Evening beachgoers hang out near the 50-year-old San Clemente Lifeguard Headquarters building, which was approved this week by the City Council to receive a $1.2 million renovation and modernization project. (Photo By Jeff Antenore, Contributing Photographer)
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED: SAN CLEMENTE — For awhile, Marine Safety Lt. Rod Mellott and other lifeguards worried that their aging headquarters just to the north of the San Clemente pier might need to be relocated.
Though a small sea wall provides some protection, strong surf has pulled away tons of sand from beneath the 50-year-old wooden building. Gaping holes have left the 5,000-square-foot structure vulnerable and high surf has smashed windows and eroded pilings beneath it.
With this week’s king tides, the headquarters’ windows have been sealed off with plywood because its storm shutters no longer work.
However, on Tuesday, June 12, the San Clemente City Council alleviated the lifeguards’ fears, giving final approval for a $1.2 million plan to renovate the building allowing it to stay where it is.
Earlier discussions over its degrading state had council members considering alternative locations — including moving the building from the beachfront to behind the train track in the San Clemente Pier Bowl or even further north, to T-Street or North Beach. But that would have required state approvals, adding to the delay and expense.
With the council’s OK, renovation is slated to begin after Labor Day and take about four to five months. Most permits have approval and the city is finalizing agreements with the California Coastal Commission and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Renovation efforts are expected to extend the building’s life for at least a decade.
“The building hasn’t had significant attention since 1986,” said Tom Bonigut, San Clemente’s public works director, as he toured the site, pointing out areas of repair. “It’s just been about doing small maintenance.”
Bonigut said another project city officials are working on could have had an impact on the marine safety headquarters. That involves bringing in 251,000 cubic yards of sand to expand the width of the beach near the headquarters by 50 feet. Read more…
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Grab your sunscreen and towel – school is officially out for summer. The Sioux Falls School District’s last day of school was Friday. Now, it’s time to trade school for the pool. That’s right – Friday is also the opening day for Sioux Falls city pools. However, South Dakota has a low unemployment rate at less than four percent. Now, it’s tougher than ever to recruit workers, like the lifeguards that keep your family safe. KDLT’s Allison Royal tells us how they’re still making a splash despite the challenges.The smell of chlorine, the feel of sunscreen – they’re all staples of summer. These are some of the reasons these kids may one day grow up to be lifeguards.“When they were kids, they looked up to lifeguards,” said Jean Pearson, the recreation program coordinator. “They feel like this is one way that they can pay it forward.”However, with such a low unemployment rate in Sioux Falls and South Dakota, it’s been a little bit of a challenge to find enough lifeguards to staff the pool.“Everybody’s fighting for staff, especially in the summertime,” said Pearson. “We’re all fighting for the same pool of kids.”Fortunately, the city has a few ideas to work around the shortage.“I’ve been thinking outside the box for the last two years to try to make the job as appealing as I can,” said Pearson. Read More…
An 11-year-old boy in Minnesota is being hailed for helping to rescue a 3-year-old girl who nearly drowned at a beach over the Memorial Day weekend. Revelers enjoying unseasonably hot temperatures in Arden Hills, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, had gathered at a lake on Saturday when the incident occurred, according to Minneapolis ABC affiliate KSTP. Everett Melling, 11, was swimming at Lake Johanna when he saw the girl’s head go under water. Melling told KSTP he thought the girl might be playing a game, but quickly realized she was not. “Her head was under water,” Melling told KSTP. “She wasn’t moving at all.”
The boy yelled to the beach for help from his mother, who quickly shouted for help from those on the shore.”I dove in too,” Melling said. “We get her to the shore. There’s some nurses that know CPR. And they do that.”The nurses, who were enjoying the day at the beach, managed to get the girl breathing again until paramedics arrived.”I heard someone say, ‘She has a pulse,’ and someone else said she was breathing on her own,” Everett’s mother, Elena Melling, said. “She was coughing.” READ MORE
0 percent of fatalities in rivers, lakes, ponds and the ocean are boys, according to the new report from Safe Kids Worldwide. by Meghan Holohan / May.22.2018 / 4:12 AM ET / Source: TODAY
As the weather heats up many families will cool down by swimming at pools, rivers, lakes, ponds and the ocean. But a new report from Safe Kids Worldwide and Nationwide’s Make Safe Happen offers a warning about drowning: families need to pay more attention to swimming safety — especially in open water. “We used to hear a lot about kids drowning in pools and there has been a fair amount of work done in that area, and we have seen those drownings decrease,” Morag Mackay, director of research at Safe Kids Worldwide, told TODAY. “But drownings in open water have increased. ”Open water drownings have increased at the same time pool drowning have decreased. Courtesy Safe Kids WorldwideThe report — Hidden Hazards: An Exploration of Open Water Drowning and Risks for Children — finds that 43 percent of drowning occur in open water, such as quarries, oceans, lakes, rivers, retention ponds, reservoirs and ponds. Drowning in pools makes up 38 percent of drownings. Read more….
WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. – A statewide lifeguard shortage is worrying water park operators as they prepare to open for the season Memorial Day weekend. Noah’s Ark is one of the struggling water parks. For more than a month, they’ve been trying to encourage local teens to apply for open lifeguard positions. Water park officials are getting help from the state legislature, though. Wisconsin recently passed a law lowering the minimum age to be a lifeguard from 16 to 15. Noah’s Ark has already hired a number of 15-year-olds who will help guests with attractions, monitor shallow pools, and check height requirements.
LEXANDRIA, VA. (PRWEB) MAY 21, 2018 The Association of Pool and Spa Professionals (APSP) expressed concern today that many commercial pools & spas will be delayed in opening this summer season along the East Coast, especially in the Mid-Atlantic region, due to an unprecedented number of visa denials. Pools that will be impacted are those that supplement their American Lifeguard workforce by recruiting lifeguards internationally through the Summer Work and Travel Exchange Visitor Program. The swimming pool industry’s recruitment of overseas lifeguards has grown over the years due to the seasonal labor shortage caused by a variety of factors impacting the availability and interest of Americans pursuing seasonal employment. “For years now there has been an increasing downward trend of high school and college students applying for summer lifeguard positions,” said Jennifer Hatfield, APSP’s Director of Government Affairs. “Kids are choosing to focus on educational opportunities that limit their ability to apply for seasonal employment such as lifeguarding. In turn, pool management companies have had to increasingly supplement their lifeguard staff with the Summer Work and Travel Exchange Visitor Program. ”The Exchange Visitor Program provides foreign students with an opportunity to live and work in the United States during their summer vacation from college or university to experience and be exposed to the people and way of life in the United States. The last step before traveling to the United States is to submit to a personal interview at a U.S. Embassy in their home country. During the interview the consular officer decides whether or not to grant the visa to the applicant. “This year, for reasons unknown at this time, there has been a surge in visa denials in certain countries, which now will result in many pools in the Mid-Atlantic (where most jurisdictions require lifeguards at all commercial and condo pools) and across the East Coast from opening on time,” said APSP President & CEO, Lawrence Caniglia, JD, CAE. “Those who are expecting a Memorial Day Holiday by the pool may be waiting a few weeks while companies redouble their effort to recruit and certify quality lifeguards. Anyone looking for a great summer job should consider applying with their local pool management company. ”Since 2013, APSP’s J-1 Coalition has brought together member companies whose livelihood are dependent on managing community and public pools with reliable and competent workers throughout the season. The coalition has worked with members of the US House and Senate on potential unintended consequences of regulatory changes to the Summer Work and Travel Exchange Visitor Program. As the coalition continues that work, they will also be seeking answers for the recent surge in visa denials. For more information, contact APSP President & CEO, Lawrence Caniglia, JD, CAE at lcaniglia(at)apsp.org or call 703.838.0083 ext. 180. About APSP The Association of Pool & Spa Professionals (APSP) is the world’s oldest and largest association representing swimming pool, hot tub, and spa manufacturers, distributors, manufacturers’ agents, designers, builders, installers, suppliers, retailers, and service professionals. Dedicated to the growth and development of its members’ businesses and to promoting the enjoyment and safety of pools and spas, APSP offers a range of services including professional development through APSP University, advocacy at the federal and local levels, consumer outreach, and public safety awareness. APSP is the only industry organization recognized by the American National Standards Institute to develop and promote national standards for pools, hot tubs, and spas. For more information, visit APSP.org.
