAdditional U.S. Navy ships were en route Wednesday to the Philippines to render aid in the aftermath of a ferry disaster.

The Princess of the Stars was carrying more than 850 people Saturday when it was hit by Typhoon Fengshen and capsized near Sibuyan Island in the central Philippines, according to media reports.

Divers continued to search the wreckage for survivors Wednesday, but about 800 people remained missing and feared dead.

Ships of the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier strike group and the USNS Safeguard were to join the USNS Stockham, a P-3C Orion aircraft and nine U.S. Navy divers already at the scene of the accident, according to a 7th Fleet e-mail sent to Stars and Stripes.