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Lightning Pool-Closure Policy

Ttrammell — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 03:31:00 GMT

An article that appeared in the November/December 2008 issue of Aquatics International stated that there was no longer a need to clear indoor swimming pools during a thunderstorm. The article noted that there have been no documented deaths from lightning in indoor pools and that since the National Electric Code requires bonding and grounding, swimmers would be protected in the water. What most people will fail to take away from this article is that the author gave two necessary prerequisites for such a change in protocol. the pool area has to be completely bonded and grounded electrically a complete lightning protection system is requiredWhile it is true that current codes require bonding and grounding of the metallic elements in the pool area, most existing pools do not meet that standard and never have because they were built under different regulations. Many new pools do not comply because though the basic grid is bonded they have added stainless steel lifeguard chairs or metal bleachers that are not connected with the grid. To complicate the issue, over time concrete and the pool area environment can deteriorate bonding. Thus, just because a pool was built to code does not necessarily mean that it remains uncompromised, and to certify that a pool is presently grounded and bonded is an expensive process that must be repeated periodically to ensure that deterioration has not occurred and that new metallic elements have not been introduced.The second prerequisite, a lightning protection system, is not a common component of YMCA pool buildings, thus further minimizing the claim that clearing indoor pools during lightning storms is unnecessary. From just the standpoint of electrocution the statement is true. It is just not true for the vast majority of YMCA pools in this country.The article also states “’In fact, a pool closure policy is in violation of the National Electric Code section 250.4(A)(1) and you will be subject to regulatory enforcement.’ Dr. Weiss adds that facility operators must understand they are breaking the law by closing indoor pools.” NFPA 70 § 250.4(A)(1) says “Electrical systems that are grounded shall be connected to earth in a manner that will limit the voltage imposed by lightning, line surges, or unintentional contact with higher-voltage lines and that will stabilize the voltage to earth during normal operation.” Neither the quoted electrical code nor the more applicable National Electric Code article 680 (Swimming Pools [et al]) mentions either pool closure during electrical storms or regulatory enforcement; we have contacted NFPA for a confirmation.The good news is that national statistics do not include any deaths from lightning to people in indoor pools. Perhaps that is more because the practice is to clear the pools than because lightning does not strike pool areas. There are several documented instances of lightning striking YMCA indoor pools through glass or open windows and contacting the pool bottom, bleachers, or a lifeguard chair.The above comments basically address only death from electrocution. Pools with large expanses of glass have an additional exposure – not only may the glass be an avenue through which lightning may enter the facility, but a close strike may shatter windows. If the structure has a lightning protection system, that potential may be increased because lightning protection systems do not repel lightning – they attract it to a specific point so the energy can be directed to ground without damaging the facility. A close strike creates a significant sonic disturbance that could cause glass to fall on those in the pool area.The Redwoods Group, American Red Cross, National Lightning Safety Institute, Struck by Lightning.org and YMCA of the USA continue to recommend the proactive action of removing swimmers from indoor pools as a lightning storm approaches and until after it passes. This protocol includes keeping swimmers out of the showers, away from telephones, and clear of metallic objects or large expanses of glass until after the storm passes. Leaving the premises is also not advised.We are in agreement that people come to indoor pools to have fun; however we must also remain diligent in clearing the indoor pools during thunderstorms. There has been a tremendous amount of technology created to more accurately track thunderstorms. These affordable systems may decrease the time out of the water for the swimmers and help to decrease the dissatisfaction of the swimmers at having to clear the water.For the safety of indoor pool swimmers, as well as for the sake of our own consciences, we are retaining our historic stance and will continue to encourage the clearing of indoor pools during a thunderstorm.

Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act

Ttrammell — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:25:00 GMT

By now hopefully you have heard of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act and may have had some frustrations, especially since the date of implementation is right around the corner, December 19^th 2008. As with everyone that I have spoken with, most frustrations rose from a lack of being able to determine just what is needed for compliance. First let me say everyone needs to change their main drain covers so they are stamped with ASME A112.19.8-2007 or “VGB”. The most current list of approved vendors is located at http://www.cpsc.gov/BUSINFO/draincman.html. Next if you have a gravity fed or a surge tank system you are finished after you change drain covers. If you have multiple pool drains that are separated by 3 feet or more you should confirm water flow through each, thus ensuring that some are not shut off allowing all return water to flow through one drain. This can be done several ways:  by verifying the in-deck T-valves are in the open position  by introducing simple food coloring underwater just above the drains and visually observing the flow  by having a flow meter installed on each line that leads into the common return pipe which goes to the pump – sometimes this method is infeasible due to the location of the pipes or the expense. If you have a single main drain you have a few options to consider after changing the drain cover: installing a vacuum release system, an on-deck emergency pump shut off button, a second drain or gravity system, an atmospheric vent or disable the drain. Now for those of you that have an irregular drain cover (such as a metal curved floor to side wall) for which you cannot readily find a suitable replacement. The following steps may be useful. 1. Try to take some underwater pictures or drawing and send them along with the measurements to some drain cover manufacturers to check on the availability of a replacement. Remember to keep copies of the photos and your letters for file documentation. 2. Since this legislation is geared toward providing multiple layers of protection you could install an SVRS and emergency shut off button to demonstrate a good faith effort to comply with the legislation even though you currently cannot obtain a replacement drain cover.3. Your CEO should draft a letter and send it both to the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) to the attention of Scott Wolfson, swolfson@cpsc.gov and to your state/local health department. This letter should describe your existing pool situation in as much detail as possible (number and size of main drains, depth of water, distance between drains), the lack of available drain covers, who you have contacted for replacements, and the layers of protection you have added to try to meet the legislation requirements (SVRS and emergency shut off button). Finally ask CPSC for recommendations to remedy your situation and explain that the cost to reconstruct your main drains (citing the specific amount) would be a hardship or devastating burden to your YMCA. Remember this is Federal Legislation so whether or not the local jurisdiction having authority in your area inspects or enforces the statute it still applies, and until compliance meets the letter of the law you are still liable for any injuries that may occur. The above documentation will hopefully show good faith in abiding by the legislation and requesting guidance from CPSC, but it does not absolve your compliance responsibility.

Lifeguard Positioning

Ttrammell — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:13:00 GMT

To have safe pools and successful lifeguards, aquatic directors must commit to giving their staff the tools they need to succeed. We at The Redwoods Group have conducted investigations into over 100 aquatic incidents and found six common contributing factors. The most common of these contributing factors is improper guard placement. I frequently ask aquatic directors how they selected the positions for their lifeguards and the answers often surprise me. They range from “that is where the contractor put them” to “that is the only spot where they can see the entire pool.” Improper guard placement can lead to a number of failures: lack of line of sight due to obstructions, poor visibility due to glare, and inability of bottom detection due to a zone which is too large. Consider the following when choosing lifeguard positions:Can the guards see the entire bottom of the pool in their zone in 10 seconds?Can they reach all victims at all times within 10 seconds? There is actually a logical method for determining proper guard placement. It is called Zone Validation and Documentation. First draw pictures of your pool and make multiple copies. Shade the zone of coverage for each lifeguard and identify their positions. Place silhouettes (or a towel with a 10 lb weight) in multiple locations on the bottom of the pool within each zone. Climb into the lifeguard chair or stand in the lifeguard’s assigned position. Ask, “Can the guard see the silhouette?” Mark the location on the drawing of the pool and whether or not the silhouette was visible. Create a drawing for different times of the day and for each month of the year. Adjust the lifeguard positions or number of lifeguards until the entire bottom of the pool is visible. This documentation should be stored for future reference in the event of an aquatic incident. Next, use a stopwatch to time all lifeguards from the lifeguard chair or deck position to the furthest point in each designated zone. Can the guard make it to the furthest point in the zone with 5 swimmers in the water? How about with 35 swimmers in the water? As the number of bathers increases it will determine the ability of the lifeguard to get from point A to point B. Finally, let’s talk about lifeguard chairs. Remember, first and foremost, no flexible plastic chairs should be used as lifeguard chairs. Place official lifeguard chairs at the pool’s edge, not against the wall. The seat height should be appropriate to the depth of the water being guarded. I too often find a 6 foot tall chair in 3 feet or less of water. When is the last time the aquatic staff practiced entry into the water from the lifeguard chair? Entries should be performed on a regular basis so the staff are comfortable and know the appropriate entry for the depth of water. How many times has your lifeguard staff been injured trying to get out of the tall lifeguard chair quickly? Lifeguard chairs should also be placed so the lifeguards do not have to turn their heads more than 180 degrees to see their zone of coverage. If possible, the ideal positioning is to put lifeguard chairs on the corner giving the lifeguards a maximum 90 degree angle of scanning. No lifeguard chair position is perfect under every circumstance, so we must teach our staff to patrol or aggressively search the water when obstacles prevent seeing the bottom of the pool or as part of their normal lifeguarding routine.

