[April 14, 2015]      

Two year's ago after fulfilling a request for one additional year past her retirement, Mrs. Marge Aper conducted her last water safety and swim lessons for Chester-East Lincoln third-graders. Aper began the program to teach children water safety after the drowning of a favorite student on the first day of summer vacation.

The program has continued and with the help of Lincoln College students another class completed basic training and demonstrated what they had learned for parents and grandparents on their final day.

Children were divided into four groups according to their beginning skill level. During the program they are taught not to go into the water to help someone unless they became a trained lifeguard. What they could do, would be to reach out an arm or something else for a person to grab hold of, like a pole, branch, net or towel, and they practice how to stand while doing it.

They are also taught techniques that could be used in the water if they were to become tired: holding breath with face in the water for 10 seconds at a time, floating, rolling over from back to front and front to back, and bobbing skills; all potentially lifesaving skills.

[LDN]