Penguin Plunge a fun, frigid affair

March 3, 2012

Nearly 40 Penguin Plungers posed for a group portrait while still relatively warm this morning. The reason they were willing to take a freezin' are the folks in front, the Bonners Ferry Special Olympics Team.

By whatever quirk of chance, March 3 dawned chilly, the thermometer stuck in the upper 30s, with brief squalls of rain pushed by a stiff wind that cut right through. Perfect day for penguins, maybe, but a little less than prime for Penguin Plungers! The third-annual Bonners Ferry Penguin plunge came on a day that was dark, cold, blustery and wet. Still, around 40 brave, intrepid souls braved the bracing waters of the Kootenai River, raising more than $7,500 for the Idaho Special Olympics. Organizers and volunteers, many of whom took the plunge themselves, spent hours in the inclement weather, a couple nearly ended up in the river prematurely while trying to set up the warming tents in the face of the high winds, which were sustained at about 15 miles per hour with gusts up to around 40. It nearly blew the tents, and the people holding on to them, away. The idea of using tents was rather quickly abandoned, but that posed a dilemma ... how were plungers to get warm after their chilling dip? Sure ... JoJo Baker and his wife were on hand, serving up piping hot and oh-so-good chicken and sausage gumbo ... while attempting to keep the tent roof over their head (they got their canopy up, but it didn't stay up long) ... but a warm place to change was essential. While they weren't tents, they were warming ... Beck's Furniture and the Bonners Ferry Fire Department loaned their trucks as warming huts ... and a lot of people looked surprised to see the signs in the windows ... men, women. Fortunately, and on very short notice, both the Bonners Ferry Fire Department, whose Unit 1 had been emptied in preparation for its tranfer to North Bench Fire, and Beck's Furniture  came riding to the rescue, thus saving the day. Despite the weather, a large contingent also turned out to watch the plunge, and they weren't disappointed. The cast of characters wasn't quite as flamboyant this year as they were last, thanks to the weather, but Bonners Ferry's third annual penguin plunge featured a fine cast of characters. There were vampires, werewolves and ghouls, all kept in line by the presence of a ninja, who was seen only by those from whom he wanted notice. Batman was there, jumping into the river with Wonder Woman and a German madchen. They didn't know it, but the ninja was right behind. There were peace officers from many offices and agencies who took the plunge in uniform, bathing beauties who haven't quite started on their summer tans, a terribly ugly woman with beautiful flowing blond hair, but wearing a clown suit. In checking the registration, it turns out she is Jack Flinn's long-lost twin sister, Jackie, abandoned at birth and raised by chickens. Jackie Flinn, Jack Flinn's long-lost twin sister, really made a spash. As with any such event, the third-annual Penguin Plunge didn't happen by itself; Dave Kramer, aka Bruce Wayne, aka Batman aka retired Bonners Ferry Chief of Police, German maiden Tiffany Murray, who jumped with a penguin on her shoulder, though she's most often dressed in the blue uniform of the Bonners Ferry Police Department D.A.R.E. officer, Sue Wilson, who donned the uniform of an officer of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is nothing out of the ordinary as she wears it every day, and Tish Lagerway, also a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer who chose this year to stay dry (perhaps finally demonstrating why she's in charge!), were the core group behind the success of this event, but they are appreciative of all the help they received, too. The Boundary County Sheriff's Office was well represented at the event, with Marine One standing by in the water, members of the Sheriff's Posse and Boundary Search and Dive Rescue, on shore and in the water to rescue the flip-flops, hats and beautiful long blond hair that became separated from their owners, acting Bonners Ferry Police Chief Joel Minor serving as both safety officer and judge. The heavy brass, Generals Gloria Chaves and Dan Escobedo. Joel was joined in the judge's circle (there was no booth and they were freezing like everyone else) by School District 101 Superintendent Dick Conley and some seriously heavy brass. As anyone who's ever served in the military knows, when you see stars, business is serious. At the third-annual Penguin Plunge, there were two people carrying the weight of those stars; Gloria Chaves, Chief Patrol Agent of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Spokane Sector, who has responsibility for operations throughout eastern Washington, North Idaho and western Montana, and Dan Escobedo, CBP, who is the area port director in Great Falls, Montana, in charge of operations in Idaho and Montana. As mentioned earlier, KBFI's JoJo Baker and his lovely wife were on hand to provide the perfect food to warm cold bellies ... they didn't have a buffet, but all they did bring was certainly buffeted, and KBFI's Badger sports announcer David Brinkman, who served as the perfect host and emcee, even while the scripts telling him who all needed thanks and recognition were being blown from his hand. Chef JoJo Baker, fighting wind and weather, somehow managed to keep the gumbo stirred and the tent from blowing over. Boundary Volunteer Ambulance had a full crew on standby, as well as an additional warm haven. They'd also like to thank Safeway, who not only contributed to the cause, but sent a team led by manager Brett Brown to take the plunge; Akin's Harvest Foods, Wal-Mart, Bonners Ferry Sign Company, C.E. Kramer Crane and Mugsy's. They even give kudos to one of their own ... Sue Wilson, who not only put in hours poring over the details, but contributed to the many prizes that were awarded. And those prizes went to ... envelope please ... Team Spirit Award, Brickman House. First Place Costume, the boos and ghouls in the Twilight Group. Second Place Costume ... POW! BAM! BIFF! (I hope you have the theme song running through your head) BATMAN! Third Place Costume, Wonder Woman! Which just goes to show; if you're going to fight on the side of justice or in the League of American Super Heroes, don't be a ninja! You'll be too often overlooked. The Individual Spirit Award went to Jack Flinn's sister, even though she had to be thrown in by volunteers and her hair floated away, the Public Service Team Award went to U.S. Customs and Border Protection; comprised of Port Director Sue Wilson, officer Jennifer Hutcher, Officer Heather Gray, Enforcement Officer Ted Smith and Agent Dave Smith, who traveled to Bonners Ferry from Spokane to also win the award for furthest distance travelled. Or, as he said after taking the Penguin Plunge, f-f-f-further-er-er-est-t-t-t. Going above and beyond the call of duty, German Madchen Tiffany Murray earned the Most Money Raised award.

