Former Lake Shawnee lifeguard speaks out
4:48 p.m. Friday, July 25, 2008
"Two dollars a person is not worth making if it means putting their health at risk," says lifeguard Kristen Whithorn.
She was upset at the way things were handled when human feces washed up on the shore of Lake Shawnee. She wasn't working at the time but says she was upset with the way the incident was handled and she resigned.
"It just seemed silly to work there at that point knowing that we were endangering people's lives just to keep the beach open and didn't even really know why we were," said Kristin.
Kristin believes the water should have been checked for contamination before allowing people back into the water.
Story Background
- No day at the beach (July 23, 2008)
- Health officials test Lake Shawnee water (July 24, 2008)
She noted, "They will be testing the water on a regular basis. That's kind of what I wish would have been in place before.
Parks and Recreation Director John Knight says there has been a change in policy since that incident.
This includes the way that fecal contamination is handled. We did some digging and found out that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration says in certain circumstances, human waste should be treated like a bio-hazard.
Now in Shawnee County, lifeguards will be required to clear the area of swimmers and use proper equipment like gloves and boats for clean-up. Also, there will be a change in the way the public is addressed. Swimmers were told they were cleared for maintenance issues. Knight says in the future, there will be a policy to better inform the public.
Kristin credits her co-worker Gray Bothwell for bringing the issue to the public. He refused to go in the water and brought the issue to our attention.
"In the end he did the right thing and people respect him for it," said Kristin.
Whithorn says she was told not to talk to the media about what happened at the lake. Knight says that did happen but in the future his employees will be allowed to talk to the press to if necessary to get information out to the public. He also says he takes responsibility for the way the situation was handled because he says there should have been a procedure in place.
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