Patrolling the pool
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 6 years, 5 months AGO
CRAIG NORTHRUP/Press Kade Palmer mans his post at Triple Play’s Raptor Reef. He sees his first job as a lifeguard in the Hayden indoor water park as a stepping stone toward his dream job in law enforcement.
Editor’s note: The last day of school means a temporary break from homework, but hundreds of area students spend their vacation getting experience in the workforce. The Press is following a handful of these enterprising young people this summer, checking in on what they’re doing and what they’re learning.
By CRAIG NORTHRUP
Staff Writer
During a quiet early morning in Hayden, before the doors had opened for business, Triple Play Family Fun Park already was humming with the sound of arcade games and the animated voices of an electronic oasis built for playtime.
For Kade Palmer, who’s working his first job as a lifeguard at Triple Play’s Raptor Reef indoor water park, “work before play” is a bit of an oxymoron: The first assigned task of his shift is to take a plunge down a water slide.
“Before the day starts,” he explained, “we get to make sure the slides don’t have any chipping that could hurt the guests. So we go down the slides twice to make sure.”
The June graduate of Coeur d’Alene High School blends the fun of a water park with the serious nature of his first job, all while making sure the former doesn’t interfere with the latter. As a lifeguard, Palmer said he took his responsibilities to heart.
“Lifeguards are responsible for the health and safety of everybody in the park,” he said. “It’s important I stay focused on what I need to do.”
The son of Reed and Amy Palmer sees a future beyond Triple Play: He aspires to attend the police academy and one day patrol the streets of Coeur d’Alene. But the academy requires new recruits be at least 21 years old, which means Kade will have a few more years of patrolling the wave pool and slides before he moves on to his dream job. In the meantime, he’s saving his wages for tuition.
“The wave pool requires the most attention,” he said. “If you have a little kid who might not be ready for a wave, it could pull him in, so you have to be really mindful all the time.”
So far, Palmer hasn’t had to resuscitate anyone, though he did assist a young guest who had a seizure. Being a lifeguard is a serious job with real-life consequences, he said, though he appreciates the satisfaction and surprises of the work.
No surprise was as startling, though, as his first paycheck.
“I looked at the amount and was like, ‘This is amazing,’” he said. “Then I looked at [my take-home pay] and was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, they took out a lot in taxes.’”
When asked what he discovered about his work ethic from his first real job, he spoke with pride.
“I’ve learned I’m a good worker,” he said. “My dad raised it up in me, teaching me that you have to work for everything, that you’re not going to be handed anything in life. I think that’s helped me here.”
Palmer is well on his way toward meeting his savings goal to pay for the Police Academy. He’s already moved past a plain vanilla savings account.
“I’ve invested in two [certificates of deposit],” he said. “Pretty soon, I’m going to be starting a 401(k).”