Recruit Hire Retain

Ttrammell — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 05:40:00 GMT

As aquatic professionals we always want to have the best staff possible, because in the long run it makes our jobs much easier and our pools safer. So on this day of Thanksgiving I want to share some ideas on how to build the starting blocks of a great aquatic staff.

First you must recruit the “best of the best”; this does not mean the faster swimmer or smartest student but the one with heart. I often tell people I can teach technical skills to anyone, but I can not teach one of the YMCAs most important core value---caring. I look for staff that can genuinely show respect for each other, care for the lives they are protecting and can strive to do the best they can. Recruit from the lifeguard classes you teach both at the YMCA and in local high schools, attend job fairs at colleges and the community, and visit other facilities with lifeguards and look for those doing a great job. Inside your organization look for individuals in other departments who are member savvy, work hard and want to learn a different job skill set. If they are an excellent YMCA person but not lifeguard certified, offer them a chance to attend your lifeguard class and give a refund if they pass the course and work for a period of time for you. One very good method of ensuring great staff is to "grow your own" with junior lifeguarding classes, our YMCA daycamps have mastered this art with CIT programs (Counselors in Training).

Once you identify this person you must have an organized process to hire. Ask for verification of lifeguard certification, CPR/AED and First Aid. You should see the original cards, only do not accept copies of the cards. During the interview process you or your coordinator can copy the original certifications for the interview file and place your signature on the copy so there is a record of who saw the original cards. When you first talk to the potential new hire inform them of what this job entails. They should expect to get wet every shift, may have to work weekends, and must attend in-service training. Often potential staff are not given clear job expectations when they are hired so when their job performance is less than satisfactory we often blame the new hire. Inform your potential new hire to dress professionally for the interview, because you want them to respect this professional position from the start. You should tell them that the pre-employment screening will consist of three parts, an interview with question/answer, in water skills evaluation (to include CPR) and a small written knowledge test with lifeguarding and basic first aid questions. Potential lifeguards should have an orientation to your facility and perform a shadow guarding shift with a mentor. Have your new hire sign a code of conduct that you discuss with them. Often times this is a sheet that the new hire reads and signs without any discussion. If you talk with them at this point and stress certain parts of the code of conduct they will be less likely to behave inappropriately. Aquatic staff should acknowledge a “fit for duty” policy that should be enforced by the YMCA leadership. This policy points out that aquatic staff are expected to come to work well rested, sober, not on medication or illegal drugs. From the beginning the new hire needs to understand that when they show up for work they need to be 100% - 100% of the time. All aquatic staff should complete a child abuse prevention training on initial hire, often at a new employee orientation, and on an annual basis. This re-occurring training does not need to be as in-depth as what childcare staff must complete and can be integrated as part of a monthly in-service.

Once you have invested this much time and effort into finding the best of the best how do you keep them? Retaining aquatic staff will benefit the YMCA by decreasing overall training costs each year and improving lifeguard performance through experience. Some common ways to accomplish this is by offering compensation for increased certifications or levels, such as becoming a lifeguard trainer or by offering seasonal employees who return compensation incentives. Aquatic leadership should conduct community salary analysis to remain competitive within the lifeguard community. Learn to empower staff by giving them the confidence and enjoyment of working in a great organization. To retain staff the leadership must create an environment of trust, respect and teamwork. Most of all learn to say thank you when a job is done well. Remember, feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it………William Arthur Ward

Happy Thanksgiving Day to you and your families

Flick and Floats

Ttrammell — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:29:00 GMT

Fall always signaled two things for me when I was working in the YMCA. First it was my favorite season of the year so I brushed off my hiking boots and looked forward to conversations around the camp fire. But at work it meant budget preparation and forecasting time at the YMCA. As with most organizations on a year end calendar the last quarter was often tight due to the holidays, and this year you have the added tough economic times of our country. So, programming staff often resort to creative ideas to help offset some of their departmental expenses. One such program that many of you may be thinking about is the Flick and Float or Dive in Movies, which is simply a movie that is projected in the natatorium while people are swimming. This event can be fun and member engaging if the some proper precautions are taken.

First you must define the purpose of offering this program, is it for fundraising or member involvement? This will then allow you to weigh the risk of lifeguarding in less than optimal conditions, the extra work in staffing, and technical video setup against the possible benefits of the program.
Next determine if your pool is suitable for such an event. Is there underwater lighting, indirect lighting, or sufficient deck lighting? Do you need spot lights to help illuminate portions of the pool? I would strongly recommend never turning off all of your lights to view the movie, so if you can not turn banks of lights off (over the projection area) then your pool may not be suitable for this event.
You must then decide who will be invited and limit the number of people allowed in the water. Will this be for members only, or members and guests, or will it be open to the public? Offer pre-registration to give yourself an idea of how many will be attending and assist you in properly staffing the event. Remember that there may be people who want to attend but not get in the water (such as families with infants and older children) so you need to account for deck space.
All attendees should be swim tested and marked (florescent one time use neck/wrist bands work great) and/or everyone should be required to wear a lifejacket (they can bring one from home if it is USCG approved).
Verify your lifeguard’s visibility of the entire bottom of the pool by setting the lighting prior to the event (at the same time of the day/evening) and place a silhouette or towel in various areas of the zones of coverage. With the lighting can you see the shadow on the bottom of the pool?
Decrease the zone of coverage for the lifeguards, close any plunge devices, and if possible close deep water sections of the pool.
Station non-lifeguard personal around the perimeter of the pool and throughout areas of the deck to help with crowd control and to provide extra eyes on the water (Water Watchers).
Midway through the movie call an intermission where the pool is emptied of all bathers and the bottom is checked. This will allow for bathroom and swim breaks especially for younger children.
Remember to keep your lifeguards on strict rotation times and even decrease rotations to every 10 minutes. Also have lifeguards roving as this will help prevent the lifeguards from becoming sleepy or engaged in the movie. Consider having the lifeguards wear something that is florescent so they are easily spotted.
Some YMCAs have used multiple screens throughout the natatorium to increase visibility of the movie.
One variation of this event is to offer the movie in a gym or multi-purpose room with refreshments and at the intermission or the end of the movie open the pool for free swim (remembering to swim test everyone).

Every YMCA and JCC facility is different so remember to be practical and most of all safe. With that I wish everyone a wonderful fall season, go out and enjoy the colors.

Rosa sat...

KTrapani — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:38:00 GMT

...so Martin could walk. Martin walked so Barack could run. Barack ran so our children can fly.

I have no crystal ball, but I feel strongly that we are about to witness an historic evening -- an evening that, even here in the United States of Amnesia, will remain an indelible memory for all of us for the rest of our lives.

