Bakersfield's 'Operation Splash' highlights child pool safety
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — With temperatures in the upper 90s, pool season is clearly underway.
Monday, crowds filed into the McMurtrey Aquatic Center for Operation Splash. Some headed to the wading pools, while others looked for a little more adventure.
Organizers hoped to stress the importance of pool safety for children.
Lifeguard Mathew O'Malley laid out the basics: Young kids need to always make sure they are swimming when a grown up is around supervising them.
He also emphasized the importance of children taking swimming lessons.
Knowing CPR was another focuses of Monday's event.
Anybody can pull somebody out of the water. It's the skills that you know that will save someone's life, said safety instructor Brittany Bailey.
2012 Fog Run - Bakersfield distance Projecters
Victim Witness Auxiliary's 23rd annual Fog Run
When: 9 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday
Where: Ming Lake Road
Cost: $30
Information: 868-4507
Saturday's 23rd annual 5k and 10k Fog Run may not actually include fog, but it will certainly raise money to provide support for victims of violent crime, Kern County Probation Supervisor Lupe Perez said.
The Victim Witness Auxiliary Board and the Kern County Probation Department will host the event, which kicks off at 9 a.m. at Lake Ming, Perez said.
She's coordinated the event for the last eight years and though she doesn't actually run, the race keeps me running around -- make sure things are going good, that's my role, Perez said.
Last year's event attracted 900 runners and raised about $24,000, she said.
Since the race's inception back in the '80s, it has grown drastically every year, Perez said. We hope to surpass both the numbers of those participating and the money raised, because, unfortunately, the need for crime victims remain high.
The cost for the race is $30, and it is open to the public with all proceeds benefitting crime victims in Kern County. The Kern County Probation Department's Victim Witness Assistance Program provides direct services to crime victims, including victim relocation, court accompaniment and resource and referral assistance.
Race day registration begins at 7 a.m. Saturday. Runners get a T-shirt, raffle ticket and sandwiches provided by Subway.
Perez, coordinator for the agency's Victim Witness Assistance Program, said she has seen fog at the run only twice.
It was wonderful and kind of cool seeing runners coming through the fog, she said.
The auxiliary board, made up of community members, including quite a few with law enforcement backgrounds, is the nonprofit arm of the assistance program, Perez said.
Board members help organize the fundraisers, which get benefits and emergency assistance to local crime victims.
Why a run fundraiser? Well, Perez said former members of the board were runners, and several other groups also started fundraising runs around the same time.
They enjoyed the sport, and everybody thought, why not a run, she said.
Money raised at the run will help sustain the victim witness program, which is federally and state-funded, created during the Reagan years, Perez said. All counties have programs; however, Kern's differs because it is run through its Probation Department, while many others are run by the offices of county district attorneys.
Having worked for the Probation Department for 29 years, Perez has coordinated the victim-witness program the last eight. She and six probation officers assist victims and witnesses to violent crimes based on various criteria. Assistance comes as a reimbursement for hospital and other medical costs, physical therapy, and temporary housing and hotel costs.
Some of our clients have seen some pretty horrific crimes, she said. And we provide them assistance with their appearances in court, along with counseling. We link them to a therapist if they need it.
Although the clients are entitled to state funding assistance, the program often has to front the money when people come and ask for assistance because of bureaucratic delays.
We provide them emergency housing assistance, if there is a safety or security concerns when a perpetrator may be out of jail pending trial, she said. Then there are the hospital visits or paying for counseling visits until the state kicks in.
Sometimes the money is used for relocation. They may need to get out of county or state, if it becomes a safety issue, go outside the box.
Despite violent crime trending down, the need for assistance has grown, from 5,500 to 7,000 a year, though some people simply are unaware of the program.
There are all kinds of folks who need our service, Perez said.
Because it is totally voluntary, our whole pitch is to help them, listening at crisis intervention, through the court system, like with restraining orders, and just filling the gaps, Perez said. We are quite resourceful. We know how to get people linked up.
That need is making program officials think about another type of fundraiser later in 2012. But for now, the race is its lone fundraiser.
Besides Subway, other local businesses and law firms are helping take care of the cost of the T-shirts and other expenses, such as raffle prizes.
One trend Perez has noticed is the number of younger people participating.
We have also noticed a huge numbers of families, kids and all, racing, whether it is running or walking, she said. We have a lot of people out there in support of us.