High
winds, waves blamed in kayaker's death in Ocean County.
By MICHAEL MILLER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6712
Published: Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Updated: Wednesday, November 30, 2005
OCEAN CITY-State Marine Police concluded their investigation into
the drowning of a 75-year-old kayaker from Malvern, Pa.
But the investigation turned up few additional clues into what
caused Donald Rogge's 9-foot kayak to capsize in Ocean City's back
bay on Thanksgiving.
Rogge kayaked in the bay for four hours. At about 5:30 p.m., he
landed the kayak at the island nearest Ocean City just across from
the Route 52 drawbridge. This island is home to the Ocean City
Welcome Center. He walked up the bridge's narrow catwalk to the
bridge tender's building and asked to borrow a phone.
State Police Trooper Perry Capiak said Rogge phoned his family to
let them know he would be late but would be home shortly. Then he
launched his kayak from the Welcome Center island and headed off
into the darkness across the bay toward 18th Street.
Rogge's family reported him missing and overdue about 7 p.m.,
prompting a search by the U.S. Coast Guard, State Marine Police and
the Ocean City Fire Department. Rogge's body was found about two
hours later floating in the 54-degree water in a life vest near his
kayak near 12th Street. He was not wearing a wetsuit.
An autopsy concluded Rogge drowned. The weather conditions were
especially harsh as a cold front moved into the area that evening.
The National Weather Service issued a small-craft advisory that day
warning of strong, gusting winds.
"That's where he made the mistake. When he left, it was in complete
darkness," Capiak said. "The wind was coming from the west across
these islands. As soon as he crossed the lee of those islands,
that's where he overturned."
To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press:
MMiller@pressofac.com
Kayaker,
75, Drowns in Ocean City
The following is from an article in the Press of Atlantic City, by
Michael Miller Nov 26, 2005.
Although not specifically stated, one must assume hypothermia.
An unfortunate reminder to all. Proper clothing, "expect the
unexpected.
No matter how old, life is always too short".
A 75-year-old kayaker drowned in the back bay Thursday night after
his 9-foot boat apparently capsized in strong, gusting winds.
State Marine Police in Atlantic City said Donald Rogge of Malvern,
Pa., was reported missing and overdue shortly after 7 p.m.
Ocean City and State Marine police said Rogge hailed a drawbridge
tender on the Ocean City side of the Route 52 causeway. These
workers raise and lower the two drawbridges so large boats can pass
beneath this state highway stretching between Ocean City and Somers
Point. Rogge asked the tender to call his family and let them know
he would be home shortly, police said. But he never arrived. \
The U.S. Coast Guard launched a helicopter to scour the water from
the air. State Marine Police launched search boats. The Ocean City
Fire Department used the giant six-light stack on its heavy rescue
truck to illuminate the Intra-coastal Waterway between Ninth and
13th streets.
The National Weather Service issued a small-craft advisory Thursday
afternoon that warned of gusting winds as a cold front moved into
southern New Jersey.
Rogge was found floating in a life vest in the 54-degree water near
12th Street some distance from his kayak. He was pronounced dead at
9:37 p.m. at Shore Memorial Hospital in Somers Point.
An autopsy Friday determined that Rogge drowned. The manner of death
was accidental, police said.
State Marine Trooper Perry Capiak said the death was a tragic
accident.
"The main cause of this was the winds, the temperature and the
limited light. All of that contributed to this unfortunate
accident," he said.
Capiak said there were virtually no boaters on the water when
Rogge's kayak apparently capsized late Thursday. Even if he were
able to call for help, it is likely none of the bayfront property
owners heard him over the howling wind.
"If this happens in the summertime, you have 400 people who can give
you a hand," Capiak said.
Romaine Samworth of Malvern lived for decades across the street from
Rogge. She did not know about his interest in kayaking but said that
did not surprise her. He stayed physically fit playing golf and
tending his backyard garden, she said.
"He had delicious tomatoes this summer that he shared with us," she
said. "My husband and I are totally blind, so we wouldn't see him
coming or going. But he was a nice neighbor. He was about the only
neighbor who talked to us."
Rogge had three grown children, she said.
"He had delicious tomatoes". Let that not be your epitaph.
Proper clothing at all times. Guard against cold shock.
Condolences.
Two
presumed dead after canoe accident
11/28/2005, 2:22 p.m. ET
The Associated Press
PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) - A 21-year-old woman and 16-year-old boy were
presumed dead after falling out of a canoe in near-freezing weather
over the weekend, authorities said.
Ashley Coury of Florida and Brian Raleigh of Plymouth have been
missing since the boat overturned in Great South Pond on Saturday
night, when temperatures were in the 30s.
Two others who were in the canoe with them were rescued soon after
and were being treated for hypothermia, Fire Chief Jim Pierson said.
Their conditions were not released.
The search for Coury and Raleigh shifted from rescue to recovery
Sunday morning with more than a dozen divers and a helicopter. The
recovery effort resumed Monday. By morning, only the canoe, a
sneaker and a baseball cap were found, Pierson said.
Relatives of the survivors told investigators the group attended a
birthday party Saturday night, then decided to head to the pond
without life jackets.
The pond stretches more than a half-mile across, and is as deep as
50 feet in some spots. The pond is surrounded by summer cottages on
the outskirts of Plymouth, about 45 miles southeast of Boston.
Investigators were unsure why the canoe apparently capsized; an
inspection revealed no obvious problems with the boat, Pierson said.
Coury's boyfriend, Dan Madden, 20, also of Florida, is one of the
two survivors. The other is Michael Raleigh, 22, of Plymouth,
Brian's half brother. Madden and Michael Raleigh are cousins.
Relatives said the group had attended a birthday party for one of
their grandmothers.
Expert: Rarity caused Hawk Mountain death
Scientist says shift of boulder that killed woman is unusual.
By Michael Duck
and Joe McDonald Of The Morning Call
In a geologic occurrence an expert called ''blessedly rare,'' a 5-
to 7-ton boulder on Hawk Mountain shifted suddenly Saturday, pinning
and killing a Kutztown University freshman hiking in the area.
Sarae Rinker, 18, of Monroe County was trapped between the boulder
and a tree for three hours but died after fire crews freed her,
officials said.
''This is the only fatal [accident] we're aware of in the 70-some
years that we've been here,'' said Lee C. Schisler Jr., president of
the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association. ''It was just a terrible
tragedy.''
Saturday marked Rinker's first hike on Hawk Mountain, said her
father, Richard Opshinsky, but she grew up hiking in the woods in
the Poconos.
''We hiked all over,'' Opshinsky said. ''She always liked to hike
with us. We did everything....''
Rinker, of Cresco, phoned home before the Hawk Mountain hike with
her boyfriend, her father said. Kutztown sophomore Jessica Prostko
said the boyfriend, David Zlockie, is a junior from West Chester and
a community adviser in Johnson Hall, a dorm where Rinker lived.
''She was excited about going,'' her father said, fighting back
tears Monday night after picking out flowers for her funeral.
Officials believe Rinker and Zlockie stepped off the trail around 2
p.m. to sit or stand on the boulder, which ''apparently unbalanced
it,'' said Assistant Chief Dean Kniss of Kempton Fire Company.
As the boulder slid partway down the hill toward the trail, Kniss
said, ''he was able to jump clear of it; she couldn't.''
Such shifts of big rocks can be caused by freezes and thaws, the
vibration of earth-moving equipment or even the weight of hikers,
said Helen Delano, a geologic scientist with the Pennsylvania
Geological Survey in Middletown, Dauphin County. Fortunately, she
said, sudden shifts like that are ''blessedly rare.''
