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A cold day for the best Penguin Plunge yet |
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March 12, 2017 |
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| Photos by
Andrea Kramer |
| Boundary County Sheriff Dave
Kramer poses for a picture with those
who are the reason behind Saturday's
Penguin Plunge, the Boundary County
Special Olympic athletes, coaches and
staff. |
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The 2017 Boundary County Special Olympics
Penguin Plunge is in the books, with the best
turnout to date as 64 people braved the icy
waters of the Kootenai River Saturday, ranging
in age from eight years to a day shy of 83, as
longtime Penguin Plunger Marciavee Cossette took
another dip Saturday and then celebrated her
birthday today.
While not all the figures have been formally put
together as yet, this year's Bonners Ferry
Distinguished Young Women took the Spirit Award
and the Border Patrol Explorers won the Judge's
Choice Award.
As always, this years Penguin Plunge was made
possible thanks to the hard work and
contributions of many in the community.
Again, the list is not yet complete, but thanks
go out to the Helping Hands of Naples, who once
again had hot food and filling baked goods for
all who took the plunge, to Safeway and Super 1
for the food they served, and to Dennis Dinning,
PepsiCo, who contributed ice cold and refreshing
Pepsi products to further cool the swimmers who
braved the balmy 30-something degree water on
such a sweltering end of winter Boundary County,
Idaho, day!
Those plungers were also particularly grateful
to North Idaho Spas, who brought in and set up a
most inviting hot tub to help them regain the
feeling in frosty toes and fingers!
Thanks also goes out to Boundary County
emergency service providers, from law
enforcement officers who not only did so much to
organize the event but were on hand to make sure
the event was held safely, to firefighters and
EMTs and Boundary Search and Dive Rescue
personnel who stayed in and on the water to
assist the day's most important contributors --
those who took the icy plunge to raise funds for
Idaho Special Olympics and our local Special
Olympics champions.
And a huge thanks to Boundary County Sheriff
David Kramer, the driving force behind the local
Penguin Plunge for more than two decades, and to
his wife, Andrea, who once again captured all
the action in the pictures gracing this page.
You can see all of this year's Penguin Plunge
photos on Facebook by
clicking here, and you can
relive Penguin Plunges of years past on her
Flickr site. |
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The dock at Boundary County
Waterways was filled with people as the
clock ticked to noon on a gray, cold,
dismal Saturday and the first jumpers in
the 2017 Bonners Ferry Penguin Plunge
made their way bravely to the warm,
soothing waters of the Kootenai River
... |
| ... all good so far ... |
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... OH NO, NO, NO! You said it
wouldn't be THIS cold! |
| Rubber floaties ... that's the
ticket ... |
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Nope, even the cheery giraffe is
shivering! |
| The bigger pink flamingo didn't
help much, either ... |
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... and pool noodles were no
help at all. |
| But still, no one let the chill
of the water detract from the spirit of
the event, as this year's Penguin
Plungers went in two-by-two ... |
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Head ... |
| ... over heels ... |
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... and even in the most
graceful of swan dives. |
| And in the end, the style of the
entrance made no difference at all ...
that water was ice C-C-C-COLD! |
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Even a big, fancy
gravity-inspired hair-do ... |
| ... was no match for the chill
waters of the Kootenai River! |
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In the big picture, how one made
their entrance added to the fun ... |
| ... and the spirit ... |
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... of the official rite to welcome
spring in Boundary County, the Bonners Ferry Special
Olympics Penguin Plunge.
And the day
just wouldn't be complete with the
Princess of the Plunge, the inimitable Marciavee Cossette, who dressed in all
her finery to make yet another chilly
Penguin Plunge Saturday as a sprightly
and vigorous 82-year-old, then got warmed up
and celebrated her 83rd birthday on
Sunday! |
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And speaking of warming up, the food
prepared by the Helping Hands of Naples
and the hot tub set up inside the
waterways building were most
appreciated! |
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