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BASE jumpers, grieving father open dialogue to avert lawsuit
By Sandy Miller
Times-News writer
TWIN FALLS -- It's quite a spectacular view from the Perrine Bridge.
That's just one of the things Littlejohn Keogh loves about the sport of BASE jumping.
"It is the most individualistic thing I've ever done," said Keogh, who owns a Web site development company in Portland, Ore., and has made four jumps from the Perrine Bridge. "It's the one time where you are the most responsible for yourself."
BASE is an acronym for building, antenna, span and earth. The extreme sports enthusiasts jump with parachutes from tall structures, and the 486-foot drop from the Perrine Bridge is a favorite of jumpers from around the world.
Keogh is a relative newcomer to the sport, having made his first jump in May. He said he and other BASE jumpers want safety just as much as Wayne Stout, a Utah man and father of 24-year-old BASE jumper Brian Stout of Gilbert, Ariz., who was killed in a jump off the Perrine Bridge in June 2002.
But they might differ in how to go about it.
"There is a lot of room in the sport for good education," Keogh said. "I don't think there's a lot of room for official oversight."
JEREMY STOA/The Times-News
Originally planned to be a small candle lighting ceremony as a gesture of thanks to previous jumpers, followed by BASE jumping from the Perrine bridge, Saturday's "candle jump" turned out to be just another leap. With most jumpers at an annual event in West Virginia, there just weren't enough to go through with the candle jump. However, that didn't stop Kansas City resident Bob Scheier (front) and Bozeman, Montana, resident Katie Hansen from enjoying one last freefall before the sun went down.
In the year and four months since his son died, Stout tossed and turned over the idea of filing a lawsuit against the state of Idaho, which owns the Perrine Bridge. And when 30-year-old Jason John Corcoran of Wexford, Pa., was killed in a jump off the Perrine a week and a half ago, Stout said it convinced him to file a lawsuit.
But Stout said he put that plan on hold after BASE jumpers Jason Bell and Tom Aiello contacted him recently. The doors of communication were opened. Now, the three are talking about ways to make BASE jumping safer while allowing the bridge to remain open for all BASE jumpers to enjoy, Stout said.
"We realized we all have the same goal, and that goal is to save lives," Stout said.
Attempts to reach Aiello by e-mail Friday were unsuccessful. Aiello and many others in the BASE community had traveled to Fayetteville, W.Va., for Bridge Day, an annual, one-day BASE jumping event held Saturday at the 876-foot-tall New River Gorge Bridge.
What Stout would like to see is a pamphlet called "Brian's Paper" which would contain basic BASE jumping safety tips along with information about the correct gear configuration for making particular jumps off the Perrine Bridge. He said if his son had been using the appropriate gear, he wouldn't have died that day.
"I'm convinced my son should not be dead," Stout said. "The equipment my son was using was not appropriate for that jump."
Stout said he gets the feeling BASE jumpers want to regulate themselves. But he wants to see a little more oversight, such as spot checks made by the appropriate authorities to make sure jumpers had read and understood "Brian's Paper."
"I am willing to negotiate an approach to safety with minimal regulatory oversight," Stout said. "I want BASE jumpers to have to acknowledge the document. After they've signed it, they get a copy, and the regulatory government body gets a copy. Then there would be some kind of spot check enforcement. I don't think that's an overly burdensome price to pay."
Stout said the next step is to bring everyone together. He plans to talk further with Bell and Aiello this week.
"For the first time since my son's death, I'm finally getting some people to listen to me and talk to me," Stout said. "We need to sit down with the mindset that we're all here to save a life. I'm just bringing the ideas. I want the experts to make the decision with my input."
Those experts include BASE jumpers themselves and whatever regulatory agencies have jurisdiction on the Perrine Bridge.
"They have the knowledge and skills to put together these procedures."
But there's one thing Stout won't compromise on.
"I've got to have Brian's Paper," he said.
And what about liability waivers? There are many questions. For instance, who would jumpers release from liability? The state of Idaho, which owns the bridge? Would someone sue Twin Falls County or Jerome County? The bridge sits on the county line.
Keogh said such a waiver would have to release every entity and person from liability. But he doesn't think most jumpers would mind signing such a waiver.
"Jumpers by and large feel the responsibility is their own and would be more than willing to release everyone from liability," Keogh said. "It is every BASE jumper's desire that no one is liable except the jumper."
Stout said "Brian's Paper" would especially protect beginning jumpers, the "newbies." Though his son Brian had made about a hundred skydives, he was killed making his 12th BASE jump.
Most of all, Stout doesn't want other parents to suffer the loss of a child like he did. He said his son's death was meaningless, but "Brian's Paper" could change that.
"I have spent 16 months grieving my son," Stout said. "There was nothing worthy about my son's death, and I'm struggling very hard. If it saves one life, which it will, my son's death becomes more meaningful."
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