Sunday, February 27, 2000
115 take icy dip for disabled
Fund-raiser nets $23K
BY CINDY SCHROEDER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEWPORT — What do you get when a chicken, two polar bears and a half-dozen men in drag make an icy plunge?
Answer: Some of the newest members of the Special Olympics Kentucky Polar Bear Club.
The costumed characters were among 115 participants who jumped, belly-flopped and flipped their way into an ice-filled pool set up next to Hooters Newport restaurant on Saturday.
For the plungers, it was all in the name of fun, and raising money for a good cause.
Through pledges, they raised $23,300 to help subsidize the year-round training and cost of competitions for Kentucky's 10,000 Special Olympic athletes, said George Stafford, marketing director for Kentucky Special Olympics.
Plans to jump in the Ohio River were scrapped this week because of flooding, organizers said, so Burton Pools came to the rescue with an above-ground pool.
To offset Saturday's unseasonable temperatures in the 70s, chunks of ice were tossed into the polar pool.
“I've been in colder water in the Navy, but never dressed like this,” said U.S. Customs Special Agent Frank Kleier, who was decked out as a professional wrestler, complete with a skull cap, temporary tattoo and championship belt.
Mr. Kleier, of Villa Hills, credited his 8-year-old son, Dominic, with providing the inspiration for his costume.
Others said it was a temporary moment of insanity that convinced them to don ridiculous getups and take a mid-winter dip in front of a camera-laden crowd.
“You know, I wouldn't have thought twice about this in college,” said 35-year-old Bill Kinnett of Florence, who blackened his nose and put on a furry white skirt and polar bear paws with son, Matt, 7.
“I have to admit there was some hesitation, but it's for a great cause.”
Chip Combs, a Cinergy employee, won best costume for his “The Big One That Can't Get Away” fisherman's outfit, complete with a huge bobber and pole with a foot-long worm.
The 32-year-old Moscow, Ohio, man said he took the plunge at his brother's urging.
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport police had the most participants — 14 — thanks to a little arm-twisting by Detective Mareka Scott, who helped organize the Polar Bear plunge.
For one day, airport police traded their uniforms for costumes of Saturday Night Live characters, including Mr. Peepers, and Hans and Franz.
“I had no idea the water was that cold,” Officer Patrick Morgan said, as he wrung out his cheerleader skirt after Saturday's plunge. “We couldn't have asked for a nicer day, though.”
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