Many Democrats I know will be satisfied with nothing less than a sweeping rebuke of the 28 years of conservative ascendancy. They want, and expect, not only a 10-point Obama win, but also 60 seats in the new Senate. Neither is likley to happen.

At the same time, most Republicans would be ecstatic with even the narrowest margin in a McCain win.

Either way, tomorrow, we will be left with a collapsed global economy; an increasingly dangerous Middle East; genocide, starvation, pandemic and poverty in Africa; and a raging case of self-doubt here at home. However ambitious they are, either candidate ought be humbled by the circumstances under which he will come to power.

I'm interested in the thoughts of others, but I will share my own expectations here. I believe Senator Obama will win tonight, with 327 electoral votes.When Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio are declared realtively early for the Democrats, the outcome will be clear. Call me a Democratic optimist if you will, but I see several of the key "tossups" going Senator Obama's way: Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and, even, New Mexico. Sadly, I don't see North Carolina turning either Duke- or Carolina-blue, even after what appears to be a record-level voter turnout. It has rained all day here from Murphy to Manteo and the most passionate voters have already been to the polls. Finally, the McCain-Palin campaign worked hard here in the past 3 weeks and, by all accounts, made great progress among the remaining undecided voters. In a state where the incumbent Republican Senator recently resorted to calling her challenger "godless" in pervasive broadcast, mail and robocall advertising, old, bad habits die hard.

Whatever the outcome, I already find myself saddened by the conduct of the campaign. Senator McCain will lose because Senator Obama is a terrific candidate with a sound platform and because the economy could hardly be in worse shape. He will also lose because he ran as a hard-right candidate instead of the moderate senator he has been for 26 years. Pandering to the right and incessantly mis-characterizing the policies, motives and personal history of his opponent was -- in my view -- wrong-headed, divisive and entirely unneccesary. At this crucial time in our history, wouldn't it have been wonderful to have had an honest, civil discourse between two candidates with fundamentally different views of how to lead the country? Didn't we need, didn't we deserve, an intense dialogue about energy policy; access to education, health care and housing; international relations; financial policy? And, wasn't a 2-year campaign enough time to facilitate that kind of national debate?

It's time to put away ignorant hatred. It's time to stop listening to the maniac fringe on both sides of society. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have all the answers, but about 550 wise men and women in Washington, DC (and thousands more in State Houses all across the country) will have the opportunity, now, to move to the center and find real solutions to real problems in the next 2 years. Let's hope they are as awe-struck by the wreakage of the last 25-30 years as the rest of us are and they understand that the time for self-dealing and short-sightedness is gone.

Tonight, I believe we will elect a transformative new president, a man who can inspire a world made cynical by a generation of mediocre -- and, often, fatally flawed -- leadership. Tonight, we will likely elect a black man named Barack Hussein Obama and the long walk of Dr. King will have reached the end of a 40-year journey. Just as Rosa sat for all of us to be free, Martin walked for all of us to be free and Barack ran, and won, for all of us to be free. And, because of them, and thousands of other moral leaders public and private, our children -- all our children -- will be freed to fly.

Let me be the first to say it: Congratulations, America. We have, finally, been inspired by our better angels... and we have earned the leadership we deserve, and so desperately need.

Breath Holding vs Breathing Control

Admin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:00:00 GMT

The Redwoods Group recently released several articles about the dangers of underwater breath holding and shallow-water blackout.

http://www.redwoodsgroup.com/YMCAs/RiskManagement/FeaturesRMA03.asp

http://www.redwoodsgroup.com/YMCAs/RiskManagement/Lesson1.asp

http://www.redwoodsgroup.com/YMCAs/RiskManagement/Lesson2.asp

http://www.redwoodsgroup.com/YMCA/Y_AquaticAlert_HypoxicTrainingDeath_3.24.08.pdf

We are unequivocal in our recommendation - YMCAs must prohibit all prolonged, competitive, and repetitive breath holding activities.

Of course, some amount of breath holding is inherent in any swimming activity. What must be cleared up is the difference between appropriate breathing control in the water and dangerous breath holding activities.

There are two primary purposes for breathing control in swimming-improving technique and anaerobic exercise.

In both swim instruction and competitive swimming, breathing control is an essential element of technique in the water. Instructors teach rhythmic breathing and "bobbing" early on in swimming lessons in order to build confidence in the water, and swim coaches use rhythmic breathing in order to improve swimmer technique and reduce torso rotation during the stroke.

Competitive swimmers also engage in anaerobic exercise that involves limited breath holding. As with a sprinter on land, a swim sprinter naturally holds her breath while strenuously exercising in an effort to build power in fast-twitch "sprint" muscles. Such breathing control is common and appropriate when limited to 25 meters or less or when used in combination with rhythmic breathing training-such as breathing only every 5 or 7 strokes.

Breath holding, or hypoxic training as it is often known, differs significantly from breathing control. As opposed to breathing control for the sake of technique or anaerobic training, hypoxic training is breath holding for breath holding's sake.

Hypoxia is the condition in which the brain receives diminished levels of oxygen for a prolonged period of time. If hypoxia continues long enough for the body to use all the oxygen up, anoxia-and blackout-occurs.

In breath holding, where the swimmer purposefully tries to hold his breath for as long as he can, either motionless underwater or while swimming lengths, there is no purpose other than to dangerously challenge the limits of the brain by depriving it of oxygen. This challenge becomes even more dangerous when the swimmer hyperventilates beforehand because the low levels of carbon dioxide that result from hyperventilation fail to trigger the body's natural response to breath that usually occurs before anoxia.

In light of this distinction, what activities do we have to ban, and how do we quantify what amount of breath holding we prohibit? Here are the basics:

No static breath holding: No "Navy SEAL training." No trying to beat David Blaine's record. Not by kids or adults. There is simply no way for a lifeguard to tell when the conscious breath holding ends and the blackout begins. Even ideas such as having the person hold their hand out of the water and wave aren't appropriate. In that scenario the lifeguard would only respond when the hand drops down-after blackout.
No dynamic breath holding: No "how many laps can you swim underwater?" We know that the bottom of a pool is difficult to see even with perfectly clear water, and that even with supervision, a response would only occur after blackout. Limit any underwater swimming to 25 meters-or less for younger children or inexperienced swimmers.
No hyperventilation: Hyperventilation should not be permitted or encouraged, either before extended breath holding or before limited breathing control. Be aware that hyperventilation may be inadvertent. For example, after a set of hard sprints, an out-of-breath swimmer may naturally hyperventilate, and will also have depleted oxygen in the bloodstream. An underwater lap immediately following a set of sprints, or repetitive single laps underwater can prove dangerous.

Beyond these basic prohibitions, breathing control and anaerobic training are appropriate so long as performed within safe parameters. See [LINK Breathing-Control Guidelines].

All risk management measures must be practical, so please reply to this post with any questions or comments regarding breathing control in your YMCA-what's working, what's not working, what new ideas do we have, etc.?

Thanks, and keep up the safe summer!

Introduction to Aquatics Blog

Admin — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:52:00 GMT

Welcome to Redwoods Aquatics Blog. This blog exists as an online platform for The Redwoods Group staff and YMCA, JCC, and other aquatics professionals to share knowledge and best practices for running safe pools and waterfronts. We all have a common goal-that not one more life is lost in our water-and we hope that through this blog we can help move closer to that goal.

On the blog, we will post articles on current aquatics safety issues authored by Redwoods staff or guest authors from YMCAs, JCCs, and the greater community of aquatics professionals. We will also try to answer any questions or address any topics that you ask of us.