Parasites and bacteria may be lurking in hotel pools, hot tubs, CDC warns By Susan Scutti, CNN
Updated 1:02 PM ET, Thu May 17, 2018CDC warns of swimming pool parasite (2015) 493 disease outbreaks linked to treated recreational water were reported in the US over 15 years. These outbreaks caused at least 27,219 illnesses and eight deaths(CNN)Hotels set the stage for nearly a third of all disease outbreaks in the United States linked to chlorinated or treated water — such as pools and hot tubs — between 2000 and 2014, according to a new government report. During that 15-year period, a total of 493 outbreaks linked to treated recreational water were reported in 46 states and Puerto Rico, the report indicates. The report defines an outbreak as similar illnesses occurring in two or more people that are linked by location and time to a particular body of treated water. Pool party poopers: CDC warns of parasitic infection, toxic gasAll told, these outbreaks caused at least 27,219 illnesses and eight deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Thursday Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The culprits: parasites and bacteria. More than half (58%) of the outbreaks with a confirmed source were caused by the parasite Cryptosporidium, commonly called Crypto, which can survive even in well-maintained pools and can give swimmers gastrointestinal illness and diarrhea. READ MORE….
Posted: May 16, 2018 2:23 AM PDT Updated: May 16, 2018 8:17 AM PDT Ashleigh Jackson, Digital Producer, Aleisha Rankin and Gregory Grant (Family Photos, WJAX via CNN)
(Meredith) -A man and woman sacrificed their lives to save a toddler from drowning in the ocean off Georgia’s coast on Mother’s Day.Several families were celebrating the holiday on the beach of St. Simons Island on Sunday evening when they witnessed 34-year-old Aleisha Rankin fighting to stay afloat.She jumped in the water to save a little girl, who began to drown while playing with a group of unattended children, according to The Brunswick News. “All I heard was there was a baby in the water,” witness Travis Williams told the newspaper. Good Samaritans plunged into the water as high tide approached to rescue Rankin and the toddler, including 39-year-old Gregory Grant. Witnesses said at one point Grant vanished beneath the waves and didn’t resurface. “The undercurrent, it was so strong,” Williams said. “We couldn’t grab him.” Williams said he and others managed to bring Rankin and the child to shore on the beach, roughly 70 miles south of Savannah. He said he watched as two nurses performed CPR in an effort to revive the woman.Rankin, a mother of four, later died at the hospital. The toddler survived without any serious injuries. Rankin’s first cousin, Von Walker, said their family is heartbroken but they have some peace knowing Rankin gave her life to save someone else’s. “She always put herself aside when it came to anybody’s child, not just her own,” Walker said. “That’s just the mother in her. She did what any mother would do — on Mother’s Day.” READ MORE….
USA Swimming Moves Forward on Youth Ban of High-Tech Suits May 14, 2018 Tom Taylor
Team USA’s Missy Franklin competes in the second Semifinal of the Women’s 200m Backstroke on Day 6 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)On Saturday, the board of USA Swimming moved forward a plan to ban tech swimming suits for juniors younger than 13. The proposal will now go to a vote by the organization’s house of delegates in September. The suits are believed to give swimmers a significant edge over opponents wearing lower-tech clothing, but put an extra financial pressure on parents—they retail from at least $100, and often much more.High-tech suits first appeared a decade ago. Their construction, including bonded seams and a water repellant coating, reduces the hydrodynamic drag on a swimmer. And less drag means faster lap times.Speedo’s LZR Racer, developed with the help of NASA, was launched in 2008 ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games. At the time, Speedo marketed the suit as “the world’s fastest swimsuit.” During the world swimming championships in Rome the following summer, swimmers wearing the suits set 43 new world records. FINA, the sports governing body quickly jumped in to impose restrictions that limited suit size and materials, but the suits never truly went away. Eight years after the suits were first introduced, the Fastskin LZR Racer X, a derivative of Speedo’s original design, was worn by several members of Team USA at Rio 2016—other American swimmers wore similarly high-tech suits. Team USA dominated, with 16 gold medals and 33 medals in total. Read more
“Dry drowning” is a myth, but wet drowning is definitely not. Children must always be supervised while swimming.
by Rick Pescatore & Seth C. Hawkins, For the Inquirer
For years, always beginning in the spring, reports of “dry drowning” have appeared. Last year, when the death of a young child in Texas was attributed to “dry drowning,” the resulting accounts spread significant fear among parents. Social media, in particular, spread tales of healthy children who suddenly developed respiratory emergencies or even died without warning, sending legions of “worried well” to emergency departments and pediatricians’ offices. Well-meaning activists posted warning signs at local pools and organized awareness campaigns and legislation. Yet, there is no such thing as “dry drowning.” Drowning always follows some kind of submersion in water, but it is not always fatal. The outcome can range from mild respiratory symptoms to death. People who think “dry drowning” exists describe it as a rare condition.
