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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2006-02-22, Page 12Crossroads 12 Exeter Times -Advocate Wednesday, February 22, 2006 Brennan returns home with two world records needed elsewhere. Divers represented 40 countries from around the world, although Brennan, who has logged over 5,000 dives since 1986, was one of only seven Canadians to take part. Because of the complexity of the dive, it is precisely choreographed, organized and rehearsed, with each diver knowing specifically what his job is. "The preparation makes it a safe sky- dive," Brennan says. "The team aspect is just unbelievable." Before making the record-breaking 400 -way jump, the World Team made earlier jumps of 367 and 399 divers. On the official record-setting jump, "I knew we had it," Brennan says, adding that the formation was "flat and quiet." After holding the formation, team members began to drop off in pre -determined order to different altitudes before land- ing. After the jump, divers had to wait for the judges to review the tape to confirm it was successful. Brennan's second world record set was Feb. 11 when 960 skydivers took part in a mass jump into the new Bangkok International Airport to com- memorate the 60th anniversary of Thai King Bhumibol, the world's longest - reigning monarch. "It was incredible to see all those para- chutes in the air," Brennan says. As far as further record breaking jumps is concerned, Brennan says he isn't sure what the future holds. The large jumps are very complicated and expensive, with each sortie with the Hercules costing $35,000 in gasoline. And with the next record probably involving 450 or 500 skydivers, more airplanes will be needed, making the venture even more expensive. Brennan says the jumps are good for Thailand and their king and received media attention from the BBC, CNN and Sports Illustrated. Brennan's busy diving schedule in Thailand didn't leave a lot of time for sightseeing, but he did get a couple of days off to see the country. "Thailand was magnificent," he says, complimenting the country, the people and the food. Still, he says the experience of seeing some of the poverty made him realize how lucky Canadians are — at one point he saw a young girl sleeping on a news- paper in the street. Brennan waited for 15 minutes to see if she belonged to any- one, but nobody came for her. He said he had a tough time sleeping that night thinking of the girl's condition. In Canada, Brennan would have been able to call the Children's Aid Society, but he said that infrastructure isn't in place in Thailand. Now that he's part of the "Guinness Book of World Records," Brennan will still be jumping at the Grand Bend Sport Parachuting Centre and taking trips to California for large dives. "I'm still looking for what's next," he says. Exeter OPP officer Liam Brennan recently returned home from Thailand, where he helped set two world records — a 400 -person skydive and a mass jump of over 900 skydivers into the new Bangkok International Airport. (photo/Scott Nixon) By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF THAILAND — Exeter's Liam Brennan returned home last week with two world records in hand. Brennan, an OPP veteran for 18 years, was a member of the skydiving record- breaking 2006 World Team, which took part in a 400 -person skydive over Udon Thani, Thailand. The previous record of 357 divers was set in 2004. Brennan helped the 2006 team break the record Feb. 8. The team held its position for 4.25 seconds. Divers formed a circular formation consisting of 10 - pie -shaped wedges (called weed whack- ers because of their appearance). "It was the experience of a lifetime," Brennan says. Divers were flown in Thai military Hercules airplanes and achieved heights of 26,000 feet, about as high as the divers can go. The altitude left Brennan with bruised eardrums and others with sinus infections and colds, something he says is a small price to pay for the record. While the divers were fed oxy- gen through tubes in their helmets, Brennan says they were actually off oxy- gen for about 10 seconds while they waited on the airplane's ramp to jump. With the exception of one morning of cloud cover, the weather was perfect for Brennan and the divers. The only glitch was the military aircraft weren't always available when divers needed them for their jumps because the aircraft were Above, Brennan takes part in a record-setting skydive — a 400 -person dive over Thailand. (photo/submitted) Avon Maitland early kindergarten registration successful By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THE T -A SEAFORTH — Administrators of the Avon Maitland District School Board's early Kindergarten registration made a presentation to trustees Feb. 14, urging them to support expanding the initiative. Early Registration, which provides a variety of ser- vices to prospective students almost a year before they start Kindergarten, first ran in the Avon Maitland board as a pilot project in Clinton and Mitchell in 2004. In November 2005, with co-operation from the Huron and Perth County Health Units, the provincially -funded Early Years Centres and other community partners, it ran throughout the Huron -Perth Catholic District School Board. But funding limited it to only about half the Avon Maitland board's elementary schools. In some cases, a space in the school was opened up on a morning or afternoon for service providers to set up displays, and parents or caregivers brought prospective Kindergarten students in for some fun, some snacks and some assessment of where they were developmentally. System principal Laura Hodgins recalled one father who, after watching his son struggle through an assessment expert's directions to put on and take off his coat, declared, "I didn't know he was supposed to be able to put on his coat by this age. He's going to do it all the time now, by himself." Much of the assessment is based on something called a "Nipissing Assessment Screen," and covers aspects like speech and language, fine motor skills, cognitive abilities, social and emotional interaction and self-help capabilities. Without the Early Registration initiative, such assess- ments are either carried out in a doctor's office or by parents trying to administer the Nipissing Screen or something like it on their own. With the initiative, it's much more likely that possible deficiencies will be identified, and parents then have several months to seek assistance from service providers (many of which are in attendance at the school-based registrations) before school begins "What this initiative aims to do is to ensure students entering Kindergarten are as equipped as they can be for the programs our school board provides,""said Primary curriculum co-ordinator Sandra Lusk. "There was a lot of interest in this project from prin- cipals and staff," reported Hodgins, who added she'd like to see it expand across the board in the coming years.