While their tans aren't yet up to par, quite a few came to the Penguin Plunge dressed for the occasion ... But as is a traditional courtesy to all the Penguin Plungers, Boundary County Sheriff Greg Sprungl, braving the cold and the wind, cooled the cold waters of the Kootenai River just a bit more chilly. But the Penguin Plungers didn't seem to think that temperature really mattered ... after all, they were already cold and wet ... it couldn't get much worse, could it? Yeah, it could ... ... But it took a leap of faith to find out ... That the water was worse! The guys, however, tried to act as if they'd be glad to stay in all day ... even though their toes were turning blue. Before the jump, organizer Dave Kramer, his wife, photographer Andrea Kramer and emcee David Brinkman took a moment to discuss logistics ... But then Dave came out in his true guise ... Batman! Despite his many and varied superpowers, he reminded everyone that they were "Freezin' for a Reason," Idaho Special Olympics. Not everyone who took the plunge were heroes, there were some monsters as well. There was a wolf-man, a Vampirella ... It must have had something to do with day time and a sudden rush of good sense, as Vampirilla decided not to jump, but to ease in ... But her vampire senses abandoned her, as she just couldn't convince her hands to let go of the dock ... fortunately, all the volunteers were wearing a sprig of garlic, and her rescue was affected ... she walked out of the river no longer a scary Vampire, but as a very chilly Damp-ire. Their travail was not for nought; this scary ensamble won first place for Best Costume! While one group of very chilled super-heroes walked out of the river, another group prepared to dive in ... Batman and Wonder Woman had the back of a beautiful German Madchen ... the Ninja went in unnoticed, as is their wont. A big group of true super heroes, representing all the peace officers of Boundary County, came out as well ... And none shirked their duty ... ... Though there's little doubt they all had reason to question their sanity. The team from Safeway, most would think, should know better, too ... but like the law enforcement team, Brett Brown has been first in the water for three years in a row. Though she was abondoned and raised by chickens, Jack Flinn's sister ... or hippie brother (it's very hard to tell), the gorgeous blond requested assistance ... which volunteers were eager to provide. They gave a heave ... A heave ho ... And there have been 32 offers from producers of depilitory products from around the world offering vast sums of money for a spokesman ... fortunately, the hair was recovered.