Water safety event to honor drowning victim

Shelbyville Recreation Center lifeguards Jenny Gashaw, 19, and Trace Lamb, 18, demonstrate a reaching assist to poolgoers Emma Ward, 3, daughter of Dustin and Tiffany Ward, and sisters Sam Woodard, 9 and Jessica Woodard, 11, daughters of Christy and Scott Woodard. (T-G Photo by John Philleo) [Order this photo]

Two-year-old Matthew G. Woods drowned on Aug. 2, 2008, in a relative's pool in Chapel Hill.

"I still don't know what happened," Young said. "I took his life jacket off when he went to the bathroom and was done swimming, and in a matter of minutes he was gone.

Matthew G. Woods died last year in a drowning accident. (Submitted photo) [Click to enlarge]

"That is one of the most important things I can tell parents. Minutes matter."

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, of all the swimming pool accidents involving small children in the U.S., 77 percent of the victims had been seen by a parent or guardian within five minutes prior to the accident.

Young relived her fateful day last Monday in an interview with the Times-Gazette at Shelbyville Recreation Center.

She will help raise awareness about water safety by telling her story again at the inaugural Water Safety Weekend, to take place at the rec center Saturday in memory of Matthew.

The event is free to the public, and is being organized by the safety committee of the United Way of Bedford County, in conjunction with the Shelbyville Fire Department and the Shelbyville Parks and Recreation department.

Close to home

Firefighters will participate in the Water Safety Weekend and work to let parents know that the department and the city of Shelbyville are interested in the safety of their children.

"This event is very special to us because one of the members of the fire department, Bill Woods Jr., lost his son in a drowning accident last year," said fire inspector Brian Nicholson, speaking of Matthew.

Tiffany Young displays a pink bracelet made in honor of her son. The bracelets will be given out Saturday at the Water Safety Weekend at the rec center. (T-G Photo by John Philleo) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

"This program is very personal for our department. We all knew and loved Matthew and if it can happen to our family, it can happen to yours," he said, pointing out that members of the fire department and their families are very safety-minded.

"Water Safety Weekend is a new way to kick off the child safety initiative that the fire department supports."

Nicholson is also a United Way board member.

The fire department tries to prevent tragedies with a "three E's" approach, Nicholson said: Education, Enforcement and Engineering.

"Education is our main focus at this event. We want this to be an awareness campaign to prevent as many accidents as possible."

Respect, not fear

Recreation Center personnel will be educating parents and children about how to be cautious around water.

The water safety program will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the center's two pools. The program is free, and those attending can stay on and swim for free all day afterward. The pool will open for regular swimming at 11 a.m.

Four swim instructors, who are certified lifeguards, and additional lifeguards will be in attendance.

Pam Henry, the recreation center's aquatic director, wants to teach people to "respect the water, but not to fear it.

"Even though water is here for us to enjoy, people do need to be aware of its dangers," she said.

The event will involve safety demonstrations such as reaching assists, throwing a ring buoy, and showing people what they can do as bystanders.

It will also include games, music and door prizes. Water safety pamphlets and wristbands in memory of Matthew will be handed out.

"The wristbands can serve as a reminder to the children to be safe, especially around water," Nicholson said.

Drain cover safety will also be taught at the event since fatalities have resulted from entrapment by pool drains in the past.

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act went into effect last year and mandated that all public pools in the country update their drain covers and/or drain systems to meet new, stricter standards.

The act was named for 7-year-old Virginia, the granddaughter of former Secretary of State James Baker, who drowned in 2002 after being sucked into a spa drain. The Recreation Center has recently installed federally-mandated drains in its pools to comply with the law.

"The new drains concern our goals with pool safety and the water safety program," said Sylvia Pinson, director of Parks and Recreation. "We are concerned about the well-being and safety of everyone, especially children,"

Pinson said it is hoped the Water Safety Weekend will become an annual event.

Group effort

The United Way of Bedford County sponsors three child safety events each year.

The Child Safety Fun Fair will be held on Oct. 31 at H.V. Griffin Park and will include games, bounce houses, emergency vehicles, and identification kits for the children. The Child Safety Car Seat Check is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 7, but the venue has not been set. This event will include car seat checks and sessions on how to properly install car seats.

The idea for the newest child-safety initiative, Water Safety Weekend, originated with Nicholson at a meeting of the United Way safety committee earlier this month.

Dawn Holley, executive director of the local United Way, quickly planned and coordinated the event.

"The United Way of Bedford County has a wonderful partnership between the Shelbyville Fire Department and the Shelbyville Recreation Center," she said Monday. "The committee just met last week and we have already made great progress on this event."

Holley also mentioned a recent car accident in Shelbyville that resulted in the death of a baby due to a car seat being improperly used.

"Recently we have seen a lot of things in the news that show that we need child-safety education," said Holley, who hopes for a great turnout.

"We made a rough estimate of around 100 kids, but we would love to see more. There were around 300 children at the Child Safety Fun Fair and we would love to see that many at the Water Safety Weekend."

Not in vain

Young said she hopes that by educating people about the possible dangers of water, she can save lives, and that through this work, his death may have been in vain.

"I have a lot of faith in the Lord," she said. "I feel like this is what I'm supposed to do. Everything happens for a reason, and sometimes in life we take the smallest things for granted.

"Hopefully my pain and loss will prevent someone else from suffering."

Young said that this is one way she can keep Matthew alive, by educating others of the potential danger that water presents.

The committee urges families to come to this event as a way to keep children safe.

"Parents have to implement safety as a routine," Nicholson said, with Young adding that "Parents are the ones that will mold their children."

"I want people to know that you get comfortable in habits, you should always be aware, and you can't let your guard down when it comes to water," she said.

-- Staff writer Brian Mosely contributed to this report.