The boulder was next to a trail leading to ''The Slide,'' an
overlook near the northwest corner of the sanctuary's main ''Lookout
Trail'' hiking loop. The spot is about a mile from the Hawk Mountain
visitor center.
The rock pinned Rinker's lower abdomen against a tree that was about
15 or 16 inches in diameter, said Kniss, who was in charge of the
rescue operation. He estimated the boulder was about 7 feet by 4
feet by 2 feet.
Much larger boulders dot Hawk Mountain, Delano said.
Even though the big rocks look stable, Delano said, they're actually
moving downward, extremely slowly.
''They are on their way down the mountain,'' she said. ''If you're
going to go scrambling around on them, you need to pay attention.
... They really are just a loose pile of boulders with nothing
holding them in place but gravity.''
Firefighters hiked in with equipment ordinarily used to help car
crash victims. Crews used heavy chains and airbags to lift the
boulder, and a hydraulic rescue tool, often called the ''jaws of
life,'' to push the boulder, Kniss said. By about 5 p.m., he said,
they had moved it about 3 inches - just enough to free Rinker.
She was conscious the whole time, Kniss said, and a doctor was flown
in to monitor her during the rescue.
Crews carried Rinker back down the trail and rushed her to the
waiting helicopter, which flew her to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar
Crest.
But Rinker was pronounced dead at the hospital at 10:46 p.m., said
Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim, who ruled the death an accident.
The cause, he said, was hypothermia and blunt-force trauma.
The boulder that pinned Rinker also appeared to have moved other
large rocks nearby, Kniss said.
By Monday, about 100 yards of the sanctuary's eight miles of trails
were blocked off in that area.
''The area is closed until we make sure it's stabilized and safe,''
said caretaker Ryan Marino, who was standing guard at a strand of
yellow ''caution'' tape and keeping curious hikers out of the area.
Emergency crews are called to Hawk Mountain about twice a year, said
Mary Linkevich, public information specialist for the sanctuary.
That's infrequent, Schisler said, considering the 2,600-acre
sanctuary's yearly average of 50,000 visitors.
The sanctuary was founded in 1934.
Schisler stressed that the sanctuary's rules, which are printed on
maps handed out to hikers, urge everyone to stay on trails. The
rules also warn, ''Hike the trails at your own risk,'' and ''Beware
of loose rocks.''
Delano said hiking trails are typically built to pass safely around
boulder fields, but hikers often stray from the paths. That's
particularly true on Hawk Mountain, where visitors are tempted to
leave trails in search of better views of the raptors.
When asked if the accident might prompt any changes, such as more
warning signs, Schisler responded, ''We're reviewing everything
right now.''
Rinker was a 2005 National Honor Society graduate at Pocono Mountain
High School-East. She majored in in elementary education at
Kutztown.
''I feel heartbroken I have to tell my students in class tonight,''
said Tracy Keyes, one of her Kutztown professors, describing Rinker
as a stellar student. ''We are really going to miss her presence.''
Pictures of a smiling Rinker serving up ice cream cones were posted
on a makeshift memorial behind the counter at Eats and Sweets, the
roadside pizzeria and ice cream shop on Route 611 in Scotrun where
she worked for four years.
''In loving memory, Sarae,'' the memorial reads.
Pete Kocsis, a Swiftwater man who is a regular customer, was picking
up a bag of hamburgers for his dogs when he learned Rinker had been
killed. Someone earlier in the day had mentioned about a terrible
accident involving a local person who had been crushed by a stone.
Restaurant owner Glenn Ryerson told him it was Rinker.
''Unreal,'' Kocsis said. ''She was such a sweetheart.''
''She was very nice,'' said Ryerson's wife, Damaris, wiping a tear
from her eye. ''She was the best.''
Ryerson said Rinker was one of his best hires ever.
''She was the top 1 percent of the staff,'' he said. ''If I knew I
could have a daughter like her, I'd take two.''
Opshinsky knew what he meant.
''She was an amazing person,'' her father said ''If you had a chance
to meet her, you'd feel the same way.''
The funeral will be Wednesday in Monroe County.
michael.duck@mcall.com
610-820-6595
Reporters Daniel Patrick Sheehan, Genevieve Marshall and Dalondo
Moultrie contributed to this story.
Initial
Report on near-hypothermia on October 2005, Mullica
Halloween Camping Event
Message From: Xpress Surveys LLC Brian [ BrianLondres@XpressSurveys.com
]
Sent: Sunday, November 13, 2005 7:59 PM
To: leona@pineypaddlers.com
Subject: RE: questions re. Halloween trip
The short answer is maybe 8 to 10 they would have been in the 3rd of
four beach so they would have been in the middle.
Leona,
The ocsj was a 9:30 meet the Mohawk was a 9:00 meet , I was there at
8:30am. At 9:15 there were maybe 5 or 6 cars they were defiantly the
Mohawks, but by 9:20 there were bell haven canoe renters at least
one private party with two canoes on a new van and at least twenty
cars at 9:30 I followed what I thought was the first group of cars
to the put in, but there were another 7 or 8 cars there and at least
five kayaks lined up on the bank not sure who they were. I left with
the first shuttle group a few minutes later, when we came back
another group was just shuttling there cars this should have put
them about an hour behind us. I followed a couple from PA Eric who
is deaf and his girl friend who were the first canoe of the group
after 3 minutes we hit a snag that had five or six canoes mostly
aluminum or Coleman ram-x trying to portage though the stickers.
after I got under and help two wooden canoes and five or six kayaks
a few canoes got under by them selves I thought I was in the middle
or toward the back. maybe an hour later a 30ish construction from
Monmouth county with a yellow-sit-on top dunked and was being helped
on marsh bank one foot deep in just as I arrived. I only flip his
kayak upside down on my canoe two drain it, they were going to pump
it, but once he was back in with his spry skirt he should have been
warm later at the lunch break he had a green tarp wrapped around
him, but he was talking and seamed fine. next I came upon a 20 year
old in a blue kayak his grandfather was helping him empty his canoe,
he just wringed his shirt out and instead on paddling even thought
he was wet, when I saw him later that night drying his clothes by
the fire he looked fine. That was all before lunch at the beaver
dam.
After the dam Greg a 60ish man (old folded cowboy type hat) who said
he had been a member of ocsj and a longtime camper at Mullica stayed
with us, we both believed we were the last ones in the group We hit
the camp at 4pm But I did not see any blue canoes or people in that
bad of shape, though it was quite crowded. For example I meet the
geek in the morning with his yellow kayak life vest and helmet, but
did not see him again until the lunch break on the second day at the
car bridge toward the end.
The camp ground north of us had about six tents and Trenton accents
so I assumed thee were the Mohawkers from Trenton
Hope to be on the water soon, were just passing the forked river
schools flu around this month
-----Original Message-----
From: Leona [mailto: leona@pineypaddlers.com ]
Sent: Sunday, November 13, 2005 6:38 PM
To: Brian Londres (E-mail)
Subject: questions re. Halloween trip
Hi Brian,
I recall you thought there were about 10 Mohawkers on that Halloween
trip.....is that about the number? And they were in a corner of the
campground?
Also, a Mohawker had near-hypothermia per an Outdoor member who said
she saw a man - wet & with blue lips. He was a smoker & she put her
space blanket around him. I wonder if this is the same person you
pulled out of the water?
Thanks,
Leona
Four are
rescued after canoe flips
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
WEST WINDSOR - Four people had to be pulled from the Delaware &
Raritan Canal after their canoe overturned yesterday afternoon,
police said.
