October 11, 2006

The city of Prairie du Chien recently lost a longtime lifeguard for its outdoor swimming pool at the Aquatic Park. Carol Pelock has served hundreds, if not thousands, of youngsters and their parents over the past 25 years.

In fact, Carol has safeguarded and taught two generations of swimming children in Prairie du Chien, as many of her former swimmers have been bringing their own children to the pool in recent years.

"Also, a lot of kids grew up at the pool and now have become lifeguards," said Carol, who noted that lifeguarding has been very rewarding.

Carol said that being a lifeguard means a commitment to professionalism. "I am like a policewoman of the water," she said, in noting that she was never shy about blowing her whistle and enforcing the rules and regulations as a "patrol person" of the pool.

Lifeguarding is all about prevention, said Carol. Rules such as "no running" or "one bounce on the diving board" are there for everyone's safety. "You hope you never get to the point of having to rescue someone," she said. "You try to prevent an accident before it happens."

Over the past 26 years, of course, there have been plenty of instances in which Carol has had to "assist" someone having difficulty in the pool. She recalled one instance in which a boy of about 11 or 12 was told repeatedly not to attempt a dangerous dive called a "cutaway" in which one dives in towards the board. While Carol went to attend to something else, the boy then saw his chance and did the dive anyway. The unfortunate result was that the boy hit the board with his two front teeth, knocking them out and sending blood gushing. Carol said that she saw a man at the pool several years later and the man said to her, "Do you remember me?" "Oh yes," replied Carol to the man who had two front false teeth.

Carol said that numerous people have thanked her for her efforts over the years.

"If kids are at the pool. They're not someplace else in trouble," said Carol, who noted that swimming is not only a fun way to beat the heat of summer but is also great exercise and an activity for a lifetime.

Carol became a lifeguard and began working for the Park and Recreation Department in 1980 at the City Pool on St. Feriole Island. In 1990, the Aquatic Park was built and Carol worked her last summer there this year.

She has always been a swimmer and said that she grew up at the City Pool, which was built in 1935. As an adult, Carol was at the City Pool all the time with her two children anyway, so she thought that she might as well become a lifeguard and get paid to be there.

Carol started the swim team in Prairie du Chien in 1982. The team was called "Gang Green." She has also given swimming lessons to hundreds of children over the years.

Even though Carol is retired from the outdoor pool at the Aquatic Park, she continues to be a lifeguard at the indoor pool at Hoffman Hall, where she works 40 hours per week lifeguarding, giving swimming lessons and teaching water aerobics. In fact, her water aerobics class has become so popular that she has added a new class from 1-2 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

"I've gone from teaching 6 to 8-year-olds, to teaching 60 to 80-year-olds," she said with a smile. She said that she needs a bit more patience with the adults because adults can tend to have a fear of the water.

Her patience is paid off, however, as the adults show great pride in learning new things. "Now it's their turn," she says. "Swimming is good for everybody. The buoyancy is good for you. You can get great exercise without taking a pounding."

Carol said that she has 75 people in her senior water aerobics class and that they come from near and far and show great enthusiasm. Some of her students are in their 80s.

At Hoffman Hall, Carol also teaches Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts so that they can earn their swimming badges. She also instructs employees of the Isle of Capri so they can be certified in marine water safety training. In addition, Carol lifeguards for several groups and organizations.

Carol will be 60 years old in December and said that she wishes that more people in her age group would become lifeguards. "I don't know of any other lifeguards that old," she said.

Should anyone be interested in becoming a lifeguard, Carol said that she can set up the training. Interested persons should call her at Hoffman Hall at (608) 326-2985.

"Your never too old to be a lifeguard," said Carol.

By Sandy Vold

"I really want the community to own the issue of domestic violence," says Randi Harris, director of Catholic Social Services, Crawford County's designated domestic abuse advocacy program.

Since October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, it seems an appropriate time to consider making it a community awareness issue. Certainly, the statistics show the problem exists. In 2004, over 28,000 cases of domestic violence were reported in the State of Wisconsin. There were 28 homicides connected to domestic violence --„19 female and nine male. Crawford County is currently dealing with a highly-publicized murder case in which previous domestic violence may be a factor.

Although there appear to be no recent statistics for Crawford County, Harris says her cases usually vary between one and 10 a month, and the services needed range from simply talking out a problem to finding a shelter immediately.

In September, for example, she received eight crisis calls and four informational and referral calls. She had eight clients for individual counseling, three needing advocacy and one who needed transportation. Being an advocate for a client can mean many things, from assistance with getting a restraining order against an abusive domestic partner to finding safe shelter for the victim.

Although the most publicized and most noticeable form of domestic violence is physical, characterized by beating, hitting and shoving, there are other categories as well: verbal and emotional, in which the abuser may swear, threaten, humiliate or play mind games with the victim; sexual, in which unwanted sex or sexual acts are forced on a person; economic, in which the abuser takes money, forces the victim to have to ask for money, or gives the victim an "allowance."

Whatever the form, or combination of forms, it is harmful to the individual and to the nation and community. The financial cost alone, said Harris, is in the billions when one considers police and court time involved, work lost, medical and other services needed.

In addition, the abuse often affects more than the adult victim. 40 to 60 percent of males who abuse an adult partner also abuse the children in a relationship. Even if a child is not directly abused, the effects on that child can be extremely harmful. Harris said a child who grows up in a violent home is six times more likely to commit suicide, and 50 percent more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs. The leading cause of children being imprisoned for felony murder is that they killed their mother's abuser.

One of the puzzling aspects of domestic abuse for those who have not suffered it is that the victim may put up with it for years or not be willing to leave an abusive relationship. Harris said there are many reasons why women may stay in an abusive relationship:

´Many victims have a history of abuse that goes back before any adult relationship

´Their self esteem is destroyed - they feel this is all they can get or deserve.

´It's what they know and it's predictable.

´Sometimes abusers are not 100 percent bad. Many abusers appear to the public eye to be ordinary likable people. In fact, the victim may have been attracted to the abuser because he is a take charge, in-control type, not realizing there is a flip side to this behavior.

´Abusers can't take responsibility for their own actions, and tell the victim it is her fault. In fact, said Harris, abusers almost always have the perspective that the other person is making them behave badly.

Abuse, said Harris, is the most frequently committed and most underreported crime in the U.S., and many of us have been conditioned to look the other way when we see cases of potential abuse. Many people see it as a private matter between domestic partners. Harris believes that we all know someone who is abused, whether we recognize that or not.

"Although in domestic abuse cases, the abuser is not always the male, 90-95% of reported victims of domestic abuse are female. And when the abuser is female, the dynamics appear to be different. Older or handicapped men are the most frequent victims in this case, and the abuse is often not physical," Harris said. The rate of abuse in gay/lesbian and transgender relationships is about the same as in male-female relationships, she added.

Abuse is also an issue for people in all income brackets. Although she provides more services for women of limited economic resources, Harris said she believes this is because more affluent women often find their own resources. "Abuse crosses all economic and educational lines," she said.

Before coming to Crawford County, Harris lost two clients who were murdered by abusive partners, and another three died under very suspicious circumstances.

In Wisconsin, she said a woman is more likely to be murdered in her home than on the street, because she is more often killed by someone she knows. Frequently, the most dangerous time for a woman in an abusive relationship is when she actually leaves. "The abuser can't let go of it," she said. Every year, she said, there are murder-suicides over a wife leaving.