Published: August 21, 2008 12:13 am            

HOPKINS: A senseless death on the river

The numbers made me bolt upright in my chair. “How could this happen again?” I wondered.

Twenty-three children were touring the Niagara Gorge with all of one adult supervising them. By now, we all know what happened next. A 12-year-old girl in the group decided to dip her feet in the rushing water of the Niagara River and was pulled in by the current. Authorities are still searching for the girl’s body.

Drownings occur too often; it’s the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children aged 14 and under. All the safeguards in the world won’t eliminate it as a cause of death. Still, common sense tells us that one person “guiding” 23 children, ranging between seven and 17 in age is an invitation for disaster.

My thoughts drifted back to another terrible moment in my journalism career: December 19, 2002. One of my beats at the weekly newspaper where I worked was the Depew School District. The news that day was just as jarring: an 11-year-old boy had drowned in the high school’s swimming pool during gym class.

There was one teacher in charge of 22 students that day. The teacher at one point turned away from the pool to address a few students who had forgotten their swimming gear. By the time the teacher turned back, Ryan Markel was in critical trouble.

Fast-forward almost six years and Ryan’s spirit remains alive with a foundation named after him. His parents, Charlie and Sandy, teach CPR classes and successfully pushed for changes in Albany. Today, it is now mandatory to have two lifeguards supervising pools during classes.

“Just having the extra set of eyes on the pool is a help,” Charlie Markel told me earlier this week. The amount of time that Ryan was under water remains unclear. What’s clear is that one person cannot sufficiently watch 20 children, whether it’s in a confined area such as a natatorium or the great outdoors.

“Especially with a hazardous situation,” Markel said. Turning his attention to Niagara Falls, “My question is, what were they doing there?”

It’s a question that likely has been asked by many; by people with volumes more common sense than the man who took the group of 23 into Whirlpool State Park, where the trails can be a little tricky. We’re not talking about a walk down the school hallway or a walk around the block. Furthermore, this girl strayed 500 yards from her group. You can’t blame her, she was doing what any normal 12-year-old does. She explored.

With adequate supervision, it’s highly probable that Magdalena Lubowska would be alive today, and her parents wouldn’t be sitting at home in New York City dreading that phone call from the parks police.

“My heart breaks for her parents,” Markel said. Magdalena’s parents are probably thinking what the Markels thought nearly six years ago: I thought I sent my child to a safe place. Today, Charlie Markel knows that no situation is accident-proof, but correct supervision goes a long way. “No matter what we do there will always be drownings,” Markel said. “But this one didn’t have to happen.”

•••

I got a good laugh reading Dan Pye’s Erie County Notebook in last Thursday’s edition of the Tonawanda News. In the report, Republican Michael Ranzenhofer is troubled by how Democrat Lynn Marinelli plans to appoint members to a 21st Century Commission. The legislature chairwoman’s plan to appoint six of the nine members herself is the sticking point.

Ranzenhofer believes the setup is ripe to create a “decidedly partisan” commission. Marinelli disagreed, pointing to four members who will come from “stakeholder” groups: an academic or civic organization, the business community, public sector union and community-based not-for-profits.

In this case, “stakeholder” appears to be a euphemism for “special interest.” I’d bet a week’s paycheck that an academic “stakeholder” will be selected over a representative from a civic organization. Throw in the public sector union and community-based nonprofits, and you’ll see that three of the four areas Marinelli has singled out scream special interest:

Academia, which relies on public handouts to line the pockets of its membership. The public sector union, whose responsibility is to protect and enhance the jobs and benefits of those who are paid by the public. Community-based not-for-profits rely on tax dollars for their survival.

What about the county’s greatest stakeholders, the TAXPAYERS? Once again, they get the short shrift. If there are too many more plans such as Marinelli’s, it won’t be long before there’s no one left to hold the stakes.

John Hopkins is the night city editor of the Tonawanda News. His column will appear Thursdays. Contact him at john.hopkins@gnnewspaper.com.

        

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