by Elsewhere 35 Replies latest jw friends
The JW's won't be able to eat their lunch at the Water Gardens this weekend. It's closed until future notice because of the 4 drownings last week.
4 drownings? How do 4 people in 1 week, drown in water that's cascading over stairs? Or is that where they performed the baptisms from last weeks assembly?
FORT WORTH - A Chicago father, two of his children and a third child drowned early Wednesday evening in a swirling pool at the Fort Worth Water Gardens despite frantic efforts by bystanders and emergency workers to save them.
Three of the victims were identified as Myron Dukes, 35, Lauren Dukes, 8, and Christopher Dukes, 13, all of Chicago. The name of an 11-year-old girl, also of Chicago, was not released late Wednesday.
The family was identified by the pastor of their church, Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago.
The victims were among the thousands of visitors attending the National Baptist Congress at the Fort Worth Convention Center.
The pastor, Gerald M. Dew, said he was told that the children went to the Water Gardens to play because the swimming pool at the Fort Worth Plaza hotel was closed for maintenance.
One of the children slipped, which started a chain reaction, Dew said.
Bike patrol officer Tony Maldonado, who was one of the first officers to arrive at the swirling pool, said he jumped in and the force "literally sucked the socks off my feet."
Stephanie Dukes, the wife and mother of the victims, "was holding up as best as can be expected," Dew said.
Dew described the Dukes family as "faithful, dedicated church members."
The Water Gardens, a 30-year-old park bracketed by the Fort Worth Convention Center and Lancaster Avenue, is a cool oasis at the southern end of downtown. Thousands of gallons of recirculating water create different effects in pools, which are surrounded by landscaping and concrete walls.
The park was designed by well-known New York architect Philip Johnson and donated to the city in 1974 by the Amon G. Carter Foundation.
Small bronze signs at entrances to the park warn visitors "No wading or swimming," but the warning is commonly ignored.
Although the potential danger at the park has been an issue for years, Wednesday's drownings were the first, officials said.
"We've never had a tragedy like this in the Water Gardens," said Lt. Kent Worley, a Fire Department spokesman.
The four drowned in the Active Pool, an inverted pyramid in which water slides down the sides, turning into waterfalls before splashing into a small pool at the base. Steps lead from street level into the pool.
According to a firefighter's depth gauge, the water in the pool was 9 feet deep. A drain in the bottom recirculates the water.
Christian Tillis, 14, of Fort Worth said he saw a girl fall into the pool, and when a second child reached out to help her, the first girl pulled her in. Tillis said a man jumped in after the children and then a third child jumped in.
When he saw the man struggling, Tillis said, he jumped in, too.
"When I grabbed ahold of the girl's arm, I almost had her," Tillis said.
But the water's suction was strong, Tillis said, and he went back to the surface.
"I wanted to go back and get her, but if I did I might have died, too," Tillis said.
Clarence Tillis, 15, also jumped in and tried to save the victims.
He said his hand got stuck between the man and one of the steps, and he had to let go because he was running out of air.
He saw the man come up and go back down three times, "but he didn't come up the fourth time," Tillis said.
Maldonado and fellow bike patrol officer R.B. Owen were the first officers to arrive, two minutes after a 911 call was received at 6:45 p.m.
They said they dropped their shoes and gun belts and rushed down the slope to the pool.
"We jumped in, and it sucked us right to the bottom," Owen said.
Firefighters arrived in another minute. "Everybody just jumped in," Worley said.
Emergency crews could be heard on the law-enforcement scanner calling for the water to be turned off. Worley said that was accomplished "fairly quickly." He said he did not know whether the suction in the bottom of the pool was from the drain or from water cascading from above.
Worley said that the Water Gardens will be closed until an investigation is complete. The water had been drained from all pools late Wednesday.
April Barnes, 15, of Hattiesburg, Miss., who was at the pool with her mother, said she jumped in and tried to get one of the girls out.
"I had the little girl by her bathing suit," Barnes said.
When Barnes reached for her mother's hand to get pulled out of the water, she lost her grip on the little girl, she said.
Barnes' mother, Stephanie Johnson, said the man jumped into the pool and struggled to save the girls.
"He just jumped in there trying to save them," Johnson said.
When the $6 million Water Gardens were donated to the city, the gift was described in 1975 by a New York Times art critic as both "useless and absolutely splendid."
Franz Schulze, Philip Johnson's biographer, said that Johnson mentioned to him several times "the element of danger" he had designed into the Water Gardens.
"He felt the thrill of what he called 'pseudo-danger' increased the visitors' appreciation of the park," Schulze told the Star-Telegram in 1993.
The Water Gardens were intended to create an island of serenity in the downtown area and were never meant as a place for people to swim or cool off.
"It is prohibited for people to swim or wade," said Dee Hardin, city parks superintendent. "Stay out of the water in the Water Gardens. The water is just to look at."
Over the years, the city has paid thousands of dollars in claims to visitors injured in falls on the irregularly spaced stone steps and ridges.
Before Wednesday, the park's most serious accident was in 1991, when an 80-foot light pole fell and killed two Internal Revenue Service agents taking a break in the park.
Wow that's a sad story . I didn't hear anything on the news . I can't believe they had no emergency equipment in the vicinity . ladders , ropes , floatation devices all could have helped save those people .
I guess I am to conclude that the new building in denton is for circuit assemblies while they still use the ft.worth convention center for district .
I also had no idea the ft. worth water garden was in the movie logans run . I have been there myself .
Wonder if we were ever at the same convention Else!
Ya know, we were probably there together many times and never knew it! I bet you were one of those hot little JW sisters who liked to walk around in a shapely dress... Watching was one of my favorite pass times during the breaks!
The convention is going to be at: "Convention Center
1111 Houston St"... that is what the WTS web page says. I have never been there before, so I have no idea which one it is. My JW instinct tells me it is likely the cheapest most run-down place available.
elsewhere--- As long as you don't talk about masturbating at bethel you might have a chance .LOL In fact I would go myself if you wore a T-shirt stating you masturbated at bethel .
elsewhere--- As long as you don't talk about masturbating at bethel you might have a chance .LOL In fact I would go myself if you wore a T-shirt stating you masturbated at bethel .
Hey! I never told anyone about that story!
