Darwin Award: Blind counselors taking Blind students swimming at the Beach.

Startribune.com ^ | July 21, 2003 | Tim Harlow and Lucy Y. Her

[sonserae]

The president of a Minnesota organization for the blind said Sunday that he believes a sighted person should have been present when three blind counselors took eight blind children on a swim outing at Lake Calhoun.

Brianna Joy Nelson, 7, of Grant, Mich., drowned Friday evening. She and the other students were attending a camp sponsored by Blind Inc., a Minneapolis company that helps children learn life skills from adult role models who, like them, are blind.

On Friday, the counselors -- two in their 20s and one in his 30s -- took the students swimming at the lake's north beach for about four hours. When they left the water about 7:15 p.m., they counted the children and discovered that Brianna was missing.

The counselors said they notified lifeguards, who called 911 and formed a human chain to look for Brianna. She was found 10 minutes later about 70 feet from shore. Brianna died about an hour later at Hennepin County Medical Center.

On Sunday, Ken Rodgers, president of the American Council of the Blind of Minnesota, said three blind counselors aren't enough supervision for eight blind children at a lake.

"Young children dart around so fast that even sighted people have a problem keeping track of their children," he said. "I just think it's a dangerous precedent."

[dead]

It is a really sad story, but it is just so over-the-top moronic, you can't help but laugh at the premise.

[sonserae]

I can't take credit for the keywords...I didn't add those.

[dead]

Are you lost?

[Prodigal Son]

How do you make a sound that's not like a rabbit?

[Corin Stormhands]

Fair enough.

[Xenalyte]

Huh?

[dpa5923]

LOL!!!!

[sonserae]

You are in the wrong room man...the Kobe room is down the hall.

[weikel]

Indeed it is.

[Allegra]

Just damn.

I've always wondered why they have Braille at drive-through banks.

[Old Professer]

This is the price that must be paid to satisfy the idiots amonst us who would argue that "self-esteem" is more important than reason.

[Kozak]

Reminds of when I heard that in Wisconsin blind hunters get their license free...

[techcor]

It was the diving competition that really led to trouble.

[brianl703]

I'd guess it's because the same ATM model is used for both walk up and drive up installations to save money.

[beckett]

Mind-blowingly stupid. What a tragedy.

[N. Theknow]

When I lived in the Twin Cities I was one of the sighted members of a softball team. Each team had a sighted pitcher, catcher and two sighted spotters in the field. the pitcher would pitch to his own team and if there was a hit the team in the field would have their spotter call out a maximum of two names as to the location of the ball and to prevent players from running into each other in the field.

The ball had a beeper in it that made it possible for the fielders to locate once they knew it was in their area. The runner would dash for either third base or first base which had a buzzer in a pylon to let the runner know where to go. The base was turned on by the umpires who decided which base was to be activated before the ball was thrown to the batter.

If the fielder picked up the ball before the runner got to the base, the batter/runner was out. If the batter/runner got to the base first, it was a run. Then the players on the bench would clap so the runner would know how to get to his/her dugout from the field.

Keeping the spectators quiet while play was going on was the hardest job.

The most sobering part of the whole experience was the injury list. Having played baseball for a number of years, I had dealt with sprains, jammed fingers, pulled muscles and being hit with the ball. All of that was experienced by the players with the addition of missing practice or games because of Guide Dog training, kidney dialysis and diabetes complications.

I also found out that what Mom said about not playing with sticks because someone could get an eye poked out is true.

Having been through this, I can say that a dogged determination to be self-sufficient was at the core of most every blind person I met. And if it wasn't, his peers would let him know that he did not need to be a burden to his family, society and most importantly, himself. Sometimes it proved to be to their detriment.

But they never quit, and never let each other quit.

[hadaclueonce]

when idiots rule, they will only rule idiots

[Conservative4Ever]

I would assume that they went in a school...rented bus. The driver is only responsible for the transportation, not supervising the outing.

Red