The four - two women and two men - rented the canoe at Turning Basin
Park off Alexander Road, police said.
Police said the four were dumped into the canal about 5:15 p.m. when
their canoe overturned after hitting an abutment for the Alexander
Road bridge. None could swim, police said, but all were wearing life
vests.
Someone spotted them clinging to the abutment water and called 911.
West Windsor and Princeton Township police, ambulances from both
towns, and the Princeton Junction Fire Co. all responded.
Police and rescuers used ropes to pull the four from the water. All
were checked by ambulance crews, but no one was injured, police
said.
Police identified the four as Minu Chandan, 33, of Plainsboro;
Ashish Sarin, 33, of New York City; Yashu Chandan, 24, of Annandale,
Va.; and a 17-year-old boy from Virginia.
Kayaker
is praised for river rescue
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
By ANDREW KITCHENMAN
Staff Writer
BORDENTOWN CITY - A kayaker rescued a city man in the Delaware River
Friday after the exhausted man was swept away by the current, city
police said.
William Ritter, 41, of Bordentown Township was kayaking with his
wife Friday at 6:07 p.m. in the Delaware & Raritan Canal when he
heard cries from the shore that a man was in distress nearby in the
river, police said.
John Smith, 39, of Bordentown City had gone for a swim after
drinking and was soon pulled out from the city's beach into the
river, police said. The current was too strong for him to swim back
so he grabbed a red channel marker.
Ritter dropped off his 2 1/2-year-old son Shane on the shoreline and
paddled out to Smith, police said. Just before Ritter arrived, Smith
lost his grip and was about to be pulled further out. Ritter got out
of the kayak, put Smith into his life preserver and helped Smith
into the kayak, police said.
Ritter swam back to shore, pulling his kayak with Smith in it,
police said. Police arrived and helped Ritter and Smith ashore.
Smith was limp with exhaustion and shaken, but conscious, police
said.
Ritter said he was confident he would maintain control of his kayak.
"I'm experienced on the river. I kind of grew up on it," said
Ritter, who works as a civil engineer at the Shaw Group in Hamilton.
City Police Chief Matthew Simmons hailed Ritter as a hero, saying
that he risked his own life to save Smith.
"If Mr. Ritter did not act quickly without hesitation to rescue Mr.
Smith, we would be reading about a drowning victim, not a rescue,"
Simmons said in a statement.
Ritter said the praise was overdone.
"I just did what I had to do," he said. "I would hope that anyone
else in my position would have done that too."
Simmons said the city commission would formally recognize Ritter's
actions soon.
NOTE: Contact Andrew Kitchenman at akitchenman@njtimes.com or at
(609) 989-5706.
© 2005 The Times of Trenton
© 2005 www.nj.com All Rights Reserved
Post
Copy Editor Killed in Kayaking Accident
White-Water Enthusiast, 37, 'Died Doing What He Loved' on W.Va.
River
By Tara Bahrampour
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 25, 2005; Page B02
A copy editor for The Washington Post's sports section who wrote
often for the newspaper about his experiences with rowing and
kayaking died yesterday in a kayaking accident on the Tygart River
in Marion County, W. Va.
John Francis Mullen, 37, of Arlington was with a friend in Valley
Falls State Park when his kayak was sucked underwater for several
minutes after going over a 10-foot waterfall, Deputy Kevin Alkire of
the Marion County Sheriff's Department said. The friend pulled
Mullen from the water and administered CPR but was unable to revive
him. Mullen was pronounced dead at the scene, Alkire said.
John Mullen, competing in a white-water slalom event last year in
Dickerson, was on a constant quest, his younger brother says. "He
was my hero. He made my heart expand." (By Preston Keres -- The
Washington Post)
"Everybody said they were doing what they were supposed to be
doing," said Alkire, adding that Mullen was wearing a life jacket
and helmet and that the men were using a safety line. "It's just an
unfortunate accident."
Mullen's friends and family described a quietly determined man with
a rare ability to balance physical challenges with a life of the
mind.
"He was a real spiritual guy, really well-read, and the gravitas and
the importance of the river, and of nature, was something that was
not lost on him at all," said Micah Pollack, an assistant sports
editor at The Post who had kayaked with Mullen.
The tall, athletic-looking Mullen had spoken of some close calls in
the five or six years since he had taken up the sport, said Pollack,
adding that Mullen's love for it -- and for the tight community of
paddlers he was part of -- overshadowed the dangers. Among other
highlights, he competed in trials for the U.S. Olympic team for the
2004 Athens Games.
"It's totally trite and cliche, but he died doing what he loved,"
Pollack said.
Michael Wohl, who met Mullen 17 years ago when the two were college
exchange students in Austria, recalled his friend's love for words
and ideas. "His search for meaning was completely intertwined with
his love for sports," he said.
Mullen -- known as "Jay" to his family -- grew up in the suburbs
north of Boston. His parents live in Gilford, N.H.
Kurt Mullen described his elder brother as being on a "constant
quest" that included a recent interest in surfing. The brothers were
planning a surfing trip to Costa Rica.
"I was really excited because my brother and I had never taken a
trip together as adults," he said, adding that while he himself
wasn't as engrossed in sports, "I just wanted to be with my brother
one time when he was doing something he loved."
The younger Mullen recalled being "a typical sullen 13-year-old"
when his brother, then 17, implored him to find a passion, pressing
books on him and eventually inspiring him to become a writer.
"He was my hero. He made my heart expand, and to think he lost his
life today just . . . kills me," the brother said.
Steve Seeber, a kayaker who also had skied and mountain-biked with
Mullen, described him as an experienced paddler who "ended up in the
wrong place in the wrong position, which can happen pretty much
anywhere."
John Mullen, competing in a white-water slalom event last year in
Dickerson, was on a constant quest, his younger brother says. "He
was my hero. He made my heart expand." (By Preston Keres -- The
Washington Post)
Alkire said that spot was particularly treacherous and that the part
of the river has two steep waterfalls. Swimming is banned there and
kayakers must sign a release form to enter, he said.
"It's a once- or twice-a-year thing there," he said of drownings in
that location. "There is a lot of undertow, a lot of eddies, a lot
of overhanging rocks underneath the water."
Alkire said that after going over the 10-foot waterfall, Mullen was
pinned underwater for several minutes before going over a second,
higher waterfall.
"You get under something like that and the current is holding you
down," Alkire said. "It won't let you out until it's ready to let
you out."
Mullen had worked full time as a copy editor at the Post since 2000
and part time since 1993. In a note yesterday to staff members,
Leonard Downie Jr., The Post's executive editor, described Mullen as
"a respected editor" who was "very popular with his colleagues. . .
. He will be sorely missed in the newsroom and by readers who shared
his devotion to white water."
Friends and family members emphasized that Mullen was no daredevil
and that he had a healthy respect for the river. Just last month, in
a column, he recalled deciding against kayaking a dangerous-looking
river in Colorado.
Still, the water called to him. In a column three years ago, he
wrote of "my first look, and plunge, into a roaring hydraulic named
Calamity," in a river in West Virginia.
"As I drifted, picking up speed and getting hit by cross-angling
waves, I felt what I later realized was the sensation I had when as
a boy I jumped a chain-link fence and climbed to the peak of a
mammoth water tower, hanging from the outside on a straight-drop
metal ladder, to get a night-time glimpse of faraway Boston. It was
a hyperfocus energized by pulsing fear, but still you wanted more."
