Jodie Merrill, 19, an OAC student at
Confederation Secondary School, sits atop “The Chair” keeping a
watchful eye on the residents enjoying the water in Whitson Lakeduring a
hot afternoon recently. With her,
is Head Lifeguard, Aimee-Lee Boyer, 18, an OAC student from L’Horizon,
and Katie Edmunds, 18, who will be entering into OAC at Confederation
Secondary School. The other member of the team is Head Lifeguard,
Jennifer Williamson, 19, a nursing student at Laurentian University.
Three of the four life guards are on duty seven
days a week between the hours of 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.
“There are a lot more people using the beach
this year than last year,” commented Boyer. “The City of Greater
Sudbury has been doing a real good job of keeping the place clean and
fixing things up so that people will enjoy the are more. The number of
late night parties has been cut down a lot since they put up large rocks
and a gate, and we haven’t had one break-in this summer. They’re
even installing a phone this week.”
All of the life guards in the region attend
in-service training at Bell Park every Tuesday morning to keep up with
their skills. They also attended a week-long training week in June prior
to the commencement of their
work session. As for the girls from Valley East, they also work as
instructors during the winter at the Howard Johnston Recreation Centre
in Hanmer.
“Things are very well organized this year,”
continued Boyer. “Everything is done by the book and it is much more
structured. We all know what has to be done and when to do it, and the
supervisors make sure that it is done.”
“We have only had minor problems such as cuts
and scrapes this summer - nothing major,” commented Katie. “The odd
time we have had to get tough with some of the kids, but they respect
our authority and it hasn’t been too difficult.”
Residents of Valley East who have not been to
Kalmo Beach (or Sandy Beach as some call it), would be very pleased with
the improvements to the area. It is a wonderful facility for young
children, well supervised, and a great spot for an afternoon picnic or
barbecue. Take the short drive along Main Street, past Sunnyside
Subdivision and turn at Kalmo Road. See one of Valley East’s most
scenic environments.
The
Life Guards will remain on duty until August 31.