Clinton Township Newsletter

1 0 M A Y 2 0 2 1 W W W . C L I N T O N T W P N E W S L E T T E R . C O M M A Y 2 0 2 1 2 0 2 1 W O r K - F a m i l y C O n n e C t i O n s U m m e r C a m p r e g i s t r a t i O n i s O p e n ! Although the last year has been a challenging one, we are ready to provide you and your children with the much-needed summer break that you both deserve! Our new registration system offers a more streamlined parent portal and user experience that should make your registration process quick and easy. Our Clinton Twp. Summer Camp program is located at Spruce Run School, from June 21 through August 13. Various registration options include Extended Day 7am-6pm, Full Day 9am-4pm, and AM/PM Half Day sessions from 7am-1pm or 12pm-6pm. Our weekly themes inspire an array of daily enrichment activities including STEM, Art, Sports, Cooking, Nature Exploration, Water Activities, and more! Summer Camp is staff ed by the same familiar faces from the school year, with low staff /child ratios and separated cohorts for maximum supervision and safety. Register today at www.WorkFamily.org to provide your children with an enriching and FUN summer with friends! s O U t h B r a n C h e m e r g e n C y s e r V i C e s : s i m p l e s a F e t y s t e p s C a n s a V e B O a t e r s ' l i V e s "Boaters can greatly increase their chances of avoiding or surviving trouble with just a few easy steps", say South Branch Emergency Services Water Rescue Associates Chip and Betsy Milcarek: • Check and watch the weather and stay home or head for shore if poor conditions are coming. • Be sure the drainage plug is in your boat. • Wear a life jacket. • Use actual watercraft – not pool toys - on the open water. "As simple as those things are, it's amazing how many people don't do them," said Chip, who has been a water rescue associate and heavy rescue associate for more than 15 years and a local fi refi ghter for more than 40. "Wearing a life jacket is the single most important thing, and the most likely one to be ignored", the couple said. "Wearing a life jacket means having one on your body", said Betsy, who is also a certifi ed EMT. "Far too often, life jackets come along for the ride, but stay on the fl oor of the boat or are strapped to a paddle board, kayak, or canoe, she added. "If the wind knocks someone off of their paddle board, it will also start blowing the board away from them, and they can't catch up to the board to get it. Likewise, a life jacket in a boat does someone who fell overboard no good." "It does not matter how well you swim", said Chip. "I am a rescue swimmer, and even when we go out on our personal boat, I am wearing a life jacket. If an accident happens and you are knocked unconscious, even the best swimmer can't swim." Even the most experienced and careful boaters can run into trouble on the water. After South Branch pulled two men whose canoe capsized out of cold water, they received a thank you note for saving their lives and learned one was himself a fi refi ghter. The couple has helped their South Branch team rescue many boaters from many different circumstances. Even when the water is very cold, those wearing life jackets usually live to boat another day. Chip has assisted the police with recovering the bodies of drowning victims, and, according to him, none of them have been wearing life jackets. "One man had a life jacket in his car, with the tags still on it," said Chip. "Infl atable pool toys are not a substitute for a life jacket nor a boat. We see a lot of this –one day we saw people riding a gigantic pink bird – but fl oating devices meant to be used in a swimming pool do not belong in the open water," Chip said. "They pop." South Branch Emergency Services' Water Rescue Associates work as a team. Team members may be rescue swimmers, boat operators, or drivers who bring the boat to the water and help launch it. "As long as you're interested and not afraid of the water, you can be trained," said Betsy. "Everyone does an extensive amount of training, which is challenging and fun," Chip said. "Cold water rescues are the toughest, but we are always prepared." To learn more or volunteer, visit: www.SBES365.org.

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