By Greg Grisolano

ggrisolano@joplinglobe.com

Members of Ethan Cory’s family said they hope a new law aimed at making private water parks safer will help prevent tragedies like the one that led to their son’s death last summer.

“I was thinking that I hope no other parent ever experiences this,” Lauren Cory, Ethan’s mother, said Friday. “I know that they will, but at least we’ve done something to try and help people from going through exactly what we’ve gone through.”

On Friday, Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt signed House Bill 1341, also known as Ethan’s Law, during a ceremony at the Redings Mill Fire Station.

Wearing a gold locket with her son’s picture on it, Lauren Cory said her family was still struggling with the loss of Ethan, but Friday’s signing was a step forward in recovering from the tragedy.

“Absolutely, this helps keep Ethan’s memory alive,” she said. “His compassion was to help people, and once again he’s helping people now.”

Ethan’s Law requires the owner of a for-profit, privately owned swimming pool or water park that has a capacity of less than 500 patrons to maintain at least $1 million in liability insurance in the event of injury or death of a patron. The bill carries an emergency clause that makes it effective immediately upon being signed by the governor.

Flanked by his wife and daughter, Savannah, Ethan’s father, John Cory, thanked family members, friends and the legislators for their support.

“All of our friends, all of our family, the representatives, the senators, the governor — everybody has come together and helped us throughout this,” he said. “Hopefully, this will keep something like this from happening again.”

Before signing the bill into law, Blunt said he believes the law will make Missouri water parks safer.

“We determined we could further increase the safety of for-profit water parks in the state, and hopefully, prevent future tragedies,” the governor said. “We believe this insurance requirement will do a great deal to enhance the safety of these water parks across the state.”

In his prepared remarks, Blunt also thanked volunteers at Redings Mill Fire Station 1. They were the first to respond to the drowning last year at the Swimmin’ Hole.

An owner who violates the provisions of the bill will be subject to a fine of $250 per day up to a maximum of $10,000 and will not be permitted to remain in operation. If an owner intentionally cancels, terminates, or fails to renew his or her liability insurance, the owner will be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

James Burt, who co-owned the Swimmin’ Hole with his wife Diana, declined to comment on the legislation, but did say his park is no longer open. Burt had said he would not be able to afford the insurance, and that he felt the legislation was targeted at putting him out of business.

Burt filed for bankruptcy in February, a move that has stalled a civil suit brought against him and the Boys and Girls Club by the Cory family in Jasper County Circuit Court.

Newton County Sheriff Ken Copeland said he sent a deputy to the Swimmin’ Hole at 3232 Jaguar Road. The deputy reported the pool was empty, and the gates were locked.

“They are closed,” the sheriff said Friday.

The bill was sponsored by local Rep. Marilyn Ruestman, who said that the law will require insurance companies to inspect the pools for safety before underwriting a policy.

“We discovered in our investigations that actually the insurance companies might be more strict in the regulations they would require than if we formed another government agency or regulatory body,” she said. “One of the things they will be concerned about is that there are plenty of lifeguards, that they are trained, that they are certified.”

An investigation into Ethan Cory’s drowning by the Newton County Sheriff’s Department, authorities said, determined that the boy’s death was accidental, but cited a lack of supervision on the part of the club and staff at the water park. Court documents filed in connection with a civil suit by the family allege the Swimmin’ Hole did not have enough trained lifeguards on duty at the time of the accident.

Michael Mayes, a Springfield attorney representing the Boys and Girls Club in the civil suit, could not be reached for comment Friday, but in the past, he has said he would not have a comment on the suit.

The legislation does not affect city pools, hotel pools, theme parks and privately owned residential pools because they are already covered by legislation. Ruestman said legislative research indicated this bill would affect about six pools in Missouri, including the Swimmin’ Hole.

Ruestman invited the family to join her at the podium, and thanked them for their efforts in testifying before lawmakers during the legislative session.

“I’d like to offer just a special thank you to the Corys for going beyond this terrible tragedy that none of us could probably even imagine,” she said. “Because of that, they encouraged us at the state level to begin work on this legislation.”



Effective date

House Bill 1341 carried an emergency clause stating that the legislation would become effective immediately upon receipt of the governor’s signature.