To get started, let's lay out the basics. The key to effective risk management is performance management-no easy task with a workforce largely comprised of teenagers. We demand a high level of professionalism from our guards, and ask that when on duty, that they are always:

In uniform and rescue ready, with a rescue tube, gloves and a pocket mask;
Properly positioned at the water's edge, either in an elevated chair or standing/patrolling; and
Actively scanning, maintaining 10x10 (or 10/20) and scanning the entire swimming area, including the bottom of the pool.

In return for the performance we demand from the lifeguards, we must be sure that as managers we are setting the lifeguards up for success. Remember, you can demand perfection from your guards, but that perfection must be possible. Ask yourself the following questions as if you were the lifeguard on duty:

Can I scan the entire zone, including the bottom, within 10 seconds from the guard stand? Look for blind spots due to glare, water turbulence, and other obstructions.
Am I distracted by any other tasks or activities? Guards should be guarding, not cleaning, moving lane lines, changing the radio station, text messaging, or talking on the phone. Don't give the on duty lifeguard any tasks besides scanning, and don't allow any personal items, including cell phones, near the lifeguard stand.
Can I really stay focused for that long? Keep shifts and rotations short. Scanning can be a dull task, and humans can't keep focused on a visual task for longer than a half hour before needing a break.

For more aquatics risk management information, be sure to check the Redwoods Group website at http://www.redwoodsgroup.com/YMCA/y-index.asp. Please feel free to leave any comments, questions, or topics that you would like to see addressed on this blog. Thanks, and keep up the great work!

A Failure to Frame

KTrapani — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:21:00 GMT

The great unwinding of our governmental competence is finally complete. Having mis-managed the FDA, FEMA, the SEC, the war on terrorism, the Justice Department, and US-Russia realtions, just to name a few areas, this week we failed to respond to the global economic meltdown. We failed on many fronts -- we didn't see it coming, we exacerbated a bad situation by giving the financial markets more, rather than less, freedom -- but I never expected this administration (the one that invented the term "death tax" and presented the proposal to strip away meaningful environmental protections as "The Clear Skies Initiative") to lose a battle because they framed it wrong.

Really, did we ever expect popular support for a "Wall Sreet Bailout"?

By now, we all recognize that we face a crisis. I happen to beleive it's much more a crisis of confidence than a crisis of fact, but it's a crisis nonetheless. Either way, as both Presidential candidates have said, inaction is not an option. At such a crucial time, not only did our economic leaders, Ben and Hank, try to solve the problem with a 3-pager, crafted while watching the NFL a couple of Sundays ago, but they failed miserably to understand how to get their idea passed. Here are a few things they might have considered:

It's an election year. Should it be a surprise that virtually every "no" vote in both the House and Senate came from a legislator in a close re-election race?
$700 Billion is a lot of money. Should it have been a surprise that folks would like some explanation or, God forbid, a moment to consider it?
We're only motivated by fear when the messenger is credible. Most people don't now beleive our economy will grind to a crawl as a result of failing to pass this legislation any more than they beleive Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, or that Iraq was connected with 9.11, or that Brownie was doing a good job. Fool me once, shame on me...
At a time when we can't afford a gallon of gas, we find it hard to feel bad for billionaire bankers. I understand that we're all hitched, says John Q. Public, but why do they get bailed out when struggling homeowners don't?

Let me be clear here: I don't agree with the bailout, either. I think the way to address the crisis is to address the underlying flawed assets: the shaky mortgages. As we now know, most mortgage-backed securities have been discounted significantly on the balance sheets of the financial firms, according to the "mark to market" accounting principles. Lehman, for example, had valued these assets at less than 1/2 of the original market rate... making the assumption of massive foreclosures on their underlying portfolio. I think that's easy to address, without using taxpayer money and without allowing the lenders to step away from their own bad practices: require the banks to re-structure every troubled loan. A year ago, Mr. Paulson made a very big deal out of the "voluntary" program he hatched to do just this. Now, make it manadatory. In short order, with the threat of default gone, the banks' balance sheets would be once again healthy and the liquidity and credit crisis would disappear.

Of course, our government no longer exists for the benefit of the people. It exists now to serve businesses. So, the only plan we have to consider is the $700 Billion -- actually, based on last night's Senate action, it's now $800 Billion -- Paulson/Bernanke proposal, which has grown from 3 to 400 pages and, supposedly, has many protections against excessive CEO compensation and adequate provision for appropriate Congressional oversight (given our track record in this area, I'm sure that will work well...) So, if this is all we have, why not focus on the only benefit it has by framing it so we can support it? It's an investment in our economc future. It's not a bailout, it's not even a "stimulus package" (which was a great idea, wasn't it? Are you enjoying your flat-screen TV...?) It's an investment.

Here's why it's a good investment: These assets that have been written down to 1/2 or less of their original value? There's virtually no chance they will end up anywhere near that bad. Do you know what the foreclosure rate was in the US from 1931 to 1935, the peak of the Great Depression? 1%. Really, 1%. Now that number was made artificially low, because -- here's a good idea -- the banks were forbidden from foreclosing under most circumstances. (Remember that cool idea, "Government for the people..."?) But, let's assume the foreclosure rate would have been higher without the governmental intervention... let's say it would have been ten times higher! OK, that's 10%.

So you see where I'm going with this. If we can buy these assets at their discounted current value, we create a floor for the financial institutions -- nobody has to worry that this could get even worse -- and we create a tremendous upside for the taxpayer, because the actual mortgage failures will almost certainly be fewer than now projected. Now, can you support a good investment in our country's economic future? Will you vote for the Taxpayers' Investment Initiative?

Hail McCain, the great uniter!

KTrapani — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:44:00 GMT

"The global economic crisis was barely averted today by the courageous efforts of US Presidential candidate, John McCain, who selflessly set aside his campaign -- putting country first, while rival Barack Obama practiced for a debate -- to work around the clock with a breakaway group of maverick House Republicans to get them to back the $700 billion troubled assets purchase plan first offerred over the weekend by the genius, Henry Paulson, Treaury Secretary.

Senator McCain, as he has done so often in his long and storied career of public service, used his experience to reach across the aisle and single-handedly negotiate the most important piece of legislation ever acted upon by the US government.

In early polling, results show that 75% of Americans now trust McCain on the economy, up from less than 45% just yesterday."

The above excerpt, from tomorrow's New York Times, is the outcome I see developing. I think the Republicans, just like all Americans, want the economy to get healthy. I think they want to take action and they want it to be the right action. They are, in my view, well-motivated public servants.

They also desperately want the White House.

Is it not possible they might choose to use this opportunity to position their man as the hero of the bailout negotiations? Despite the fact that he sat silently in the President's meeting for hours yesterday while Senator Obama peppered Secretary Paulson with questions, the spin could well develop that the group of conservative House Republicans rallied behind McCain and the day was saved. And Americans will buy it. And, as a result, a man who only a few months ago confessed to knowing little about the economy and who has built a career on the very deregulation that brought us to this place, could well be elected our next President.

Watch the spin in the next 24-36 hours. The cynic in me says this will be done in time for him to arrive in Mississippi at the debate tonight as the conquering hero, but the skeptic thinks even that might be impossible to engineer. I don't know if there will be a debate, but I expect there will be. By the way, the spin on that will be that Mr McCain will look bad because, instead of practicing this last few days, he's been trying to save the world...

YMCA of the USA Camping Update

HLongino — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:22:00 GMT

YMCA of the USA Camping Update

August 2008 - Please end comments, submissions, and subscription requests to: gary.forster@ymca.net (Also read this and past newsletters on-line at: http://www.ymcaexchange.org/front/programs/camping/generalinfo )

First - a deeply felt thanks to YOU who gave of yourselves this summer to provide campers and counselors the love and challenges and skills of friendship that will stay with them... forever. Our problems pale in comparison to that achievement. Enjoy this moment.

