BY JOSEPH B. NADEAU

WOONSOCKET — The injury of a 29-year-old local man from a headfirst plunge into the pond at World II Veterans Memorial State Park has officials once again weighing the dangers of unsupervised swimming at the local summertime spot.

Brett A. Roy of 578 Elm St. suffered a neck injury in the incident, according to police, and had to be pulled from the water by rescuers. Roy was listed in serious condition in the trauma intensive care unit at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence on Saturday, according to a hospital spokesman.
Witnesses told investigating officers Roy ran down the sidewalk along the swimming section of the park and jumped into the swallow water from a concrete wall at the location. The spot, near where marked swimming lanes used to be installed, is approximately four feet deep.
Police heard conflicting reports on whether Roy had been breathing when he surfaced or could move. A Department of Environmental Management caretaker, Kenneth Henderson, entered the water and moved Roy to the water’s edge where fire department members arriving on scene assisted him, police said.
Rescue personnel found Roy unable to move his lower extremities and transported him to Rhode Island Hospital, police said. Police also notified the state Department of Environmental Management of the incident and officials from that agency responded to the scene.
 Mayor Susan D. Menard was also reported to have visited the site but could not be reached for comment on the accident Friday.
World War II Park was the focus of a recent local controversy when the state cut park operating costs out of the Department of Environmental Management budget and moved its staff to other state parks.
Local veterans highlighted a quick downturn in maintenance at the park this spring and summer and sparked an effort by local legislators to get the park’s funding restored in the current state budget.
The park reopened two weeks ago as a result of that effort but without the staffing traditionally in place when it serves as a summer relief spot for city children on school vacation.
The city pledged $10,000 to keep the park running this year and the DEM indicated it would maintain the park’s bathroom facilities and operate the chlorination system needed to keep the pond waters at swimming quality.
The state could cover operating costs for this season, but that money would have to be added to a supplemental budget to be considered in the next session of the General Assembly, according to DEM and state officials stopping in at the area when it reopened two weeks ago.
As of Saturday no lifeguards had been assigned to World War II Park and the 30 children, teenagers and adults found in swimming there did so despite signs posted nearby stating “no swimming,” was allowed.
Several people have drowned or nearly drowned at the park over the years at times when lifeguards were not on duty.
Kenneth Henderson, the park caretaker, was back on duty at the park office over looking the swimming area and several part-time DEM grounds employees were also present.
Henderson said he became concerned when Roy did not resurface after his plunge and went down to the water to get him.
“He hadn’t come out of the water so I dove in,” he said. Henderson, hopping into the waist-deep water fully clothed, located Roy and began to move him with the help of others in the direction of the park beach, he said.
 “By the time I got him to the shoreline, the fire department arrived and took over,” he said.
 “I wasn’t trying to be a hero, but that was part of my job since there were no lifeguards on duty,” Henderson said.
Henderson referred questions about park operations to his superiors at Lincoln Woods State Park.
William Mitchell, regional park manager for the DEM at Lincoln Woods, said Saturday no lifeguards have been posted at World War II and the DEM’s position is that no swimming should be taking place at the area in light of that fact.
Normally, the park would be staffed with four lifeguards during its open season from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Even then, however, it is difficult to keep people from using the pond after hours.
The incident on Thursday is something that can occur when no lifeguards are present to control activity at the beach, Mitchell said. “With no lifeguards there, that is a concern,” he said.
DEM officials are planning to discuss World War II Park’s status at a meeting on Monday, according to Mitchell. He did not know if city officials would be involved in that discussion.
Tracy Peloquin of North Main Street had heard about Roy’s accident but still went to World War II Park on Saturday to let her daughter, JoAnna, 11, and son, James, 10, swim with friends in the pond.
 “I don’t know, I watch my kids always,” Peloquin said when asked about the lack of lifeguards at the pond.
 “At times, you need lifeguards, but when my kids are here, my kids don’t jump,” she said.
 Jessica Moyer of Privilege Street, said she also watches her three children, Rita-Claire, 12, Victoria, 11, and David, 15, when they swim at the park, but added lifeguards are needed there.
 “Especially for the older ones,” Moyer said as her children splashed in the water nearby. “The older teenagers are irresponsible,” she said.