Life saved times 2

By Kevin Dye

Staff Writer

There are a lot of professions that require clear thinking and split second action as part of the daily duties, but usually those decisions are not life or death situations.

However, a Village of West Jefferson employee faced a lifesaving situation, not once but twice last week.

Taylor Sibbalds is a West Jefferson High School senior and this is her fourth summer working at the West Jefferson Village Swimming Pool as a lifeguard. Twice last week Taylor had to make a split decision to take action and both times jumped in to save children who were literally over their heads in trouble.

Taylor was the lifeguard for the 12 foot section with diving boards last Wednesday afternoon when she noticed a boy that had just jumped off was slow to come to the surface. She saw that the boy was struggling and she dove into action.

“He was in the 12 foot area and I think he just got tired,” Taylor said. “He was closer to the board than he was the side and that’s when I decided to take action.”

Taylor explained that she noticed that the child was struggling in the water and that his head was back. She immediately knew she had to take immediate action to avoid a tragedy.

“It was a very scary situation for me,” Taylor said. “When I jumped in and reached him he was totally under water and his arms were dangling down. We usually blow our whistles twice, but another guard knew what was going on and I just jumped in. After I got him out of the water he was breathing alright and was perfectly fine. His mom thanked me a lot.”

Taylor takes her lifeguard training and her job very seriously, so it was no surprise that she acted so quickly and effectively. Still, after the fact, it was a lot to digest.

“This is my fourth year as a lifeguard and I just love it,” Taylor said. “But it was scary for a moment. We have a lot of incidents in the 12 foot areas and you have to keep a close watch on the kids. Afterwards I was shaking and I started getting teared up, but I pulled it together after it was over. I just got back into my chair and went back to work.”

That should have been enough excitement for one week for anyone, but by Friday afternoon a similar incident took place and Taylor once again jumped in and pulled out a young person overcome in the pool.

“The boy on Friday was going off the diving boards continually,” Taylor said. “I think a big wave just took him under after his dive. He was struggling to regain control and I just jumped in after him.”

Taylor’s ability to take quick mental and physical action comes to no surprise to the people she works with.

“We are really proud of Taylor,” pool co-manager Carol Grice said. “We all ran out there when it happened. She was really upset at first, but she is a very dependable lifeguard for us.”

The village pool is a very familiar place for Taylor. Her mother started bringing her to the pool at a very young age and Taylor fell in love with the place.

“Taylor has been coming here since she was three years old,” mother Stacy Sibbalds said. “She would just sit and watch people go off the high dive (since removed). Then she wanted to go off the high dive when she was really young and the first time she got to the top and yelled out that she was scared. Taylor is not usually sacred of anything, so I went up and talked with her about it and she decided to go ahead. I went down and waited for her in the water and she jumped off with no problems. It’s been non-stop at the pool ever since. She loves kids and people so I suggested that she get her lifeguard training. Now she absolutely loves working at the pool.”

Taylor has many other talents that she has had an opportunity to showcase. She was the 2009 West Jefferson Ox Roast Queen and loved to visit as many other festivals and fairs around Ohio during her year as queen. The next year she had to give up her crown, but another opportunity opened up that placed Taylor on the main stage at the Ox Roast. This time not as a queen, but as the Master of Ceremonies for the Ox Roast Idol contest. Taylor was a last minute replacement and she excelled on the Ox Roast stage introducing each performer and chatting with the crowd during breaks in the competition.

“I am MC again for the Ox Roast Idol contest,” Taylor said. “As for being queen, I would do it all over again if I could. I am looking forward to working at the Ox Roast. I told Jeff Pfeil I’ll do anything for the Ox Roast, I love it so much.”

Taylor looks forward to completing her senior year of high school and she is looking at attending Shawnee State and studying broadcast journalism. As for her recent heroics, she is just glad that she was able to handle the moment and keep her wits about her.

“I thought about it all over the weekend,” Taylor said. “I really felt good about myself. It was a real scary situation and I was able to help the person in trouble. I know that people are proud of me and I know that Jack (McDowell, Parks and Recreation Director), Jeanne (Householder, co-pool manager) and Carol are proud of me. And my mom and dad are proud of me too.”

Taylor proved herself to be a brave as her own father, Randy Sibbalds, who is a West Jefferson Police Officer. West Jefferson parents should also be proud of Taylor and the other lifeguards who take their job serious and keep a watchful eye over the children at play at the pool.