But real drowning — the wet kind — sadly is not rare. It is a leading cause of pediatric injuries and deaths.The definition of drowning, established at the 2002 World Congress on Drowning, is “the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion or immersion in liquid.” In other words, no drowning can occur without exposure to liquid and some respiratory problem.
Drowning has only three subtypes: drowning without injury, drowning with injury, and fatal drowning. Further, there has never been a case reported in medical literature of an otherwise asymptomatic and healthy child who suddenly developed serious respiratory distress or died days after being in water. But it is important to know that symptoms can get worse in the hours immediately after a drowning event. So even mild symptoms after a drowning episode warrant medical attention.What do we mean by “mild symptoms”? Anything that feels worse than the sensation that, while drinking a glass of water, some of it went down “the wrong way.”
Every “dry drowning” tragedy has later been found to have its roots in another medical condition. But this part of the story seems never to make its way to social media.
Frankie Delgado, the 4-year-old boy whose 2017 death renewed the Facebook fervor over dry drowning, was later found to have died of viral myocarditis, a rare but dangerous heart condition with no relation to drowning, swimming, or any other water exposure. Other “dry drowning” cases have later been traced to rib fractures, pneumonia, collapsed lungs, and numerous other well-known medical conditions.
It has happened that people have died of drowning hours after leaving the water. But they died of untreated complications from “wet” drowning, not any sort of esoteric condition that could not have been prevented by timely medical attention. Drowning is never “dry.”
Nearly every major medical organization has spoken out against misleading terms such as “dry,” “near,” or “secondary” drowning applied to cases in which a patient got worse within hours of water exposure. READ MORE….
Swimming poolFAIRFAX, Va. —A man who reportedly suffered a bipolar episode and tried to drown himself in a pool is suing the police officers and lifeguard who pulled him out of the water. The lawsuit filed Friday by 23-year-old Mateusz Fijalkowski says he was left underwater for more than two minutes. He says eight police officers watched and stopped a lifeguard from jumping in to save him.AdvertisementWarning: Video included in the article linked below is graphic“The police allowed me to sink before their eyes,” Fijalkowski said in an email to the Washington Post. “I’m glad that in the end they realized that they shouldn’t let me drown, but I don’t thank them for letting me die, clinically, before their eyes.”When he was finally pulled out of the pool, he was not breathing and had no pulse. Officers performed CPR for several minutes before medics arrived and revived Fijalkowski with a defibrillator. Fairfax County Police Department says officers acted appropriately to save Fijalkowski and protect themselves and the lifeguard from a disturbed person.“They saved his life — he did not die,” Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. said. “You’re going to sue someone for saving your life?”Roessler insists that had they offered him help sooner, they may have been dragged under themselves. Police were called to the pool on the day of the incident because Fijalkowski had been acting strangely. He had reportedly been arguing with guests and speaking to himself. When officers arrived, Fijalkowski ignored them and shouted. Twice he threw his phone into the pool and retrieved it. The third time he entered the water, he walked into the deep end and held himself down with two vents at the bottom of the pool. Fijalkowski says he’s suing because the 2016 incident left him with more than $100,000 in medical bills. At the time of the incident, Fijalkowski says he had never suffered any mental health episodes. He was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Each summer, articles warning parents of the subtle signs of drowning start spreading across social media. The portrayal of the threat—as a silent killer that parents may not see before it’s too late, contrary to the dramatic scenes portrayed in movies and TV—may be what’s fueling the latest batch of misinformation making the rounds online.In the past month, ABC News, Prevention, and People have reported on the dangers of “dry drowning” or “secondary drowning”—a condition that, according to medical professionals, doesn’t exist. Every piece describes the same phenomenon: A child swallows water while playing in a pool or at the beach, but appears to recover quickly. Then up to 24 hours later, they start to exhibit life-threatening symptoms such as fever and difficultly breathing. The cause is either the inhaled water triggering spasms in their airways or water in the lungs leading to swelling and inflammation. Read more…
Mom’s hunch about dry drowning saves Florida girl. The child’s mother remembered reading about a Texas boy who died after inhaling water.