Riverboat vendor aims to stay afloat
Pa. doesn't relish hot dog man
Monday, July 04, 2005
BY JENNIFER WEISS
Star-Ledger Staff
From his floating concession stand on the Delaware River, the
self-proclaimed "Famous River Hot Dog Man" has become an icon for
tubers and canoers drifting lazily downstream on warm summer days.
But after 18 years selling snacks and drinks, former Marine Greg
Crance is catching flak from officials on the Pennsylvania side of
the river. They want to capsize his business, citing concerns about
safety, garbage and noise.
Crance, 40, said he has no intention of going into dry dock and is
prepared to fight any attempts to chase him from his prime location.
He contends he's got all the permits from New Jersey he needs to
stay in business and he drifts in a sovereign zone outside the reach
of either state.
"I'll be damned if I leave here," Crance said. "They let me grow my
business for 16 years, and now they want to take me off the same
river that George Washington crossed for our freedom."
The first hints of resistance came from Tinicum Township about two
years ago. Crance owns most ofa 10-acre island in the river that
falls under township jurisdiction and officials objected to his
series of signs advertising his hot dog stand.The island, which is
within a federal floodway, is zoned for agricultural use only.
Crance, who once sold hot dogs from the island, took down most of
his signs and abandoned dry land for the river.
"It is a beautiful area and people are very concerned about the
scenic and recreational character of the river and also protecting
it environmentally," saidLinda McNeill, manager of Tinicum Township.
"People are very protective of the Delaware River as a very valuable
natural resource in the community," she said. "So they feel that
their peace is disrupted with loud blaring music and a generator
that's being run and bullhorns."
The gripes from the Pennsylvania shore also are coming from a
handful of residents. They say Crance's business, which draws a
crowd on sunny weekends, is noisy and disruptive.
On a recent Saturday, Crance sported a bright blue "Famous River Hot
Dog Man" T-shirt that, at times, barely covered his belly. An
affable man with sandy hair and bright blue eyes, Crance gladly
acknowledges that his larger-than-life presence on the river is part
of his charm.
With a captive market of 2,000 to 2,500 people floating down the
river in tubes on an average weekend day and no serious competition
from other snack sellers, there's money to be made forCrance, who
sells his "special recipe" hot dogs for $4 apiece.
"A boat on the river selling food? You only see that in the movies,"
15-year-old Dilena Dilan said with a grin as she paused at the snack
stand during a tubing trip with her family.
Tubers make up the majority of Crance's customers, though he's a
favorite stop for kayakers and canoers as well. Crance parks his hot
dog stand strategically at the midpoint of the typical four-hour
tubing route, right about the spot when stomachs start to rumble.
He's there seven days a week, weather permitting, from 10 a.m. to 7
p.m. during peak summer days.
"You've got to eat something, and we were definitely ready," said
Bill Tintle, of Stewartsville, who was tubing on the Delaware for
the first time with relatives. "I didn't want to bring lunch with
us. If people were eating on tubes, they'd probably throw their junk
out on the river. So this works out fine."
Chris Janice, 13, also said he was really hungry by the time he got
to Crance's stand, even though he'd eaten a good breakfast. He sat
on a log on Crance's island with his father, Greg, both of Marlton,
after he finished a hot dog, soda and frozen candy bar.
"We wouldn't be able to make it four hours without that, there's no
way," Greg Janice said.
Crance, a father of four, assumed the "Famous River Hot Dog Man"
persona when he was 21. He had just returned from four years of
service as a lance corporal in theU.S. Marine Corps, which includeda
stint in Okinawa, Japan, and was living with his parents in Bucks
County, Pa.
Crance has had a business license for his floating snack stand from
Kingwood Township, Hunterdon County, every year since 1992. And he
passes annual inspections by the Hunterdon County Health Department.
Crance's operation consists of his custom-made riverboat, a
relatively quiet craft that he uses to transport food from land to
stand and also patrol for people who may be in danger on the water.
His snack stand is a 22-foot-long pontoon boatcovered by a
red-and-white-striped awning and adorned with an American flag.
Crance said he is willing to be flexible, and talk to township
officials about a possible compromise.
"I respect their rights to their beliefs, but they don't own the
river," he said. "The river is for everybody."
And Crance isn't afraid to take matters regarding his snack stand
into the courts. Three years ago, he sued Bucks County River
Country, a popular tubing business on the Pennsylvania side of the
river. Crance lost the lawsuit, but River Country owner Dan Breen
paid him 10 percent of what he was suing for -- $10,000 -- "so he
would go away," Breen said.
Crance now has arelation ship with another tubing company -- Delaware
River Tubing, a smaller business based in Kingwood Township.
Customers get their tubes from the Frenchtown Roller Rink, and, for
$17.95, they can purchase a tubing package that includes a meal from
the Hot Dog Man.
Ever the entrepreneur, Crance on his Web site lists a few of his
side businesses: a yacht trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands personally
arranged by the Hot Dog Man; and franchises of the floating snack
stand, not in the Delaware, but on other rivers.
Crance is the king of a tiny, floating fast-food empire, and he has
no plans to abandon it anytime soon. He wants to retire as the
"Famous River Hot Dog Man" someday, regardless of pressure from the
Pennsylvania side of the river.
"I've got 32 years to go, period," Crance said. "They're going to
have to come here with teams of wild Clydesdales to pull me out of
here to make me leave."
Jennifer Weiss works in the Hunterdon County bureau. She may be
reached at jweiss@starledger.com or (908) 782-8326.
© 2005 The Star Ledger
© 2005 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
Dam
Repairs Force Reservoir to Close
Swinging Bridge Reservoir Not Open for Anything
By Nathan Mayberg
FORESTBURGH — The Swinging Bridge Reservoir Dam crew appears to have
barely averted a total catastrophe three weeks ago when a sinkhole,
estimated to be 30 feet wide and six feet deep, was discovered May
5.
The hole has since been filled in, according to officials with
hydroelectric dam owner Mirant, an energy company.
Representatives of Mirant, their engineering firm, the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and dozens of people filed into
the Forestburgh Firehouse on Wednesday for an information-gathering
session with the public, arranged by New York State Assemblywoman
Aileen Gunther.
The reservoir itself is nine miles long and one mile wide. If the
dam had collapsed, it would likely have taken down the Rio Reservoir
Dam and Mongaup Falls Reservoir Dam with it, said Plant Manager
Elliot Neri. If so, the residents of Port Jervis could have been
devastated.
While company officials believe the dam is currently stable, they
were quick to stress that “stable” does not mean “safe.” The company
is drawing up plans to fully repair the dam before a June 2 meeting
with FERC, where FERC officials will determine the adequacy of the
plan.
In the meantime, Neri said local residents can forget about using
the Swinging Bridge Reservoir for the rest of the summer. It will
take at least 80 days for drilling to even begin, said Neri. Company
officials could not estimate how much more they will have to lower
the water level on the lake. They have already lowered it from its
normal level of 1,068 feet above sea level to 1,047 feet above sea
level.
Neri and Lee Davis, the vice president of Mirant New York, said that
boating or any other use of the lake is prohibited due to safety
concerns.
“Safety is our number one concern,” said Neri.
The massive sinkhole itself was the cause of several leaks in the
penstock (a large pipe) and the diversion tunnel, according to the
company’s engineer, Adam Jones. A day after the leaks were
identified, the hole continued to grow by four inches, said Neri. He
said the company will not know if the dam is safe until it conducts
drilling. It was not clear how long the dam had been leaking.
The work will not affect the nearby Toronto Reservoir, which will
likely lead to increased use of that lake. Bob Barrett, President of
the Smallwood Civic Association, brought up that issue to the
company officials. Neri pledged to improve the boat launch area and
parking lot which accesses the reservoir via Town Road 62 within the
next few weeks.
