Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Woman in Sun City Swims 100 Miles to Raise Drowning Awareness



Nearly 180 children drowned in Arizona in 2011 -- up from 140 in 2010, according to the Children's Safety Zone, an organization that tracks the state's drowning statistics. But a Sun City grandmother is working hard to cut that number.
Kathleen O'Brien Lawrence, 68, has raised about $2,000 benefiting the Valley of the Sun YMCA's drowning-prevention programs over the past three years.
Her efforts have taken her from swimming among the glaciers in Alaska to rivers in France.

Lawrence completed her 100th mile Saturday at the Southwest Valley Family YMCA in Goodyear.
"I'm going to do another 20 for the Y because it's their 120th anniversary this year," she said.
The importance of children learning to swim was first made clear to Lawrence when, as a child, she pulled her 2-year-old sister out of a Minnesota lake before it was too late.

The number of children Lawrence knew who lost their lives to drowning increased as she aged. And the issue was increasingly at the forefront of her mind when she moved to Arizona, which regularly ranks among the top-five states for childhood drownings. Lawrence concluded that she had to draw more attention to the issue.

"You can never take your eyes off the child," Lawrence said. "Children and water don't mix unless there's an adult there."

Lawrence is a member of U.S. Masters Swimming, a national swimming organization for adults. She supports the YMCA because of its commitment to making swim lessons accessible, she said.
Adrianne Sloat, head of the Southwest Valley Family YMCA board of managers, said the organization has always been committed to teaching underprivileged kids about water safety.

"The policy is we don't turn anyone away from any services at the Y for a lack ability to pay," Sloat said. "You should never not walk in the door because you're afraid that you won't be able to afford it."
Lawrence works with local fire departments and children's hospitals to promote drowning prevention and hopes to eventually affect legislation. She wants parents whose children drown due to neglect to be held accountable.

Lawrence, a former triathlete, understands that swimming doesn't come easily for everyone.
Three years ago, she was told she'd never swim again after crushing her left rotator cuff in an accident at home. But Lawrence was back in the pool three months later. She's had seven surgeries over the past two years to repair the injury.

"I would get back in the pool as soon as the stitches healed," Lawrence said. "I've got the lungs of a 21-year-old."

Lawrence, who in 2010 swam across San Francisco Bay from Alcatraz with nearly 50 youths, often does the backstroke while balancing a bottle of Gatorade on her head, a skill she learned on a swim team.
"If I look silly with this orange bottle on my forehead, if I can save one kid's life, it's all worth it," she said.
Angelica Webb, 19, is the swim and dive coach at the Southwest Valley Family YMCA. She said the publicity Lawrence attracts to Arizona's childhood-drowning issue has been invaluable.

"Kids get false faith in their ability to swim," Webb said. "That's the biggest issue. If there's no fear, they're not afraid to jump in. As soon as they're in their 'I know how to swim' phase, that's when you need to watch them most."

Monday, October 8, 2012

Rockville, New York considers pool fence law


Board considers pool fences, home maintenance fees and going paperless.
Giving pool owners who live on corner properties more leeway regarding fencing requirements was one of several topics discussed at the village trustees briefing session Thursday night.
The current code does not allow for a pool fence to go beyond the width of the house, therefore severely cutting into the space of backyards in some cases.
“We find that homeowners who live on corner properties lose a lot of space, especially when they have pools,” trustee Edward Oppenheimer said. “We want to allow that fence to come out only three feet of the property line, which will give the owner a larger yard.”
Deputy Mayor Nancy Howard agreed, but clarified that keeping children safe from drowning is backyard pools was her main priority.  
A three- or six-month freeze on maintenance fees for homeowners was another building department topic. The board wants to make sure that all work and improvements done on homes is up to code, but they do not want to penalize those who unknowingly bought homes that didn’t have proper permits.
“If the homeowner did the work themselves and they’re trying to sneak it in the back door, I’m not happy,” Oppenheimer said. “But if the homeowner can prove that they bought the house with that addition already there, I’d like to give them a break.”
The village is taking steps to eliminate “surfboard signs,” a popular new type of storefront banner that has already been restricted in the Town of Hempstead. Trustees claim these elongated colorful signs are not aesthetically appropriate and possibly a dangerous distraction to drivers.
In the interest of economy, ecology and efficiency, trustees would also like municipal buildings to become more paperless. They are considering several measures as a step in that direction, which includes having village employees doing more emailing and less photocopying for interoffice correspondence.
Another suggestion was supplying all trustees with iPads or laptops to communicate with each other, instead of leaving memos in each other’s mailboxes. Controller Mike Sussheim said that he will investigate the possibility of securing a state grant for these devices.
“It’s very possible that there may be some grants for this,” he said. “But we need to work quickly and take advantage of the 75 percent grant that might be available right now.”
Oppenheimer said that an inventory should be done of all printers in the village and to train all employees on how to scan documents into PDF or Adobe files. However, he said that in cases where the file is already in electronic form, it is wasteful to print it rather than forward it electronically.
“We need the right company to come in and teach us how to get this done,” he said. “I don’t’ care how it’s done, but I want it done. It’s important.”
After careful consideration and price negotiations, the board also approved bids on four items for the electric department, which include cable and wire, roof replacement, brick façade and step voltage control regulators.