A Beautiful Thing - I was at YMCA Camp Lake Wenatchee this summer for a couple of days (it's in the Cascade Mountains, need I say more?) When they have "camper's choice" activities, counselors each stand up and give a short commercial on what their activity/craft project/sport will be. Eric "Maverick" Krueger (all the counselors have camp names) announced he was doing "Cloud Watching" again down at the beach. Kids RACED to get to him first so they could be included. It seems he has them all lay on the beach with their heads together in a circle, and they find clouds that look like different things. So your board members think there's a videogame-driven apocalypse coming? Not if we have anything to do with it!

Give This to Parents Next Summer! - Tina Kelley's front page (above the fold!) article in The New York Times from August 7th - "Dear Parents: Please Relax, It's Just Camp:" http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/nyregion/26camp.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&sq=Dear%20parents&st=cse&scp=1 Suggestion: "Register" (it's free) for the NY Times at this link; then you can save the article in a print-friendly version.

An EXCELENT Web Site for Groups & Retreats - Just watch the slide show for a minute and tell me it doesn't answer 95% of the questions a group leader would have... without reading a word. http://www.capecodfieldtrips.com/index.htm Your IT guy could do the same for you with the right photos that tell a story.

ICCP Has Staff NOW - The YMCA's International Camp Counselor Program (ICCP) has college-age individuals that have been recruited by YMCAs around the world. They currently have two types of placements, J-1 Work and Travel participants (available for 3-4 months during the winter season) and J-1 Trainees/Interns (Trainees are available for up to 18 months; Interns are available for up to 12 months. Start dates for both are year-round). Participants can be placed in a variety of jobs, ranging from kitchen management to program facilitation. For more information, please contact your ICCP representative at 888-477-9622 or visit them on the web at: http://www.internationalymca.org/ .

Backyard Camping at the Y - "The staff at the Owen County Family YMCA is pleased to announce our first ever annual YMCA Family Camp Out! Camping without the work!

Tent set-up in the field behind the Y:           5:30-6:30pm Friday evening
Family free-swim time:                              5:30-8:30pm
Outdoor and gym games:                          6-10pm
Quiet time:                                               11pm-7am
Pancake breakfast:                                   9-10am, Saturday morning
Zumba & Yoga Stretch:                             9-9:45am 10-11 a.m

‘Break Camp' by Noon on Saturday.

The YMCA will provide hot dogs, baked beans, chips, marshmallows, lemonade, iced tea, and a campfire for Friday supper and a pancake breakfast on Saturday morning. All you need to bring is a tent, lawnchairs, roasting sticks, and bedding.

Diversions planned for the event include: volleyball, swimming, badminton, basketball, corn hole, dodge ball, horse shoes, Yoga, Zumba, and bocce ball.

Showers and restroom facilities available in the YMCA building and in the storage barn by the horse shoe court. Please, no alcohol or tobacco products.

Fee: $30 per family for members, $40 per family for potential members See you at the YMCA!" - for info contaact Laura Law programs@owencountyymca.org

(Still time for your Y to try it this fall.)

For OEE Staff: http://www.meera.snre.umich.edu/ is the location for a new way to evaluate the success of your OEE programs. Take a look now and you may be able to use it this fall. . I asked Jim Parry (Collin County YMCA Adventure Camp, TX) to review the site and survey: "It's very professional. The evaluation method is scholarly, and therefore valid. The programs that have already used it are mostly nature centers, museums, zoos, and parks (e.g. Disney). There's no ready-to-use form; you still need to make your own. But the guidelines are thorough, helpful and easy to navigate. It does not include the "camp" adventure and affective sides (the examples are environmental science oriented), though one could use these resources to include that. In short, it tells you how to do it right, but you still have to do it. There are several examples of studies that could be used to ‘justify' your program to a school official."

Day of Caring - "YMCA Camp Letts was chosen by our local cable company for their seventh annual Comcast Cares Day. Over 125 employees, their families and friends volunteered their time to paint the interior and exterior of our oldest boys cabins and the pool house, built benches and a fire ring, and providing necessary repairs to screens as well as landscaping. Comcast donated all materials and time to prepare for this large project. Comcast Cares day is one of the nations largest single-day corporate volunteer efforts and Camp Letts was so pleased to be a part!" For more information please contact Nelson Bagnardi at 410-919-1410 or nbagnardi@ymcadc.org

Women's Wellness Weekend - "Camp Letts' 13^th Women's Wellness Weekend had over 75 participants enjoyed activities ranging from Zen Shiatsu Massage, Feldenkrais, Reflexology, Yoga, and Advanced Skin Care; to Waders and Wetlands (our intro to Ecology workshop), Scrapbooking, Beading, Precious Metals, & Clay. The participants enjoyed speakers for varying topics including Time Management, Credit Counseling and Living Life's Pleasures in addition to traditional camp activities such as canoes, archery and tackling the high ropes course and delighting in our fine cuisine!" For more information contact Kathi Seymour at 410-919-1418 or outbind://18-00000000DE669F32BB222443BF3901797F7CE20007004A8A14C7187ECF45A2818B9F2677118E0000037AFC1F00004A8A14C7187ECF45A2818B9F2677118E0000042536D90000/kseymour@ymcadc.org.

Learn to Ask - Westminster Woods Camp & Conference Center (in Occidental, CA) held a project "campaign" for materials to build a playground. With $100,000 of donated supplies and 300 volunteers of every age their were able to build a fantasy-scape that created friendships that will last lifetimes... and those are just between the volunteers! You don't always need money. As my former boss Bob Neal always said, "Them that asks, gets." Take a look at http://www.westminsterwoods.org/Playground.php

How do we teach "experience?" Earlier this summer, a young camp counselor from a YMCA camp died in a car crash with three other friends on her way back from a day off at an amusement park. Alcohol wasn't the issue; but life experience undoubtedly was. Their car crossed the center line on an interstate highway late at night and ran into an oncoming truck. Several years ago 5 young staff at my camp flipped their car over and ran into a utility pole because the driver turned around to respond to joking in the back seat. A couple years ago Y camp staff died when a young counselor in the back seat asked the driver to turn around and blinded him with the flash from his camera. Parents expect their children to survive summer camp; could we do more to make sure that applies to counselors, too? While your experiences are fresh in your mind, please share with me things you think actually helped your staff "listen to their conscience" instead of peer pressure?

"I pledge allegiance to the Earth
and to all life that it nourishes;
to protect life on our planet,
to live in harmony with nature,

and to share our resources justly;
so that all people can live with dignity
in good health and in peace."
(Recited each day by students and teachers at Kawaiaha'o Church School in Honolulu.) Contributed by YMCA Camp Erdman.

A Legend Passes - Willie Schmidt started on the kitchen crew of Camp Dudley (NY) in 1946 when he was 16. Summers as a camp leader, marriage, a PhD, five children, and 7 years as a teacher preceded his selection as Director in 1974, which he then held for 20 years. . Embarking on his annual cross-country reunion tour, Willie delighted in reaching out to Dudley alumni and recruiting youngsters far and wide. The camp's scholarship program, $25,000 when he started, surpassed $250,000 per summer in his 20 years. How far can one person reach? Rob Howard, AIA, is a board member of Camp St Croix (St.Paul, MN YMCA) His opening reflection at a recent camp board meeting was based on these thoughts: "Willie Schmidt and Dudley have had great significance in my life... a mentor and place that has helped make me who I am." -- (Thanks to fellow St Croix board member Skip Wilke).

TRAINING DATES:

"YMCA Resident Camp Director" - This two-day Y-USA course is for those new to the job, or planning to be resident camp directors and executives. Taught by successful camp executives and CEOs, the "Camp Director University" will run Tuesday September 30^th and Wednesday, October 1^st at the Upstate NY Program School in beautiful Buffalo NY in the Adams Mark hotel. Look for more info and registration on the YMCA exchange at the end of this month. For details, contact Penny Snell at psnell@ymcabuffaloniagara.org

7^th Annual Camp Fundraising Symposium - Dec 9-11, 2008 at Frost Valley YMCA, will include separate tracks for Annual Support and Endowment.