As for the public, a representative of the Sullivan County
Federation of Sportsmen questioned what kind of impact the company’s
work in the water would have on the local fish population. He
contended that many of the fish would not be able to handle the
change in temperature.
Town of Thompson Councilman Peppy Satenstein inquired about the
company’s financial stability. The officials responded that they are
emerging out of bankruptcy, but they intend to make the necessary
repairs to the dam.
Mirant has a toll-free number for questions: 1-888-326-3889.
Information from FERC can be obtained through their website,
ferc.gov, or by calling them at 202-502-6734.
David B. Soete
Senior Resource Specialist
Upper Delaware Council
PO Box 192
Narrowsburg NY 12764
(845) 252-3022 (office)
(845) 252-3359 (fax)
udcsoete@hvc.rr.com
Threat
of flooding from dam closes Delaware River stretch
Saturday, May 07, 2005
BY JIM LOCKWOOD
Star-Ledger Staff
The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area has closed its 40
miles of river in New Jersey and Pennsylvania due to a threat of
flooding from a failing dam at a reservoir in upstate New York.
In recent days, cracks and a sinkhole appeared in the Swinging
Bridge Dam in Forestburgh, Sullivan County, N.Y., authorities said.
As a result, river agencies in the Upper Delaware River Basin, which
is the stretch of the Delaware northwest of New Jersey, have advised
the Water Gap park downstream to close its portion of the river.
The Swinging Bridge reservoir has been drawing down its water to
avoid a dam breach, but the situation is still considered to be an
emergency, said Water Gap Park Ranger Phil Selleck.
"We're acting (to close the Water Gap recreation area) based on the
fact that they haven't eliminated the emergency," Selleck said.
"They're not saying it (a dam failure) is imminent, but that it's
possible."
All access points in the Water Gap's section of the river have been
closed to the public until at least 12 p.m. today, authorities said.
Along with rising and rapidly moving waters, a deluge from a dam
breach would sweep debris into the river and increase the hazards
for anyone boating or canoeing on it, authorities said. The Times
Herald-Record newspaper in Middletown, N.Y., reported that if the
100-foot-high earthen dam did collapse, the flood would reach Port
Jervis in about 90 minutes.
The Swinging Bridge reservoir holds 3 billion gallons of water,
which would spill into the Mongaup River and threaten two other
downstream dams before hitting the Delaware if a breach occurred,
the Middletown newspaper reported.
The volume of the reservoir is about one-fifth the size of Lake
Hopatcong, New Jersey's largest lake, which has some 15 billion
gallons of water.
The National Weather Service also issued a flood watch yesterday for
Sussex County because of the cracks and sinkhole found in the dam.
The Water Gap park has not yet fully recovered from a flood last
month, which was said to be worse than the flooding last fall from
Hurricane Ivan.
At the Water Gap, the Kittatinny Visitor Center off Route 80 remains
closed from last month's flood, and the Depew swim beach, which was
swept away, has not yet been restored. Trees and debris are still
being cleared from the river and campsites are still being
rehabilitating.
The situation with the Swinging Bridge dam was to be reassessed
today, with the Water Gap closure to be either continued or lifted
as necessary.
Jim Lockwood may be reached at jlockwood@starledger.com or (973)
383-0516.
Drama in
the Delaware: 3 rafters saved in harrowing night rescue
04/28/2005
ARTEMIS COUGHLAN , Staff Writer
NEW HOPE, Pa. -- It started late Tuesday night as a tubing joyride
for three area young men on the Delaware River in New Hope.
But the excursion quickly became a life-or-death situation after the
trio screamed for help as they stood precariously on an island below
the wing dam just south of the Lambertville-New Hope bridge.
"These three (men) thought it would be fun if they would tube down
the Delaware River at night," said Fred Williamson, New Hope fire
marshal. "That was an extremely dangerous thing to do."
Some friends of the men told them that it is a "cool" thing to do to
float down the Delaware to Trenton, said Frank Cosner Jr., deputy
chief of the Eagle Fire Company. So they blew up a small inflatable
raft, got in and attempted the trip.
They got into trouble when the small raft became swamped with water,
hit the wing dam and either overturned or knocked the occupants into
the river, officials said New Hope police Chief Richard Pasqualini.
"In addition, the raft either had a hole in it before it went into
the water or after it was put into the water, complicating things,"
Cosner said.
At about 10:25 p.m. Tuesday, someone heard the people screaming from
the island and called 911.
Responding to the call were the New Hope Lambertville Rescue Squad,
Lambertville Fire Department, Titusville Fire Company and the Eagle
Fire Company whitewater rescue team, Cosner said.
A total of 54 volunteers responded to the scene, Cosner said. Also
responding was the New Jersey State police helicopter to aid in the
rescue with lights.
"When we have a marine rescue, we put two boats into the water. One
boat is for the rescue and the other is for backup," Cosner said.
The whitewater rescue team's hovercraft engine failed at about 11:30
p.m. and it went over the wing dam, then floated downriver with
rescue personnel in it.
"They guys in the boat were calmer than I was at the time," Cosner
said.
At the same time the hovercraft's engine failed, the young men were
plucked from the island and were on their way back to the safety of
the shore, Cosner said. They were taken to the New Hope police
station where the soggy trio were retrieved by their parents.
Rescued were Abramo Cocciarclli III, 19, and John J. Stone, III, 19,
both of Yardville; and Justin Daugherty, 20, of Trenton, Pasqualini
said.
"That was a stupid thing for them to do. They are lucky they walked
away with their lives," Williamson said.
"A night river rescue, with the water as high as it was that night,
put everyone in extreme jeopardy. That's not to mention the man
hours put into the rescue and the numbers and money needed to deal
with the issue. It doesn't get more stupid than that," Williamson
said.
The completed rescue left the hovercraft and its crew still floating
down the river. They were rescued in Titusville about an hour later.
The boat had a faulty kill switch that was quickly fixed, Cosner
said.
Criminal charges against the trio are being considered pending an
investigation by the Bucks County district attorney's office,
Pasqualini said.
Lumberton man drowns when kayak overturns
Thursday, April 14, 2005
By JASON NARK
Courier-Post Staff
PEMBERTON TWP.
A Lumberton man drowned Wednesday morning after his kayak overturned
in Pemberton Lake, authorities said.
Two witnesses tried unsuccessfully to rescue Robert Bier, 61, of
Poplar Court.
Bier's kayak overturned in the 20-acre lake off the Pemberton Bypass
shortly after 11 a.m. Bier was not wearing a life jacket,
authorities said.
A woman who answered the phone at Bier's residence said the family
declined to comment.
A friend of Bier's, William Scull, witnessed the incident from
shore, police said, and entered the lake. A passing motorist,
Michael McCray, also tried to rescue Bier, police said. Neither
could be reached for comment Wednesday.
Police and firefighters responded at 11:18 a.m. and used a boat to
retrieve Bier's body. Emergency medical personnel performed CPR on
Bier, but he was pronounced dead at Virtua-Memorial Hospital
Burlington County in Mount Holly.
Although she did not know what type of kayak Bier was using or
whether he was able to swim, Peggy Sooy, owner of Pine Barrens Canoe
& Kayak Rental in Chatsworth, said a life jacket might have
prevented the drowning.
"Its unfortunate," Sooy said. "Sometimes people underestimate the
danger of water.
Some kayaks allow paddlers to sit on top, while others have them
sitting deep inside, Sooy said. If someone is inside a kayak when it
tips over, there are special maneuvers to right it.
