Fence Book

With child drownings in the Valley on pace to meet or exceed last year's total, water-safety advocates are worried that the recession may be taking a toll on efforts to keep children safe.

So far this year, nine children younger than 12 have drowned in Maricopa County. The number of drownings didn't reach that number last year until the end of July. There have been 72 other water-related incidents involving children this year, compared with 62 by the end of July 2008.

Thirty volunteers and Chandler fire fighters will walk door-to-door in an older downtown neighborhood Saturday seeking qualified applicants to receive a donated pool fence or free pool fence repairs.

The effort is part of the Adopt-a-Pool-Fence program sponsored by Valley of the Sun United Way, United Phoenix Firefighters L493, Chandler Regional Medical Center, and The FireStar Fund in association with the Chandler Fire Department.

They say good fences make good neighbors, but sometimes good neighbors will help you make a good fence.

A small army of volunteers, all led by local fence company, went to the rescue this weekend of a local nonprofit in serious need of some good, strong fencing.

The recipient of the neighborly kindness was Saddles of Joy, a long-standing Yuma group that offers therapeutic horseback riding for children with special needs ranging from physical and learning to emotional and behavioral.