{"id":29941,"date":"2024-01-02T12:11:53","date_gmt":"2024-01-02T19:11:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/farmington-polar-bear-plunge-raises-funds-for-search-and-rescue-team\/"},"modified":"2024-01-02T19:11:53","modified_gmt":"2024-01-02T19:11:53","slug":"farmington-polar-bear-plunge-raises-funds-for-search-and-rescue-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/farmington-polar-bear-plunge-raises-funds-for-search-and-rescue-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Farmington Polar Bear Plunge raises funds for search and rescue team"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Participants
Participants of the Dave and Friends Polar Bear Plunge begin to jump into the 36-degree water at Lake Farmington on Monday. Some participants ran in and out quickly while others stayed a while. (Crystal Shelton\/Special to Tri-City Record)<\/span>Crystal Shelton<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

More than 200 people and two four-legged guests started the new year Monday morning at Lake Farmington with the third annual Dave and Friends Polar Bear Plunge.<\/p>\n

The event, organized initially by Dave Dailey as a small event, now contributes donations to local causes. This year, the plunge benefited 4 Corners K9 Search and Rescue.<\/p>\n

For participant Haleigh Bassing, the event, held as the air temperature to 40 degrees, highlighted a sense of community.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really cool that people are willing to get out of their comfort zone to support a cause,\u201d Bassing said. \u201cIt\u2019s January, not July, and we\u2019re jumpin\u2019 in a lake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Participants
Participants of the third Dave and Friends Polar Bear Plunge jump into the 36-degree water at Lake Farmington on Monday. Some participants ran in and out quickly while others stayed a while. (Crystal Shelton\/Special to Tri-City Record)<\/span>Crystal Shelton<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Participants
Participants of the third Polar Bear Plunge wait along the shores of Lake Farmington on Monday. (Crystal Shelton\/Special to Tri-City Record)<\/span>Crystal Shelton<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Participants
Participants of the third Dave and Friends Polar Bear Plunge begin to jump into the water at Lake Farmington on Monday. Some participants ran in and out quickly while others stayed a while. (Crystal Shelton\/Special to Tri-City Record)<\/span>Crystal Shelton<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Dave
Dave Dailey, organizer of Dave and Friends Polar Bear Plunge at Lake Farmington and event beneficiary, Bernadine Beyale founder of 4 Corners K9 Search and Rescue with her dogs, Trigger (black and tan) and Gunny pose for a photo on the beach. (Crystal Shelton\/Special to Tri-City Record)<\/span>Crystal Shelton<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Participants
Participants of the Dave and Friends Polar Bear Plunge begin to jump into the 36-degree water at Lake Farmington on Monday. Some participants ran in and out quickly while others stayed a while. (Crystal Shelton\/Special to Tri-City Record)<\/span>Crystal Shelton<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Bernadine Beyale, founder of the search and rescue, on Monday emphasized the nonprofit\u2019s focus on helping families in the Four Corners and described challenges that families face when searching for missing relatives. The organization serves as a bridge between families and law enforcement, offering support and expertise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do a lot of work on the Navajo Nation and in the surrounding communities to help families who have lost or missing relatives,\u201d Beyale said.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit was built largely on its rescue dogs, including German shepherd Trigger, whose talent started it all, Beyale said.<\/p>\n

A trainer first recognized Trigger\u2019s talent and told Beyale that the 8-week-old dog should be working in search and rescue. Beyale committed to the idea, and 4 Corners K9 Search and Rescue was born. Trigger and Gunny, a 2-year-old Czech shepherd, are trained and certified in live rescues and recovery searches.<\/p>\n

The organization fills a growing need in the Four Corners, Beyale said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2022, we received 50 phone calls, and of those 50 calls, 25 turned into missions. This year, we received 75 phone calls, and 34 turned into missions. When we get these phone calls, we have to determine if we can do anything; is there enough information, are there enough facts, is there enough evidence for us to work off, is there enough evidence for the dogs to work off?\u201d Beyale said. \u201cI have a full-time job, so I can only do this on the weekends, but I don\u2019t say no. If I\u2019m available, I\u2019m there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, the polar plunge benefited Sexual Assault Services of Northwest New Mexico.<\/p>\n

According to Dailey, the event was inspired by the cold exposure techniques that a friend and regular participant, Tim Ulrich, has practiced for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cAthletes do it for muscle soreness, and university studies have shown it\u2019s very good at boosting the immune system,\u201d Ulrich said Monday. \u201cIt\u2019s a willpower exercise.<\/p>\n

Physical therapist Bill Scott and his wife, nurse Jessie Scott, touted the benefits of cold exposure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you average 11 minutes per week, it helps stimulate an immune response,\u201d said Bill Scott. \u201cIt also has a psychological aspect, challenging your fight or flight systems, helping you to better handle stress, reduce anxiety, and promote clearer thought during high-stress situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a great dopamine kick; you feel great for hours afterward, and if you can conquer the challenge of it, you know you deal with a lot,\u201d said Jessie Scott.<\/p>\n

Another nurse, Rebekah Berve-Stamets, agreed, saying \u201cI never enjoy it, but I feel amazing afterward throughout the rest of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hundreds gather at Lake Farmington for New Year\u2019s event<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-29941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29941"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=29941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}