Reach Jason Nark at (856) 486-2473 or jnark@courierpostonline.com
Man dies
in lake boating accident
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Trenton Times.
PEMBERTON TWP.
PEMBERTON TOWNSHIP - A Lumberton man died yesterday morning shortly
after being pulled unconscious from Lake Pemberton, where he fell
out of a kayak, police said.
Robert Bier, 61, of Poplar Court, was seen in the lake near the
overturned kayak at about 11:20 a.m., police said.
Two people tried to rescue Bier. First, Bier's friend William Scull,
who was on the shore and saw Bier in distress, went into the water,
police said. And then a passing motorist, identified by police only
as Michael McCray, stopped and attempted to assist Scull.
Their efforts were unsuccessful, police said.
Two of the first two responding emergency officials, township Police
Officer Edward White and Fire Chief Chad Bozoski of the Goodwill
Fire Co., launched a boat and retrieved Bier's body.
The officers started CPR and rescue officials rushed Bier to Virtua
Health-Memorial Hospital of Burlington County in Mount Holly, where
he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Bier was not wearing a life vest, police said.
Canoeist
trapped in swollen creek, dies
Monday, November 29, 2004
By RUSS FLANAGAN
The Express-Times
L. SAUCON TWP. -- A 46-year-old township woman died Sunday after a
canoe capsized in Saucon Creek near Old Mill Road, police said.
Terri Cressman, of 1287 Spring Valley Road, died after she and her
husband, Paul Cressman, got tangled up in debris in the fast-moving
swollen stream and capsized following hours of rainfall.
Township police said late Sunday night that Terri Cressman became
trapped underneath the canoe while her husband, Paul Cressman, was
thrown clear.
The canoe went down in several feet of water near a small island
about 50 feet from a back yard in the 1700 block of Old Mill Road.
About a dozen firefighters from three departments worked for more
than 40 minutes to get the pair out of the creek. Firefighters used
a rope to maneuver across the raging creek, then loaded both victims
onto stretchers where they were taken to the waiting ambulances.
People at the scene said Terri Cressman was trapped under the canoe
for many minutes.
In a late night news release, police said Paul Cressman attempted to
free his wife but was unable to lift the canoe. After emergency
personnel freed Terri Cressman, they put her in the back of an
ambulance where a rescue worker could be seen giving her CPR. She
was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in Fountain Hill where advanced
life support was used to attempt to resuscitate her.
"Terri Cressman, after all efforts failed, was pronounced dead at
St. Luke's Hospital," the news release stated.
Firefighters were treated after spending long periods of time in the
frigid water, but no rescue worker was seriously injured, fire
officials said.
Alan Wallace was in his home when he heard the couple's screams
about 3:30 p.m. and called 911. When he ran through his back yard
toward the creek he could see the man standing on the island but did
not see the woman.
Wallace said he has not seen many people boating on the creek since
he moved into his home about a year and a half ago. He said the
normally tranquil creek was swollen because of heavy rains earlier
in the day.
"This is probably 20 feet (wider) than normal," he said.
Officials did not know the water temperature. Firefighters said
people should not canoe or use boats on swollen waterways because it
increases the chances that a boat or canoe could be knocked over.
Firefighters from Leithsville, Steel City, Southeastern and Se-wy-co
responded along with Pennsylvania Water Rescue. Township emergency
medical technicians also responded.
( Express-Times photographer Sue Beyer contributed to this report.
Reporter Russ Flanagan can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail
at rflanagan@express-times.com.
Woman dies after canoe accident
Lower Saucon couple capsized on Saucon Creek. Husband lives.
By Nick Politi
Of The Morning Call
A husband and wife canoeing Sunday afternoon on Saucon Creek in
Lower Saucon Township were trapped in the creek's rain-swollen
waters when their boat overturned.
The husband was pulled out alive, but his wife, who was brought to
shore, taken to St. Luke's Hospital, Fountain Hill, and put on
advanced life support, later died, township police said.
Police identified her as Terri Cressman, 46. Police identified her
husband as Paul Cressman, 50, of 1287 Spring Valley Road.
Police did not say where the couple entered the creek or how long
they had been in the canoe before it capsized.
Paul Cressman was heard crying for help in the creek behind the 1700
block of Old Mill Road as the turbulent, chest-deep current pinned
him in place, according to people who were out walking in the area.
The man cried out that his wife was under the overturned canoe and
he was unable to free her, one of the walkers, who asked to remain
anonymous, said. The walker said the man cried out that his foot was
caught in debris on the creek bed.
Alan Wallace, whose house stands on a hill above the creek, was
alerted to the accident when he went to see why his dog had begun to
bark. Wallace said he called 911, and police and rescue personnel
arrived within minutes.
One neighborhood resident said he waded into the creek while holding
onto tree limbs, but the swiftness and depth of the current turned
him back. The man said the water did not feel frigid.
Rescuers using ropes worked for an hour, first extricating Paul
Cressman and then Terri Cressman. Paul Cressman appeared conscious
when he was brought to the creek bank and taken by ambulance to St.
Luke's Hospital, Fountain Hill. A nursing supervisor said he was in
fair condition Sunday night.
Wallace said the creek had risen about as high Sunday as it had
after the remnants of Hurricane Ivan drenched the Lehigh Valley in
September.
On Sunday the creek stretched about 80 yards wide.
Rescuers were hampered not only by the strength of the current but
also the abundant underbrush, limbs, tree trunks and vines along the
bank and on land mounds in the creek.
About a dozen rescuers appeared exhausted after at least an hour of
work.
Neighbors said on occasion throughout the year they see people on
the creek in kayaks, rowboats and tubes.
Boaters
rescued at Lambertville
Monday, July 28, 2003
LAMBERTVILLE - Five people were pulled from the water yesterday
after their kayak and an inflatable raft it was pulling capsized
while going through a wing dam on the Delaware River, rescuers
said.
Two 48-year-old men, a 45-year-old woman and a 17-year-old girl, all
from Brielle, and a 47-year-old woman were dumped into the water
about 12:30 p.m., said Edward Skillman, a spokesman for Lambertville
New Hope Ambulance and Rescue Squad.
Other kayakers assisted the victims - all of which were wearing life
preservers, Skillman said. They were floating in the water and
against rocks when rescuers arrived, Skillman said.
They were picked up by an airboat and other rescue boats. The
17-year-old was "shaken up," but no one suffered serious injuries,
Skillman said.
The kayak could not be retrieved from the river, Skillman said.
Also responding to the scene was the Titusville Fire Co.
Canoeist
drowned at Shohola Rapids
By DAVID HULSE
BARRYVILLE, NY — Police say 51-year-old Richard Dilaurenzio struck
his head on a rock after spilling his canoe in the Delaware River
rapids below the confluence of Shohola Brook on July 4. Dilaurenzio
died in the accident.
Michael Traver’s family cabin sits on the New York shore opposite
the rapids where the accident took place around 11:00 a.m. Traver
said he heard a woman (Dilaurenzio’s wife Carol) on the opposite
shore screaming and pointing at a man in the water.
“He didn’t have a lifejacket on and he was face down, floating
downstream,” Traver said.
Traver reported the incident, prompting a response from Lumberland,
Yulan, Highland Lake, Shohola and Sparrowbush firefighters, many of
them in dress uniforms having just finished marching in Glen Spey’s
morning parade.
The National Park Service (NPS) launched an immediate water search
and rescue efforts were centered from the NPS office on Handsome
Eddy, about a mile south of the accident. Sightings were reported
upstream and down as searchers scoured the area. Dilaurenzio was
recovered upstream at the beach at the end of Shohola’s Happy Hollow
Road, where unsuccessful resuscitation efforts took place.
