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Ripples #40
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Ripples #40

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Compiled and Written by Lenny Giteck

Ripples art--smallKenny Chesney Fan Breaks into
Singer’s Home, Sips Drink by Pool

In the early morning of Feb. 17, 2012, an apparently obsessed and possibly delusional fan of country singer Kenny Chesney broke into the star’s Nashville home and was found enjoying a drink by the swimming pool, the Web site 39online.com reported.

When police arrived on the scene, fan Melissa Mansfield claimed she and Chesney were dating and that the singer had invited her to his place. Neither claim proved to be true. 39online.com also noted the following:

Mansfield told deputies that she initially traveled to Knoxville to see Chesney’s parents, and that she traveled by Greyhound bus from Knoxville to Nashville, then took a limo to Chesney’s home, which she claims Chesney sent for her.

The interloper was arrested but was released after posting $1,000 bail. Ripples can only surmise that traveling the first leg of her journey by Greyhound before supposedly transferring to a limo helped Mansfield when she had to come up with the dough.

Music video: To watch Kenny Chesney performing his hit song “Somewhere with You,” click here.

KOA Adds Swimming Pools, Water
Slides to Campground Amenities

Kampgrounds of America (KOA) has begun installing swimming pools, water slides, zip lines and other family-oriented attractions at its nearly 500 independently owned locations across North America, according to an article on latimes.com.

The Web site reports that KOA campgrounds “are increasingly offering such amenities as wireless Internet access, cable television hookups and prefabricated cabins — most equipped with refrigerators, microwave ovens and flat-screen televisions. Many also have swimming pools, bicycle rental stations, arcades and miniature golf courses.”

Apparently, KOA hopes the added amenities will turn its campgrounds into final destinations for family vacations instead of just places to rest on the way to somewhere else. A survey conducted last year, which KOA co-sponsored, found that only 15% of Americans camp on a regular basis, leaving plenty of room for the company to grow.

High School Swim Team Stripped
Of Title over No-Shaving Infraction

As reported by sports.yahoo.com, the girls swimming team of Broadneck High School in Broadneck, Md., has been stripped of a county championship it garnered because one of its members shaved her body hair at the site of the meet before the competition began.

According to the Web site, rules specify that swimmers are not allowed to shave “before, during or after” they have arrived at the venue where the meet is being held. The regulation was initiated by the National Federation of State High School Associations for swimming, diving and water polo competitions.

What is the rationale behind the seemingly bizarre rule? Sports.yahoo.com noted: “The reason…is to protect the swimmers themselves from possible blood transmission or, in general, doing full body shaves in high school locker rooms, which would maximize the possibility of unsafe practices like sharing razors.”

Because of the infraction, the offending swimmer lost the points she had won in the competition, which bumped the entire team from first to third place. In addition, the team’s swim coach was banned from a regional championship swim meet as punishment.

The Web site, for its part, opined “[The] rule can seem quite a bit over the top when one considers generally acceptable practices for other sports; after all, no one is telling football or basketball players that they can’t shave after a game or practice.”

Investigation: Faulty Installation of
Pool Heater Led to Hotel Death

At the end of last January, a guest at the Holiday Inn Express in South Charleston, W.V., was killed when carbon monoxide leaked into his room; a number of other guests were sickened.

Now the results of an investigation into the cause of the tragedy have been made public: According to the Web site boston.com, “[T]he leak stemmed from the improper installation of a heating unit for [the motel’s] swimming pool.”

The report indicated that when workers originally installed the previous heater back in 2002, they “manipulated an exhaust pipe, which was then further compromised during the installation of the unit’s replacement in December [2011].” Vibration from the new unit’s water-filtration system appears to have dislodged the exhaust pipe, resulting in a concentration of the deadly carbon monoxide.

The investigation yielded the following additional findings:
>> In the room where [the deceased guest] was staying, the heating and air conditioning unit was set to fan only, so no fresh air was being circulated into the room.
>> The company that worked on the unit at the end of 2011 failed to follow the swimming-pool heater manufacturer’s recommendation during the installation of the replacement unit.
>> The heating unit wasn’t properly tested or inspected, and there were no permits obtained from the city for any of the work performed.

Joint Olympic-Paralympic Swim
Trials to Be Held in Canada

The Canadian national swim federation, Swimming Canada, has decided to hold its pre-London Olympic and Paralympic swim trials together, from March 27 to April 1.

This is the second time the trials will be held jointly, but only the first that they will be called Olympic trials; in 2008, the joint event was called the Beijing trials. As theglobeandmail.com explained, “Olympic and Paralympic officials are proprietary about the use of the terms that describe the respective competitions. It can be an impediment to sponsorship.”

But the significance of the joint trials goes well beyond the naming issue. The Web site observed that this was an important step “as Swimming Canada continues to eliminate some of the barriers that exist between able-bodied elite swimmers and elite athletes with disabilities.”

Pierre Lafontaine, CEO and National Coach for Swimming Canada, was quoted as saying, “Being able to integrate the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic brands within our marquee event of the quadrennial will provide our organization with a greater platform to promote the values of our sport, athletes and coaches.”

Approximately 700 swimmers are expected to participate in the trials, which will be held in Montreal at the pool built for the 1976 Olympic Games.

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Until next time, happy watershaping to you!

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