Jodie Merrill, 19, an OAC student at Confederation Secondary School, sits atop “The Chair” keeping a watchful eye on the residents enjoying the water in Whitson Lakeduring a hot afternoon recently. With  her, is Head Lifeguard, Aimee-Lee Boyer, 18, an OAC student from L’Horizon, and Katie Edmunds, 18, who will be entering into OAC at Confederation Secondary School. The other member of the team is Head Lifeguard, Jennifer Williamson, 19, a nursing student at Laurentian University.

Three of the four life guards are on duty seven days a week between the hours of 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.

“There are a lot more people using the beach this year than last year,” commented Boyer. “The City of Greater Sudbury has been doing a real good job of keeping the place clean and fixing things up so that people will enjoy the are more. The number of late night parties has been cut down a lot since they put up large rocks and a gate, and we haven’t had one break-in this summer. They’re even installing a phone this week.”

All of the life guards in the region attend in-service training at Bell Park every Tuesday morning to keep up with their skills. They also attended a week-long training week in June prior to the commencement of  their work session. As for the girls from Valley East, they also work as instructors during the winter at the Howard Johnston Recreation Centre in Hanmer.

“Things are very well organized this year,” continued Boyer. “Everything is done by the book and it is much more structured. We all know what has to be done and when to do it, and the supervisors make sure that it is done.”

“We have only had minor problems such as cuts and scrapes this summer - nothing major,” commented Katie. “The odd time we have had to get tough with some of the kids, but they respect our authority and it hasn’t been too difficult.”

Residents of Valley East who have not been to Kalmo Beach (or Sandy Beach as some call it), would be very pleased with the improvements to the area. It is a wonderful facility for young children, well supervised, and a great spot for an afternoon picnic or barbecue. Take the short drive along Main Street, past Sunnyside Subdivision and turn at Kalmo Road. See one of Valley East’s most scenic environments.