The victim’s body was taken downstream to the NPS office where
Sullivan County Coroner Tom Warren made the death pronouncement
shortly after 1:00 p.m.
Carol Dilaurenzio was not injured.
Dilaurenzio was the second Upper Delaware drowning victim this
season. Seventeen-year-old Obinna Okoro was drowned in a June 2
incident near Mongaup, when his commercial raft overturned in high
water.
According to the NPS, 43 river drownings have occurred since the
agency began managing the Upper Delaware in 1980. None of those
victims were using lifejackets at the time of their accidents.
Dangerous waters
The mid-Hudson/Catskills region has been the scene of several
boating fatalities and injuries in the past decade. Some of these
include:
July 4, 2003: A 51-year-old canoeist on the Delaware River drowned
near Barryville after his canoe flipped over. Also, two boaters were
injured in an accident on the Hudson River north of the Marlboro
Yacht Club.
June 18, 2003: John Lamont Myrick, 22, of Kingston, drowned after
his boat capsized while he was fishing at an old sand and gravel
quarry off Hurley Mountain Road in Ulster County.
June 1, 2003: New Jersey high school student Obinna Okoro, 17,
drowned in the Delaware River while on a rafting trip with his
school. Officials said the teen had removed his life jacket.
September 2002: Vladimir Azrieli, 64, of Queens, drowned while
fishing at Shandelee Lake.
Summer 2002: A fisherman, a swimmer and a 7-year-old boy drowned in
the Delaware; a tube-rider, a farmworker and a kayaker drowned in
the Esopus and another kayaker drowned in Rondout Creek.
July 7, 2001: Two boats carrying a total of eight people collided in
the dark on Greenwood Lake; 37-year-old Steve Scholl of Mahwah,
N.J., and 44-year-old Richard Maiola of Greenwood Lake were killed
by the impact; 33-year-old Diana Walling and 29-year-old Michael
"Chris" Linekin, both of Greenwood Lake, drowned. Authorities said
speed and darkness were factors in the crash.
August 2000: Wayne Edell, a 55-year-old Greenwood Lake man, was
killed on the lake when his motorboat backed over him while he was
in the water.
1999: Five people drowned in the Delaware River.
June 1997: Ruth Chiat, a 21-year-old Brooklyn college student out on
a first date, was killed when another boat rammed the boat she was
on in Greenwood Lake.
July 5, 1996: Fisherman David H. Banuat Jr., 53, of Slate Hill,
drowned in the Rio Reservoir after the boat he's in flips.
Authorities said none of the three men on board was wearing a life
jacket.
July 18, 1993: Twenty-four-year-old Diane Denny drowned after she
was thrown from a boat in Greenwood Lake. Police said alcohol might
have been a factor.
Father to sue over student's drowning
The Associated Press
6/25/2003, 9:51 p.m. ET
UNION, N.J. (AP) — The father of a 17-year-old high school student
who drowned while on a class trip plans to sue the Union School
District, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported.
Obinna Okoro, 17, drowned June 3 while on a school-sponsored rafting
trip on the Delaware River near Butler's Rift, just below Mongaup,
N.Y.
The district is to blame for negligence, said Westfield Attorney
Vincent Jesuele, who filed the notice.
The boy's father, Patrick Okoro, plans to sue Union School District,
Superintendent Theodore Jakubowski, Principal Samuel Fortunato and
nine district employees who arranged or authorized the trip.
James Damato, a lawyer for the school district, said school
officials did nothing wrong and will fight the claim of negligence.
The district plans to turn the case over to its insurance company,
he said.
The rafting trip had been routine in the district for the last five
years with no mishaps, school officials have said.
Okoro, a Nigerian immigrant, came to the United States with his
father and two brothers less than three years ago.
Accidents claim kayaker and swimmer
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
BY DINA GUIRGUIS, DIANE WALSH AND RUDY LARINI
Star-Ledger Staff
Water-related recreation proved deadly for two New Jersey residents
this past weekend, when a kayaker from Middlesex County and a
swimmer from Bergen County took advantage of a break in the rainy
weather.
In the swollen, muddy waters of the Raritan River, a kayaker who was
attempting a 15-mile trek from Bedminster to South Bound Brook on
Sunday never made it to his destination.
Dive teams, rescuers and the State Police recovered the body of
Brian Tomsa, 37, at 2:15 a.m. yesterday near the Nevius Street
Bridge, which connects Raritan Borough and Hillsborough Township.
Tomsa's wife, Lisa, had reported him missing shortly before midnight
when he didn't return to their Middlesex Borough home.
According to officials, Tomsa's 15-foot-long red kayak was found
partially submerged in the river near the train bridge across the
county line in New Brunswick. His life jacket was found north of the
body on the banks of the river, said Somerset County Prosecutor
Wayne Forrest.
"This is a terrible loss," said George Emre, who lives across the
street from the Tomsas. "He was a good man, a family man, a hard-
working man."
Lisa Tomsa and her husband drove to South Bound Brook Sunday
morning, where they dropped off Brian Tomsa's truck for him to pick
up later. She then drove him to the North Branch of the Raritan
River, near Route 202 and River Road in Bedminster, where, at 10:30
a.m., he started his trip downstream.
Pete Pedner, who has been running Clinton Canoe and Kayak for 17
years, said that it was "insanity" to go out on the river
yesterday.
"They think it's exciting when the river is like this," Pedner said.
"In the river, rain is your No. 1 enemy."
According to Pedner, high water levels from rainfall bring in debris
such as logs and dead wood that can create hazardous conditions. It
is harder for kayakers, no matter the experience level, to react
fast enough to a block in the water, he said.
Like Pedner, Steven Androsko, owner of the Griggstown Canoe and
Kayak rental in Franklin Township, recognized the dangerous
conditions and refused to rent equipment to patrons this past
weekend.
"Even though it's hurting business, I haven't rented out the
equipment," Androsko said. "It's just not safe when it's been
raining and the river is flooding."
Though water levels in the Raritan River did not exceed flood stage
on Sunday, the water level, which is usually 4 feet high in the
Manville area, was double at 8 feet as of 11 a.m.
"Obviously the river was running high this weekend," said Somerset
County principal hydraulic engineer Carl Andreassen. "That does make
it more dangerous."
Lisa Tomsa declined to talk about her husband's death when
approached at their two-family house on the corner of Union Avenue
and Stout Street. Rolls of roofing material and roof shingles were
piled on the front walkway, waiting to be installed.
"He was replacing the roof himself," said neighbor Liz King, who has
known the Tomsas for about 10 years. "He was a hard worker.
Everything he did around the house, he did himself."
According to King, the Tomsas had two daughters, ages 5 and 1. She
said Tomsa also had a 17-year-old daughter from a previous
marriage.
"He was a nice guy, quiet. You had to reach out to talk to him, but
when you did he was funny," King said.
Jeff Tittel, New Jersey chapter director of the Sierra Club,
emphasized that people don't realize how much rainfall can affect
river conditions.
"It makes sense to stay out of the water at a time like (Sunday),"
he said. "People can pretend like the Raritan's turned into the
Colorado River during flooding, but only expert guides can navigate
it."
The second victim, 20-year-old Christopher Beck of Garfield, drowned
in Lake George in upstate New York on Sunday evening as he and a
companion tried to swim from one island to another less than 50
yards away, according to police.
Beck was with a group of five people camping on an island near the
southern end of the Adirondack lake, said senior investigator Thomas
Aiken of the New York State Police. He got about halfway to the
second island before he began to yell for help.