Author: Garin Flowers Published: 5:53 AM PDT April 23, 2018–Updated: 6:02 AM PDT April 23, 2018
SARASOTA, Fla. — Four-year-old Elianna is happy to be home. Her mom, Lacey Grace, says a freak accident last Saturday made her sick. But the root of the problem was slow to surface. It happened at her grandparents’ home down the street from hers in Sarasota.“She was just playing in the pool. We were all playing, it was a bunch of us. We were all just playing taking the noodle and blowing water in each other’s faces and then she just happened to put her mouth on it the same time somebody else put their mouth on the other end and it all went down. She immediately vomited, so we were thinking okay good, it came up,” Lacey said.Video after the incident shows Elianna was quickly back to normal. Even the next day, she was fine. Monday, she caught a fever. Tuesday, it continued. So on Wednesday, a doctor in the family recommended they get her checked out.“Went from there to the urgent care, which was about five minutes and in that five minutes, her skin turned purple, her heart rate was through the roof, her oxygen level was dropping. The doctor came right in and just said, ‘I don’t know where the nearest ER is’ because he’s new to the area, but he said, ‘You have to get to it right away.’”Lacey always had an idea what was wrong. A year earlier, she read an article about a Texas boy – the same age as Elianna – who died from what’s called secondary drowning, or ‘dry drowning.’ It’s when you inhale water through the mouth or nose and it gets into the lungs.“He passed away after seven days and she was on day four so it was just, I don’t know what would’ve happened if we waited. “According to medical experts, symptoms of dry drowning include trouble breathing, persistent coughing, sleepiness and fatigue, and vomiting.Related: Family warns of ‘dry drowning’ after son dies days after swimming Related: It’s not easy to spot a drowning child. Know the signsQuick-thinking doctors helped save Elianna.“I was crying, she was crying, I called my husband crying,” Lacey said.“There was two doctors that told me that, you know, thank God you brought her in because when her oxygen level was dropping in the hospital, she looked, she was sleeping, she looked like an angel. She didn’t look like she was struggling whatsoever.”Fresh out of the hospital, Elianna is taking antibiotics. The long week has her easily getting sleepy and she still isn’t eating yet. But she’s enjoying her new toys and on the road to a full recovery – something her parents are grateful for.“If you think something is off, I encourage you to get them checked out. Best case, they’re gonna say, ‘Your kid’s OK, something that’ll pass.’ And, worst case, they’re gonna say, ‘You need to get to the nearest ER immediately.’”Lacey believes little Frankie from Texas is her angel. Without his story, she wouldn’t have known what to do. She posted her story to Facebook, hoping to reach another family that might face the same issue in the future. It has been shared more than 37,000 times. Read More…
Metro Detroit firm expands reach to Indiana, Pennsylvania and Tennessee – www.theoaklandpress.com
TDG Architects expands nationally with client projects including Troy-based Goldfish Swim Schools’ plans for new locations in Bethlehem, PA and Franklin, TN. Photos courtesy of TDG Architects.
By Franklin Dohanyos ,
POSTED: |
TDG Architects in Pontiac is expanding its national reach through new contracts with Metro Detroit-based clients: Penske Automotive is expanding in Indiana, Goldfish Swim Schools in Pennsylvania and Tennessee, and The Big Salad, founded in Grosse Pointe Woods, is also adding locations out of state.
TDG Architects was chosen to design the new Honda Express Service Center in Carmel, IN owned by Penske Automotive of Bloomfield Hills. The service center is a same day auto facility, to be located at a 24,000-square-foot former Harley Davidson dealership. TDG designed the renovation with a 6,000-square-foot addition, as well as a complete exterior renovation. Construction on the approximate $3 million project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2018.
TDG Architects was recently retained to design two new centers for Troy-based Goldfish Swim School. The first is a brand new, ground up, 10,000-square-foot teaching and recreational facility in Bethlehem, PA. The second is a new Goldfish Swim School in a retail center in Franklin, TN. TDG continues to provide design concepts for Goldfish Swim School franchise locations across the country. Each location costs about $1.5 million for design and build out. Read More…