National Y Camp Conference rotation:

2009 - Jan       Hosted by "Campfire" at Blue Ridge, NC
2009 - Oct       "Western Y Camps" host at Camp Surf, on the beach in San Diego
2010 - Oct        Y Camp 125^th Anniversary, hosted by NE Y Camps at Silver Bay, NY
2011 - Jan       Mid America - "The MACC" are hosts (location TBA).
2012 - Jan        YMCA Southwest-Texoma ACA (location TBA).

ACCT National Conference - Houston, TX, February 5-8, 2009 contact sylvia@acctinfo.org and see http://www.acctinfo.org/

Outdoor Education Conference --"Teachers Teaching Teachers: T3 - the Outdoor Nudge" February 28 - March 1 Friday noon to Sunday noon, Collin County Adventure Camp (Dallas YMCA) Contact Jim Parry 469.9525600 jimp.ccac@ymcadallas.org

A Matter of Trust

KTrapani — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:01:00 GMT

For 4 months, I have been thinking about the best way to blog. Frankly, I have quite a bit to say, but I want very much to hear from others as well. My previous posts, I'm told, are too comprehensive and leave little opportunity for response. As you might suspect, they're also hard to write while dealing with the demands of a normal life. I am not a professional writer -- as is obvious -- and I have not yet found the process nor the needed discipline to write regular, long, high-quality posts.

I approached this weekend thinking I'd try to write more frequent, shorter and more open-ended posts... inviting a great deal more response. That's what I'm doing today, but, once again, I have a lot to say. I promise, I'll hold back and hope to hear from others.

I spent most of the weekend angry at and about John Edwards. Without going into much detail, I'll just say that I was very supportive of and involved in his campaigns. My wife and I have been with John and Elizabeth many times and we wanted very much for John to be our next President. We knew about Rielle's pregnancy, felt terrible when we heard that Andrew Young was the father (we thought Andrew and Cheri were a terrific couple, raising a nice family...) and we were disappointed when John ended his candidacy.

We were devastated by Friday's news. Then, we were angry to hear about the use of the "One America Committee" funds. I spent a lot of time wondering how I could have been so wrong about the man.

Then I went to church. We often attend church on Sunday evenings in a small chapel built by slaves in the 1840s. It's an intimate setting and the Lord's words often seem clearer to me there than in the larger, adjacent church we attend on Sunday mornings. Tonight, that was the case. As we heard the scripture reading of Jesus walking on the stormy seas to rescue the boatload of his disciples, it came to me... we too often trust in one man, one earthly man -- like John, or Barack, or others -- to lead us, to save us. In the bible passage, Peter, trusting in his Lord, his faith, steps from the boat and he, too, walks on the water... until he becomes fearful and begins to sink, at which point, Jesus reaches out and saves him.

Folks, I don't know what your own faith calls you to be and do, but I'll tell you what I take from that story: we're all in that boat, the storms are raging and we all need to get out -- buoyed by our faith -- and walk on the water. We must save ourselves not by trusting on Obama or McCain or even Michael Phelps, but by trusting in the Lord, or Allah, or whichever higher power you recognize.

John is just a man, flawed as are we all. It was never only up to him to save the world. We always overstate the power of the President and understate our own role. I think it isn't up to the President, it's up to us. Each of us. What say you?

Climbing Rope Recall

HLongino — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:28:00 GMT

New England Ropes issued a recall yesterday (July 29, 2008), in coordination with U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, on two of their dynamic ropes. If you bought climbing ropes from New England Ropes between the dates of August 2006 and May 2008 please read this document and stop using these ropes immediately. If you use climbing ropes at your facility this is a good time to inspect your ropes to be sure they are safe.

New England Ropes issued a recall on the following products:

Maxim's Apogee 9.1mm Dynamic Climbing Line/Rope
Maxim's Pinnacle 9.5mm Blue std Dry Dynamic Climbing Line/Rope

These products were recalled due a fall hazard. The ropes did not pass the 5 fall requirement and pose a greater risk over time. The climbing lines can break, posing a serious fall hazard for climbers.

Product Description

The Maxim Apogee 9.1mm is a 48 carrier climbing rope. The colors are yellow and black, and red and yellow. The model numbers are 3411-91 and 3415-91, with date codes 060801 thru 080601. The UPC codes are: 75396312299, 75396312298, 75396312301, and 75396312300.
The Maxim Pinnacle 9.5mm is a blue 48 carrier climbing rope. The Model number is 3403-95, with date codes 070201 thru 080601. The UPC codes are 75396312292 and 75396312293.
The date codes and the UPC codes are on the original packaging.

If you use these ropes you should immediately stop using them and contact the manufacturer for a free replacement.

More information on this recall may be found here:

New England Ropes - http://www.neropes.com/maxim/recall/
Consumer Product Safety Commission - http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08346.html

Why Camp?

HLongino — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:50:00 GMT

The following article appeared in TIME Magazine on July 3, 2008. It was sent to me by a camping friend. Please enjoy the article.

The Meaning of Summer Camp
Thursday, Jul. 03, 2008 By NANCY GIBBS

I never went away to camp, even though--or maybe because--my father became president of the American Camping Association (ACA) when I was a kid. He liked to joke that my idea of camping was room service. I might have resented this had it been any less true.I suspected it was time to send my daughter off to camp even before the day the power went out in our neighborhood and she and a hungry friend tried to roast a hot dog over a candle. Absent electricity, they spent the days making ankle bracelets and playing board games and writing a play together because no power means no screens, no iChat, no Sims. So I wasn't looking for some fancy culinary camp or robotics camp or whatever is fashionable now, just for someplace that teaches the appropriate interactions of sticks, weenies and flame. With no plugs.

Camps have always reflected children's dreams and parents' fears. In the 1880s, many rising middle-class families worried that industrial society had broken off some piece of the American soul, some tie to the frontier. Boys were growing soft: too much time with their mothers and their teachers, not enough manly activity. So the early camps promised, as a founder put it, to take "weakly boys out into camp life in the woods ... so that the pursuit of health could be combined with the practical knowledge outside usual academic lines."

Those first campers were wilderness tourists; today a wilderness is anyplace without bandwidth. I did send my daughter to tennis camp two years ago, but that didn't really count since it lasted five days and she was allowed to use her cell phone. This defies what I suspect is now the whole point of sleepaway camp: if 19th century campers were meant to retrieve lost survival skills--trapping, fishing, gunnery--21st century campers need to work on their social skills. The winter issue of Camping magazine noted that today's campers are often missing some basic interactive instruments; fantastically digitally aware, they are less familiar with the ideas of sharing their space, their stuff or the attention of the adults around them. For kids who are allowed to text during dinner, who have their parents on speed dial for whenever they get in trouble or need a ride, who communicate using more acronyms than a four-star general, a little autonomy is probably long overdue.

So I applaud the effort of traditional camps to pull the plugs: the ACA found in a 2007 survey that at least 3 out of 4 camps make kids leave their gizmos at home. It probably tells us something that the resistance often comes not from the kids but from Mom and Dad. Parents have been known to pack off their children with two cell phones, so they can hand over one and still be able to sneak off and call. Camp expert Christopher Thurber reports that parents grill directors about why they can't watch their kids' activities from a webcam or reach them by BlackBerry. Services like CampMinder and Bunk1.com do let camps post news and pictures to "help our families to feel as if they are with us at camp," as a Texas camp owner puts it. But that just invites inquiry about why Johnny looks sad or how Jenny's jeans got torn.

