8181-R1_LSLA_2022_WinterNewsletter_Web

Safety Patrol Program 2022 From Sharon Lamontagne, Director

The summer of 2022 is now behind us and what a fabulous summer it was. Mother nature did not disappoint giving us beautiful weather to enjoy. It was also a very successful season for our Safety Patrol Program. We spent 600 hours on the water. Our dedicated crew of drivers were out every weekday evening, and all day Saturday and Sunday. A big thank you to our drivers, John Bernier, Jeff Viola, Dale Brunell, Katie Martin, Steve Sayian, Dave Cole, Peter Bailey, and Captain Roger LeBlanc. We handed out over 500 whistles, educational information, life preservers and towed quite a few disabled boats. We also actively patrolled and watched the private islands for trespassers and courteously reminded folks that they were breaking the law. As far as we know, there were no accidents this season which is our number one goal! Most boaters seem to have gotten the message and are following the Boating Laws of the State of Maine. There are always a few incidents of not obeying the 200 ft rule, no wake zones, etc. but most of us are

learning how to be good lake stewards and courteous drivers. THANK YOU! The State of Maine wardens were here 23 days putting in 155 hours on the water for us. They checked a total of 824 water crafts. During these checks 30 summonses were issued and 35 warnings for violations of state laws. Most were for not enough personal floatation devices and or registration violations. A few other notable interactions were for trespassing issues on islands, one OUI, fishing without a license and assisting with a reported threat to the safety boat crew. Please refer to the chart below for a complete list and comparison to other years. We are already busy planning for next summer and may be looking to add an additional driver. If you know the lake and are interested in joining the team, please reach out by calling the lake association phone of 207-809-4706. Or if you have any suggestions on how to improve or grow this program, please reach out. SAFETY IS NO ACCIDENT.

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