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Backyard Touch WHATS THE DEAL WITH SALT WATER HOT TUBS. 318 Guelph Street Georgetown 905.873.8835 STORE HOURS: MON.-FRI. 10-6, SAT. 10-5, SUN. 11-3 (FORMERLY BEACHCOMBER). . . Home of The Self-Cleaning Saltwater Hot Tub See the clarity & feel the difference a self cleaning salt water hot tub makes. Offer valid until July 31/08. See retailer for details. Closed June 30th & July 1st for Canada Day Independent & Free Press, Wednesday, June 25, 2008 3 drag the 5-foot-8, 180-pound Ford to the surface at the side of the pool, where GDHS teacher and swim team coach Jon Newcombe, with the assistance of Neely, removed Ford from the water by pulling him up by the arms. Ford was estimated to have been under water for 20 to 30 seconds. Neely began performing artifi- cial respiration as Newcombe tried to establish whether the vic- tim had a pulse. She placed a resuscitation mask on Ford and after two breaths he was able to breathe on his own. The rescuers then rolled Ford on his side and water poured out of his mouth, while the second lifeguard on duty that morning, Leah Avery, called 911. Livingston was given the phone to provide information about his classmate to the responding Emergency Medical Services per- sonnel as Avery then helped attend to Ford. Student Alex Marschall and assistant swim coach Krista Nicholls also pro- vided support during the rescue. Ford was taken to Georgetown Hospital and then airlifted to Sick Childrens Hospital in Toronto, where it was determined that he had suf- fered a seizure. It was a bad situation but every single last person there acted quickly the pool staff, the board staff and the stu- dents and they all acted with professionalism, said New- combe, a volunteer firefighter with the Town of Halton Hills. I dont think it could have gone better, considering the situ- ation. We had a lot of people with a lot of experience at the pool that day and we were also lucky that we didnt have that many swimmers out because that can always gum up the water. The two lifeguards, as well as the students and teaching staff involved from GDHS, were rec- ognized for their rescue efforts by the Town of Halton Hills at a ceremony last week. Its just amazing how your instincts kick in, said the 21- year-old Neely, entering her fourth and final year at McMaster Universitys nursing program. We learn in training that in those situations you can either panic and fall on your face or be calm and do what youre sup- posed to do. Everybody was just amazing and thankfully it went well. Drake did such a good job pulling Jeremy to the side of the pool so that I didnt have to get into the water. For his part, Livingston said that his first-aid training took over when he realized his friend was drowning. He was pretty heavy but I was able to push him up to the wall, he said. We were just swimming regularly and it was near the end so we were just fooling around. I dont know what happened and Im not sure anyone knows. The good thing is that hes okay now. Ford added that was back to class the following Monday and that he felt fine a week later, other than some stiffness. I cant really find the words to thank everyone, Ford said. (Eamonn Maher can be reached at emaher@independentfreepress.com) A near-drowning in the indoor pool located at Georgetown District High School took place less than two weeks ago and the actions of the res- cuers were acknowledged at a ceremony last week held at the Town of Halton Hills Civic Centre. GDHS swim team member Jeremy Ford (front row, middle) was pulled from the pool and resuscitated thanks to the efforts of lifeguards, school staff and fellow students. Pictured above (front, from left) are: lifeguard Leah Avery, stu- dents Alex Marschall, Ford and Drake Livingston, lifeguard Katrina Neely. Back row: GDHS teach- ers and swim team coaches Jon Newcombe and Krista Nicholls, Halton District School Board chair Gillian Tuck Kutarna and Town of Halton Hills Mayor Rick Bonnette. Photo by Ted Brown Rescuers worked with professionalism Continued from pg. 1 A sales representative with the Remington Homes development in Georgetown South reported to police incidents of graffiti that occurred sometime late Wednesday or early Thursday of last week. Water storage containers, sewage containers and the western wall of the sales office were defaced, with a dam- age estimate of approximately $500. Also in Georgetown South, St. Brigid Catholic Elementary School was targeted by grafitti vandals some time on the weekend as name-tag- ging was sprayed on the outside wall of the building. Anyone with information is asked to call Halton Regional Police Services 11 Division at 905-877- 5511. Police blotter Sales office, school tagged with graffiti Latin dancer Tetuana Babyich taught some of the braver ladies a few dance steps as part of the Seniors Month Celebrations at the Gellert Community Centre recently. Seniors enjoyed both music and dancing at the celebration. Photo by Ted Brown A senior Samba?