Life saving actions require dedication, bravery, and quick thinking. On Monday, August 14th at the monthly Weiser City Council meeting, Mayor Randy Hibberd acknowledged and gave recognition to Shayla Kelly, Mattie Shirts, Diana Magana and Kiana Olvera for their bravery and quick thinking during this year’s swim season.
These Lifeguards displayed quick reflexes and presence of mind during a recent incident where a child was saved during Open Swim time at the Weiser Pool. Recreation Director Ken Anderson shared, “I witnessed the last one with Kiana and Mattie. It was intense and was not what you would say was by the book. It was a situation where the shallow end guard saw something in her zone, noticed that there was no way she could get to the kid in time, so she screamed across to the guard who was watching the deep end and Kiana jumped in, which is not text book, but she saved a life. Their quick thinking and their instant reaction, and I mean instant reaction, saved that kid. I was up walking around on the deck and Kiana got to the kid quicker than I could and I was on the deck. It was quite impressive! They’re instincts kicked in and they did fantastic.”
The role of a lifeguard extends far beyond simply enforcing pool rules. Each of these extraordinary individuals exemplifies the highest standard of lifeguarding by embodying qualities such as courage, attentiveness, and quick thinking. Anderson shared, “Every year Amy Wooten is the one who gets our guards certified. She is pretty fantastic. She puts these kids through some pretty intense training. They have to pass her class before they can become a lifeguard. The kids that passed, they are certified, they’re trained.”
Anderson shared that throughout the swim season the lifeguards are given real life scenarios they call “Red Caps”, “The lifeguards do not know when they are going to happen. An example of a Red Cap would be we would have a kid go off the diving board or something like that. Have them pretend like they are struggling to get to the side or struggle to stay a float. We see how long it takes our guards to identify the issue and react. For the most part we have been very successful. We score them and let them know what they did well and what they need to work on. They (Red Caps) really help out a lot.” Anderson shared there have been times when the scenario was so believable that they had parents trying to call 911 and they would have to let them know it was a training exercise.
At the beginning of every year Anderson tells the guards “When in doubt, get them out”. He shared,“Because two things will happen. Either the kid is just messing around and if you get in and get them out you will embarrass them enough that they hopefully will never do it again or the second scenario is they needed help, and you just saved a life.” Anderson shared that he had a great group of guards this year and that they have done a great job , “I have male and female lifeguards and all of them did a fantastic job this year. As far as the community goes I hope they appreciate what we do have, because they do have an important job. They work hard and train hard and they are there to make sure everyone there is safe and everyone gets to go home.”
The recognition these four lifeguards have received is a testament to their commitment to the safety and the well-being of others. We celebrate their selfless actions and commend them for their life saving measures. Gratitude is extended to these four outstanding Weiser lifeguards for their dedication and unwavering commitment to protecting lives.