Even as they yield in varying degrees to the demands of hovering parents, camps have all sorts of nice ways to tell us our kids need a break from our eager interest and exhausting expectations. Camps talk about building "independence," argue that having kids learn to solve their own problems and turn to peers and counselors for support is a key part of the experience. The implications are clear. They're lighting campfires, hiding and seeking, doing the spooky things campers do that feel wonderfully illicit if just because they involve getting dirtier than usual. Nothing to worry about, Mom.

I'm betting that more and more parents will find that our concern about kids' wired ways overtakes our desire to be in touch. I'll hate not talking to my daughter. But I agree with MIT psychologist Sherry Turkle, who says our gizmos are a "tethering technology," a new kind of apron string, strong albeit wireless, a safety net woven a bit too tight. When colleges report kids explaining their lateness to class with the excuse that their mother forgot their wake-up call, when a professor finds undergraduates communicating with parents more than 10 times a week, I look back on my once-a-week calls home to the parents I was very close to and wonder if this really counts as progress. Maybe it wouldn't be bad to practice distance, not just physical but psychological; let our kids take a walk alone in the woods, maybe do the same ourselves, and relish the fresh conversations we'll get to have when we are together again come summer's end.

You may also find the article here:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1820133,00.html

Summer Camp Facility Tips 2008

HLongino — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:17:00 GMT

As the camping season quickly approaches here are some tips to improve your camp facility. The following tips were sent to me by Gary Forster, Camping Specialist for YMCA of the USA. Please respond to this thread with any questions, comments, or additional tips you have found helpful.

- Howard Longino

Potholes in your entry road (THUNK) are a bad first impression. Don't wait, fill them now. Here's the secret: go to your home improvement warehouse and pick up bags of "cold-patch" or "driveway patch" for asphalt repair. Looks just like asphalt in a bag like concrete mix, but it sets up by drying out instead of cooling off. The trick the pros know that you don't know: rent a "vibrating plate compactor" at your local rental store. The smallest one should do, probably about $45 for 4 hours. Overfill the pothole by an inch or more, and then run the compactor over it ‘till it's smooth as a baby's bottom.

Punch List - Here's a partial list of things worth a "double check" (a list created from my own stays at YMCA camps this time of year!):

Check every shower head for good flow - (they may have gotten clogged over the winter and no-one complained.) New shower heads are only $8; don't be stingy. And dip them on a regular basis in CLR or similar to keep them clear.
Add coat pegs and a shelf next to each shower. (If it was you, where would you hang your towel? Put your toiletry kit? Sit to dry your feet? A $5 resin chair will do).
Knock down all those spider-webs on the outside of your buildings.
Put up some new archery targets; some new nets on the basketball hoops.
Give your maintenance staff some new staff shirts and name tags. (For guests to love your staff, they have to know who they are.) "Clothes Make the Man. Naked people have little or no influence on society." - (Mark Twain.) Another good argument for staff shirts.

Don't Paint Yet - This product is as close to a miracle as I've seen in the grocery store. "Mr. Clean Eraser" can clean scuff marks, squished mosquitoes, and molding root-beer splatter off your cabin or dining hall walls without harming the paint. And ANYONE can do it (unlike painting). http://www.startsampling.com/sm/5161/product.iphtml?item=5161&source=hms

"Don't let the bed-bugs bite!"-Time magazine ran a story that bedbugs where becoming more common. At least two Y camps have reported big problems with the little critters this year. The important thing for us all to know is that they jump their host and set up housekeeping in our cabins, lay eggs, and a new batch hatches in 4 to 12 days to hunt for a "blood feast" to reproduce again. You must take aggressive action early, or they will go home with your campers, too. Check out http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/struct/ef636.htm for more on the buggers, and this one for how to deal with them: http://www.ymcaexchange.org/front/programs/camping/risk/bedbugs_2004-04-26.aspx

Cookin' dem Bugs - Heat is the most effective way to eradicate bed bugs, and many exterminators don't offer it. Dave Wright of Camp Tecumseh sent us this example of a commercial solution: http://www.e-hospitality.com/content/news/article.asp?docid=b14cd4eb-2543-4401-a24e-58a8686ad865&atc~c=771+s=773+r=001+l=a

Flag It - Here's my annual push to make your camp look welcoming on opening day:

Have your campers (or parents) plant flowers. Ask parents to contribute "divisions" of their own daylilies from home. (They'll last forever.)
Hide (or throw out) the piles of "useful stuff for some future project."
Buy a few strings of used-car-lot pennant strings, a "welcome" banner, and some 2'x3' pennant flags in the character colors. One source: http://www.carrot-top.com/catalog/Pennant-Strings,926.aspx
Have you seen that sign "Caution: Future World and Community Leaders at Work and Play"? You can buy one at: http://www.ssgecom.com/scripts/wgate/znec79c81f06/~flNlc3Npb249UFJPRDE6UFJPRF9BR0FURTJCOjAwMDEuMDA2Yi40MjljZDM3Zi5hYzJlJn5odHRwX2NvbnRlbnRfY2hhcnNldD1pc28tODg1OS0xJn5TdGF0ZT0zMTEzOC4wMDQuMDQuMDM=?%0d%0a~okcode=PIDET&G_SEL_SITEMID=M1MO240&catalog=BSN&~target=_parent

Well Water Stink Like Rotten Eggs? If you've already got a water softener and an iron filter, the reason is almost always in your hot water tank. To keep tanks from rusting out they come with a "sacrificial anode," a long rod that's screwed down into the tank that's made of a material like magnesium that dissolves first so the steel in the tank doesn't. But hard well water reacts with it and creates that horrible smell. This article tells you exactly how to fix it with an easy-to-get replacement anode that doesn't stink.

http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/pages/WHRpages/English/Longevity/water-heater-anodes.html

Add Some Color - How do your camp shower-rooms look? Steve Heiny at Flat Rock River Camp (Indianapolis YMCA) had some pretty sad looking bathrooms, even with a new coat of white paint. He went to Wal-Mart (they're too far out in the boonies to have a Bed, Bath & Beyond) and got some beautifully colored shower curtains and matching window curtains. Amazing how they brightened up! Contact Steve at sheiny@indymca.org.

Flags and Pennants - "Welcome" flags for your front gate, "Open" flags for your trading post, used-car pennant strings to liven up check-in, 2x3' flags in the 4 character colors... quick and inexpensive ways to make your camp look fresh and welcoming. One source, http://www.carrot-top.com/

The Real Facts on Norovirus - the "cruise ship virus" affects more camps every summer. Here's the link to the CDC's easy-to-understand information. It's spread primarily by people not washing their hands, especially before meals. Your foodservice, maintenance, and counseling staff should learn this just as they learn about blood-born pathogens: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus.htm

Tell People Where to Go -- Need a LOT of routed wood signs for your camp? This was featured on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" on April 27^th. It's a computer-driven 3-D router by Craftsman that can handle materials up to 14 inches wide, 4.5" thick, and any length. Any font, logo, etc. Format it on a computer, touch a button and it takes over. http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921754000P

Rusty Tools Make Your Shop Look Sloppy? - "We filled a 5 gallon pail with sand and used motor oil. Every time a shovel, spade, clippers, etc. comes back it gets a few dips in the bucket where the sand scrapes it clean and the oil protects it from rust. It even works when stuff gets left in the rain by a "work" crew!" Pat Murphy, YMCA Camp Sturtevant WI ymcacamp1@yahoo.com

Critter Huntin' - Camp Weona (Buffalo YMCA) has a nifty little bridge over their creek. Bridges are kid-magnets. Every kid loves to hunt for salamanders and crayfish in that creek, and they obey this sign: "Rule of Threes: you can hold it in a wet hand and look at it for three minutes, show it to three people, don't walk more than three steps, and then let it go where you found it. Green is for Responsibility, like for the Earth."

