At the end of the year, the rules regulating how youths ride ATVs will change. By January 2012, all youths under 16 riding ATVs on public lands will be required to complete a hands-on class.

The Clatsop County Sheriffs Office will hold ATV safety classes Saturday and Sunday at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds on Walluski Loop. The two classes will consist of an ATV Safety Institute Ridercourse, a four-hour course for beginners, and an OSU/4H Youth Rider Evaluation Program, a two-hour course for kids who already posses an Oregon ATV Education Program card.

The intermediate course will take place, beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday.

To register, go online to OregonATVSafety.com. The registration fee is $20, paid online.

The beginners course will be split into two parts on Sunday: The 9 a.m. session will be for youths 6 to 11 years old,  while the 2 p.m. session will be for youths 12 to 15 years old. The fee for the intermediate course is $55, but Oregon residents are eligible for a $50 subsidy, effectively making the price $5.

There will be one 50cc and one 90cc loaner ATV available for use at the safety courses.

The law requiring the permitting of youths riding ATVs passed in the wake of a number of well-publicized stories of fatlal ATV accidents involving children.