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No lifeguards for Denare's Main Beach

The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.

The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.

Swimmers will do so at their own risk in Denare Beach for the remainder of the summer. The Main Beach will no longer provide lifeguards as the Denare Beach Recreation Board decided to 'change the focus of our lifeguards...to education and prevention rather than scanning the water,' reads a Northern Village of Denare Beach newsletter. Recreation Director Laurie Stomp says while the beach safety officers _ formerly called lifeguards _ will continue to be present at the Main Beach, they will no longer be scanning the water. 'They are preventing and educating,' said Stomp. Beach safety officers will no longer be scanning the water but Stomp says they will still respond to emergencies. The Recreation Board consulted with the National Lifesaving Society and made the decision after careful deliberation. The Recreation Board made their decision based on six key points _ including that the village was only able to hire two lifeguards for this summer and at times only saw one on duty. A village newsletter notes that lifeguards scan the water for 30 minutes. They then rotate, changing their post and preparing for the next 30-minute scan. 'Therefore, with one guard we cannot provide full coverage,' the newsletter read. 'A lot of people are feeling secure because we have lifeguards and children are there without their parents,' said Stomp. 'There is a false sense of security,' she added. 'On busy days,' the newsletter read, 'there would be more people in the water than one or two lifeguards could monitor.' Stomp went on to explain that in a pool, a lifeguard can control the number of people swimming at one time. But at a beach, she says, there are no restrictions. 'You can have 10 people at the beach or you can have 150 at the beach,' she said. The two other points made by the Recreation Board cover the education of the beach safety officers as well as creating a safe environment. 'The focus of our current...Beach Safety Officers... is to educate the public on safety and ensure that young children have a responsible adult supervising them,' read the newsletter. 'They will also monitor the dock so that only those who can swim go on the dock.' Stomp says the beach safety officers will control things like making sure that people on the dock are wearing their proper lifejackets as well as being supervised by adults. 'So, the job description didn't change that much, they just aren't scanning the water,' said Stomp. The Village of Denare Beach will offer swimming lessons this summer to ensure water safety, but Stomp says parents still need to be at the beach with their children. In past years the Main Beach has seen four lifeguards on duty with the chance for them to rotate for safety purposes. With only two lifeguards employed by the village this summer _ as only two applications were received _ Stomp says it 'puts a lot of pressure on the lifeguards' this year.

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