Family of six-year-old drowning victim testifies for Ruestman bill

The family of Ethan Cory, 6, who drowned at The Swimmin' Hole in Joplin July 17 testified Tuesday in front of the House Special Committee on Health Insurance in favor of HB 1341, offered by Rep. Marilyn Ruestman, R-Joplin, which would require private for-profit pools and water parks to carry at least $1 million in insurance.
Rep. Bryan Stevenson, R-Webb City, Rep. Ed Emery, R-Lamar, and Rep. Kevin Wilson, Neosho, are among the bill's five co-sponsors.
Alexandara Nicolas provided coverage of the hearing for Missouri Southern State University's newspaper, The Chart:

Savannah Cory misses her brother.

"I miss his laugh, and his macho walk, and his glasses getting dirty," she said in her tear-filled testimony Tuesday before the House special committee on health insurance.

Savannah Cory's brother, 6-year-old Ethan Cory, drowned at a Joplin water park, the Swimmin' Hole, July 17, 2007. Rep. Marilyn Ruestman (R-Joplin), hopes House Bill 1341, to be known as Ethan Law, will prevent other deaths by using insurance companies to police private for-profit pools. Ruestman said insurance companies would inspect for things like size, occupancy, safety regulations and lifeguarding, a subject of controversy after Ethan Cory's death, as there are many locations in the park that are blocked from view, and lifeguard training was questionable.

As a reminder, the Chart is the only southwest Missouri newspaper that actually has its own statehouse reporter (and that includes the Springfield News-Leader). Of course, Miss Nicolas is also writing stories for the Joplin Globe, which for the second time in three years is using student help to cover Jefferson City.