"Carpetball sensation" - If you haven't seen this yet, get someone on it! A perfect volunteer construction project (my son and I built two in a day). http://www.duke.edu/~mfc5/ultracarpetballplans/ Now that they're installed at camp, it's a huge it. My only suggestion: we built one to the same dimensions as the plans, which is ideal for adults and teens. But we built the second one 6" lower, which works much better for most kids. Thanks to Camp Tecumseh for discovering this great activity!

More New Photos - Share some of the excitement of camping innovation with your staff through the great ideas at http://www.ymcaexchange.org/photos (Username "YMCA", password "9622"). New albums include outdoor activities, signs, rustic cabins, yurts, and porches. The most popular album so far is "Places to Make Friends."

Ask the kids -- One of the coolest things I ever saw was a cabin activity where the campers were asked to design their ideal camp from the ground up. Kids would brainstorm first with the director; talking about the "stuff" they wanted. Then each camper drew one or more of the "things" on to 8 ½ x 11" sheets of paper. Finally the group arranged the facilities and activity areas on a roll of newsprint into a "site map" and filled in the water, paths, etc (An incredible rainy-day activity).

For instance, camp Kitaki had their kids meet with the architect who was designing their new bath-house. The kids' number one request? "Have the toilets be the self-flushing kind like at the airport" (and you know why!) The architect did a fine job with the design, but when it was submitted for bids the camp director Chris Klingenberg noticed that regular toilet valves had been specified. The architect's response: "I didn't think the kids were serious." The director made sure the kids were listened to! -- CKlingenberg@ymcalincoln.org

Does Purell® Work? - A quick search on Google® for "Alcohol Hand Sanitizer Norovirus" yields the positive research results on using hand sanitizers like Purell before meals (yes, it works), and answers to almost any question you might get from staff and parents.

"Cleanup on Isle Five" - A poster to print out on how to sanitize surfaces: http://www.epi.hss.state.ak.us/id/dod/norovirus/sanitize.pdf

Black Fly problems? Gnats, no-see-em's, whatever you've got, they can ruin springtime. Here's an outdoorsman's tip I recently leaned: Get some duct tape and position several strips on the top of a ball cap sticky side out. Those nasty critters fly around your head and get stuck to the tape. Kids will be amazed at how many they collect! Have competitions! Guess why one person attracts more than another! All in the name of scientific exploration!

What's in a name? A reason for fantasy and adventure! The Southington/Cheshire CT YMCA's Sloper Day Camp knows the values of naming places. One end of their small canoeing lake is "Turtle's Paradise, where turtles go on vacation!" They have a hillside where kids can dig for small quartz crystals called "The Crystal Mine," (including a cool sign), and their lookout/treehouse platform across the lake is called "Pirate Point." They even have a "Wiffle-Ball Stadium" complete with a "Green Monster" outfield wall (can you tell the Red Sox are the local favorites?) for kids to hit home-runs over. Now that's magical!

Healthy Grass - we had a turf expert at the maintenance conference this year that went into depth (literally) on the right and wrong ways to get more durable, drought-resistant grass around camp. Turns out most of us do five things wrong (blame your dad for teaching you bad habits).

First, we don't cut the grass often enough. You've heard never to cut more than the third of the length of the grass (So if you want 2" grass you have to cut it at 3"). "What happens when I let it go to 7" before I cut? It's still 2" when I'm done." But it puts the plant into such shock that it stops replacing roots and growing new blades, so it's much easier damaged beyond repair.

Mistake number two, we use high-nitrogen (that's the first number on the bag) to "green up" the lawn. That stuff works like steroids and makes the blades grow incredibly fast (which makes it IMPOSSIBLE to keep up with the mowing at 1/3 of the length), and it does nothing to help root growth.

Number three? Sharpen the blades after every 10 hours of use. Dull blades rip and tear the blades, letting the grass lose moisture as those rough ends brown.

When we do cut the grass, we often cut it too short. The shorter the blades, the shorter the roots they can support, so if you cut it down to 1" high, you'll get only an inch or less of roots, and it will dry out and die. Keep it at 2 ½ or 3" and you get roots down deep to the cooler, moister soil.

Finally, dad took the hose and gave the lawn a quick watering, or moved the sprinkler around often. That encourages root growth only at the surface and not down deep (again, the roots get damaged too easily when they're short and the plants dry out too quickly). If you're going to water (and doing that once or at most twice a week is a very good thing), make sure your sprinklers are on long enough to soak the soil down past the roots; and the roots will grow down deep because it stays moist longer there.

"There's No Way I've got time for all of this!" You don't need this level of care everywhere, just in the places kids actually play on the grass

Good turf isn't just important for looks, it's the primary safety equipment when kids are playing field games. It's important to take care of it for risk management reasons. That should get you a few more dollars each year to do another thing more useful than fertilizer: core- aeration every spring and fall. Soil gets compacted from foot and vehicle traffic, which chokes off new growth. Either renting the machine for a day or paying a service to plug your most important fields will help protect new root growth, let water get down deeper, and even let in seed you throw on top. Got a real problem area? The golf courses spread sand after they've plugged so that twice a year they're improving the sand/soil ratio and the aeration does long-term good, too.

ACA Camps Call to Action - Background Checks

HLongino — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:08:00 GMT

Recently I received an email from Susan Yoder, Staff Liaison of ACA's Public Policy Committee (see link below). American Camp Association is advocating changes in the Child Protection Improvements Act of 2008. This congressional bill would allow camps access to fingerprint-based FBI criminal record checks of staff and volunteers if enacted. Please read the email below and take the time to act. As we see the incidence rate of abuse growing each year, we want to do everything we can to create the safe environments for children at camps; this is a great way to get involved in the public policy decisions which give us more resources to keep kids safe.

Last year alone, The Redwoods Group investigated over 450 allegations of abuse at YMCAs, JCOs and their camps. Nationwide statistics tell us that each year there are approximately 80,000 reported cases of child sexual abuse, and what we know from years of investigations and studying the data is that nearly 95% of all allegations are true. How does this happen? First, predators are excellent interviewers...when was the last time you had a prospective employee respond to you, "I want to work at camp because I want to sexually abuse kids." Second, only 44% of background checks are fully accurate. This legislation will help to close that gap. Get involved today so that you can better protect your campers tomorrow. http://www.acacamps.org/publicpolicy/cbcresources.php

Make it fun, make it meaningful, keep 'em safe!

Howard

For more information and resources on abuse prevention, visit our website www.redwoodsgroup.com

We need your help to reach our goals of getting camps access to timely, affordable, finger-print based criminal background checks!

The Child Protection Improvements Act of 2008 is a bill in both the Senate (S 2756) and the House of Representatives (HR 5606). Implementation of the bill would mean that camps would have access to fingerprint-based FBI criminal records checks of their staff and volunteers. This bill is important to the camp community because currently forty-one states do not allow you access to the FBI—and for those that do, it is prohibitively expensive and often takes weeks or months to get the results.

We are asking everyone to PHONE their legislators to ask them to sign on as co-sponsors of the bill. The more co-sponsors that are secured, the better the chances that the bills will be passed into law.

We’ve set up a very easy process and support information for you to make your calls. Simply go online for all the information.

http://www.acacamps.org/publicpolicy/cbcresources.php

Please act today as the Judiciary Committee in the Senate is meeting this week, and we need as many co-sponsors as possible.

If you have any questions about this call to action, please contact me at the ACA National Office.

Sincerely,

Susan Yoder

Susan E. Yoder, IOM
Staff Liaison, ACA Public Policy Committee
800-428-2267
syoder@ACAcamps.org

www.ACAcamps.org
www.CampParents.org