Here’s The Scoop 12/16/08…… Lifeguard Workshop….Somewhere In The Middle…
December 19, 2008 by Barbara
12/16/08… LBTS LIFEGUARD WORKSHOP….
DOES’NT HAVE TO BE ALL OR NOTHING…DOES IT?….
They came…the real lifeguards..the professionals…..a half a dozen who know what it takes to protect the beaches….coming from various towns…offering their expertise…their help and their services…
I will tell you they brought an air of authority…of necessity…of what would be the best of all worlds to have in our town…if not for the cold hard cash part…and there is the long standing rub!…
It went back and forth for the umpteenth time…do we bite the bullet…find the funds (where?)….or try and put our finger in the dam one more time with …stop-gaps…dutifully brought up by the “2 Hats”…and others on the dais…giving us updates on emergency poles…that will be installed…(still being painted by our valued Municipal employees…news we heard awhile back…must take a long time for that paint to dry…perhaps the workers were sidetracked with painting the new Public Safety Complex?…Is it the same color white?)…the poles will include a point of direction to give when calling 911…a point that the Vice Mayor says the 911 command center will know about…(need to check his assertion out)….and a throw ring…
Much was made of the ATVs and the VFD…with the return of Ocean Rescue Officer Scott Fowler…to offer some rescue training to those VFD members…on duty….
BCbythesea…was a deal made …for his return…to instruct…did it include the Vice Mayor…being out of the picture…hands off…so Scott Fowler can carry on…without the interference that enacted his resignation from the VFD a few months back…and if so…will it last?….Any bets?…
The VFD on ATVs…are not on the beach enough…according to their own monthly reports…unless creative staff accounting is still in full swing…with ATV man-hours…being put under station watch…
SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE….
Where do I stand…in the middle…
I agree a full beach of lifeguards would be ideal…but also agree…it is a financial impossibility with the taxpayers…
I also agree that the onus being on the VFD in the primary role….does not provide a great sense of security….due to the lack of training…the “fudged ” accounts of that training…the fallout with the “war of words” on how to train.the members….. that led to the instructor leaving the first time…(and the very real odds of it happening again)…along with the limited time on the beach spent…per the last 2 months of VFD monthly reports…
The poles and the rings…a good idea…that was previously posted …along with the warning flag idea for ocean conditions…that seems to be MIA…(perhaps due to liability concerns…that the VFD…and/or the Town might not be vigilant in the maintaining them 24/7…. …leaving the door open for a lawsuit….from neglect)….these have been in the works for quite a few years…through different commissioners…past and present…
A happy medium…in my opinion…professional lifeguards on the beach at Commercial by the pier……the most public area…with the new pavilion…and expected P.R campaign that will come with its opening…in late February…to bring residents and tourists to town….for our beach….
We have 2 miles of beach we are repeatedly told….
So it makes sense that a few full-time lifeguards on duty…with one ATV available for them…..for quick response …up and down that stretch of LBTS beach…in coordination with the ATVs.-(eyes and ears) VFD members…(still to be trained by Fowler)…along with poles…(when the paint dries)… warning flags up and down the beach…..( get them up in concert with full-time lifeguards)…..well placed signs directing beach-goers to where the lifeguard section of the beach is….and a lot of P. R….on T.V….in hotels and various publications…would be the way to go……
more to come….
