The Herald, Sharon, PA Published Friday, June 2, 2000


GREENVILLE

State to probe pool death
* * *
Investigator expected next week
* * *
GALSA: GREENVILLE POOL STILL SET TO OPEN SATURDAY

By Michael Roknick
Herald Business Editor

The state Department of Labor and Industry will investigate the death of a 17-year-old Adamsville girl who fell into an empty public swimming pool Saturday in Greenville, the agency said Thursday.

The investigation will be done by the Bureau of Occupational and Industrial Safety, which falls under the Department of Labor and Industry, said department spokesman John Currie.

“An investigator will go out to the site next week and investigate,’’ Currie said. He added the department was contacted about the death earlier this week but could not say who notified the agency.

Erin Scullin died Tuesday from injuries she suffered from a fall into Greenville Memorial Swimming Pool in Riverside Park, apparently while cleaning the low diving board at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The fall was about 14 feet.

She and the diving board were found at the bottom of the pool’s deep end immediately after the accident, Greenville-West Salem Township police said.

An employee of Greenville Area Leisure Services Association, Miss Scullin was working with other employees to prepare the pool for the June 3 opening, Bob Good, GALSA’s executive director, had said.

Miss Scullin was last seen cleaning the inside of the pool and Good said he did not know how she came to be on the board. Another employee heard the impact of the fall and ran to the pool and found her, he said.

Earlier on Thursday, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined it did not have jurisdiction in the case.

OSHA is precluded from investigating worker injury or death cases involving state, county or local government bodies, said John Stranahan, area director of OSHA’s Erie office. Stranahan said his office received an anonymous call about the death on Wednesday.

While the pool is overseen by GALSA, the pool grounds are owned by the borough of Greenville, Stranahan said. Also, GALSA is an association whose board is composed of the borough manager, two Greenville council members, one Hempfield Township supervisor, the superintendent of Greenville Area Schools, two school board members and two at-large citizens, he added.

With the board having such a large membership of local elected officials, along with the land being owned by the borough, OSHA’s solicitor believes GALSA falls within the local public sector, Stranahan said.

Through the state General Safety Laws, the Labor Department is empowered to investigate public-sector employees, Currie said.

“We will assume she (Miss Scullin) is a public-sector employee,’’ Currie said. He did not know how long the investigation would take or when a final report would be available. Such investigations are not common, Currie said.“It’s not done often,” he said. “It’s based on the circumstances.’’

A representative from the state Bureau of Labor Law Compliance, part of the Department of Labor and Industry, was in Greenville on Thursday to review Miss Scullin’s work records and work history because she was a minor, Peter Nicoloff, Greenville borough manager said this morning. “Everything was in order,’’ Nicoloff said. An investigation by the agency into the accident was to be expected, he said.

A woman answering the phone at GALSA this morning said the pool is still scheduled to open at 1 p.m. Saturday.



Back to TOP // Herald Local news // Local news headlines // Herald Home page

Search thousands of cars on Penn-Ohio dealers' lots. Click here

Questions/comments: online@sharon-herald.com
For info about advertising on our site or Web-site creation: advertising@sharon-herald.com
Copyright ©2000 The Sharon Herald Co. All rights reserved.
Reproduction or retransmission in any form is prohibited without our permission.

012700