Letters To The Editor

Sat., July 15, 2000

Visible marine deputies could curb problem

There is no way a 25-mile-long lake can be too crowded. Marine deputies need to be more visible. One should be stationed off City Beach at all times. How hard is it to make sure boats in congested areas travel at reasonable speeds and pass well behind kayaks and small sailboats?

I’m somewhat of an expert sailor and I can’t believe how many times in the past week a large motorboat has passed way too close in front of me, totally oblivious to the wake they are generating.

As for Jet Skis, I think they’ve ruined the quality of life on every lake in America. That said, people enjoy them and have a right to use them. The only law that I think needs to be enacted is a curfew for Jet Skis. As I was fishing at night off a dock on Hayden Lake, a Jet Skier was doing doughnuts on his whiny machine until 8 p.m. When I first moved here five years ago, I could sit and enjoy the relative peace and tranquility as the day drew to a close. What a shame that one Jet Skier could ruin such a magnificent, peaceful setting.

Many motorboats came up the lake at the same time to be pulled out of the water at the Honeysuckle boat ramp. Motorboat after motorboat raced up the lake toward where I was fishing, but as they approached they all slowed to no-wake speed, pulled into the docks, turned off their motors and that was it. Two whiny Jet Skis were 10 times more obnoxious than all those motorboats put together.

A 7 p.m. curfew seems a reasonable compromise to return the lakes to the peaceful evening setting everyone enjoyed for hundreds of years before Jet Skis were invented. Jim Spurr Dalton Gardens

Teens a tremendous help in time of need

My 17-year-old son, Doug Blaty, is a student-athlete at Lake City High School. I never knew what kind of neighbors I had until this weekend when my son had a bike accident and broke three bones in his back.

The quality teens in this community must be commended for their outright selfless conduct with respect to my family. Sarah Detienne, Luke Anderson, Mike Orsua, Kelly Kline, Kyle Baker, Jesse Symbol and Brandon Mills, as well as Coach Van Troxel and many other wonderful neighbors and friends have come to our emotional rescue at this difficult and scary time.

Doug has been an athlete and outstanding student and is a senior this year. The possibility of never being able to play football again has been foremost on his mind. The probability of his ability to function normally for the rest of his life is foremost on our minds!

Our friends and neighbors have been able to keep his spirits raised and our minds set at ease. Dinners and baked goods have also helped to ease the stress of the daily routine as of late. The constant visits from friends to alleviate boredom have been invaluable.

It is sad to me that we have to have a serious situation like this in order to realize how very special the teens in our community are. I love these young people with all of my heart! Deanne Clifford Coeur d’Alene

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