Teen's body pulled from Delaware
By Jessica Gardner
Times Herald-Record
jgardner@th-record.com
Westfall Township, Pa – Searchers recovered the body of a New Jersey
teen yesterday, about six miles from where he fell into the Delaware
River during a school rafting trip 10 days ago.
The body of Obinna Okoro, a 17-year-old high school senior from
Union, N.J., was spotted about 3 p.m. yesterday, floating in the
river on the Pennsylvania side, behind Kmart in Westfall Township.
The discovery brought an end to an exhaustive search that included a
half- dozen agencies.
Obinna, who was going to graduate on June 20, was one of more than
50 kids from Union High School who participated in an annual rafting
outing on June 1.
No one answered calls to the Okoro household last night.
His father, Patrick Okoro, said last week that he never gave his son
permission to go on the trip. It was too dangerous, he said, and
refused to sign the school's permission slip.
Somehow, though, his son went anyway. School officials told Okoro, a
pharmacist for a New Jersey hospital, that they'd received a signed
paper from Obinna. The boy's father said last week it wasn't his
signature.
Obinna, a native of Nigeria, was one of four teens who were thrown
into the river after the raft they were floating in hit rapids in
the area of the Hawk's Nest in Sparrowbush, N.Y. Three made it to
shore. Obinna disappeared.
Authorities said none of the teens was wearing the life jackets
they'd been issued.
"I told him, 'You are from Africa; you don't know how to swim,'"
Okoro recalled last week. "I said, 'The Americans will swim to the
shore and you will drown,' and that's exactly what happened."
Rescue personnel from Sparrowbush and Westfall Township fire
departments started yesterday's search just two hours before getting
word that someone in a canoe had spotted what he thought may have
been a body. Less than an hour later, Obinna was pulled from the
river.
"This is just such a relief," Sean Heater, the Westfall fire chief,
said later. "It will offer the family some closure."
"We always try to recover the body as quickly as possible," said
Jack Flynn, first assistant chief for Sparrowbush Fire Department.
"It's bad enough as it is, but to have it drag on is terrible."
Union teen feared drowned
Published in the Home News Tribune 6/04/03
By KEN SERRANO
STAFF WRITER
UNION COUNTY: Seventeen-year-old Obinna Okoro of Union Township paid
for a tuxedo and scheduled a limousine to pick him up or his senior
prom this Friday, his father said.
But the Union High School senior who emigrated from Nigeria to the
United States 2 1/2 years ago overturned in a raft Monday in the
Delaware River while on a school trip.
Those searching for his body in Sparrowbush, N.Y., about 60 miles
northwest of New York City, have found nothing, his father, Patrick
Okoro, said yesterday.
"It's killing me," said Okoro, who works as a pharmacist at Rahway
Hospital. "It's killing me."
Okoro said students on the trip told him his son -- who was
scheduled to graduate June 20 -- took off his life vest during the
raft trip because of the heat Monday afternoon.
Okoro argued with Obinna over the class trip and refused to sign a
consent form allowing him to go, he said.
"I did not authorize this trip," Okoro said. "I told him he's not
going. Maybe he signed (the consent form) by himself. I told him,
'You're not going, over my dead body.' I told him the boat will flip
over. 'You cannot swim like people here, you can't make it.' And
that's exactly what happened."
District officials could not be reached last night. Okoro said he
has not yet told his wife, still in Nigeria, of the accident. Okoro
has two other sons, 19 and 16, with him in Union. Neither wished to
comment on Obinna or the accident, he said. Okoro spoke of Obinna as
an outgoing boy who loved computers, dancing and basketball.
"His sign was Leo -- he has a lot of friends. He was very mixable,"
Okoro said.
Obinna hoped to someday become a lawyer, Okoro said. He was
preparing to take classes at Essex County College in Newark. Obinna
and four others were riding in the raft that capsized. Area fire
departments, New York state police and National Park Service
officials searched the river with rescue boats and a state police
helicopter until late Monday afternoon. Authorities were still
searching for Okoro as of 3:30 p.m. yesterday.
Okoro received word about his son at 2 p.m. Monday, he said.
According to the National Park Service Web site, rapids on the
Delaware River are usually considered Class I, or easy. But the
river can rise quickly after rain, and the river was about 6 feet
high Monday, which can produce intermediate or advanced rapids.
Park service officials contacted all companies licensed to rent
boats on the river Sunday and advised caution because of rising
water, officials said. Ken Serrano: (732) 565-7212; kserrano@thnt.com
Contributing: The Associated Press
Wild Delaware demands respect, authorities say
By Greg Cannon
Times Herald-Record
gcannon@th-record.com
Pond Eddy – Judy Camacho pulled the shade from the window in her
apartment above Nolan's River Inn here Monday morning and looked out
at the Delaware River raging across Route 97.
It's her first season working the office of Whitewater Willie's
canoe rental next door. But even a newcomer could tell that the
water was running unusually high and fast.
"I called my boyfriend over and said, 'Look, this river it's going
by crazy fast,'" Camacho said yesterday.
As she spoke, a flotilla of rafts sped past. It was from Kittatinny
Canoes, the oldest and biggest operator on the river. The company
hosted a similar group that floated by this spot a day earlier.
Just south of here, authorities say, 17-year-old Obinna Okoro fell
out when his boat hit some rapids. He's still missing.
"To think that some mother sent her son out for a nice day on the
river and he's not coming back," Camacho said. "It's heart
wrenching."
But not unheard of. Hardly a season goes by without a tragedy or two
that results from someone in search of a good time.
Earl Garrity spent 26 years as a diver with the Port Jervis Fire
Department. In that time, he said, he pulled a lot of bodies out of
the Delaware.
He described a river full of eddies and rifts, quick-change rapids
and a deceptive river bottom that can look four feet away when it's
really 40. "It's a funny river," Garrity said.
The Delaware is wild. Who decides when it's too wild? The park
service tracks the river's height and speed and advises companies
accordingly.
But each company decides for itself if it will put its boats in the
water on any given day. To get in or walk away, that's the boaters'
call. For kids, the decision falls to a guardian.
The 26 companies licensed by the National Park Service to rent boats
on this stretch of river market the Delaware as a fun time
accessible to all.
Lisa Hughes, Kittatinny's general manager, said the accident was
unfortunate, but stacked it up against the tens of thousands of
boaters the company sends safely down the river every season.
The company drills clients on river conditions and safety, she said,
but, "Once they're out on the river, there's only so much we can
do."
Kittatinny's Web site says, "Rafting on the Delaware River is made
for novices and families, no experience is necessary."
Mostly, the river obliges. The teens out yesterday shrieked with
fear and delight as their boats shot through some rapids.
The river as nature's amusement park is often at odds with the real
river, locals say.
The Delaware is wild, the longest free-flowing river in the
Northeast. "Respect the river," advises a park service poster.
After a heavy rain like the one that fell last weekend, the river
can rise rapidly. It doubled in height Sunday, running at about 6½
feet when Okoro's group set off. That's considered high, but
manageable for rafts.
The kids on the river yesterday didn't seem to know about the tragic
trip that preceded them.
"What are you looking for?" one girl shouted as her raft passed a
park service boat scouring the west bank of the river below the
Hawk's Nest in search of the missing boy.
Along the river in Westfall, Pa., yesterday, another group of
students from another New Jersey high school were drying off after
their Kittatinny trip.
A man serving as a chaperone said he hadn't heard about the
accident. It was the first time most of his students had been
rafting, he said. "I felt pretty comfortable taking them out there."
'I never signed the permission slip'
By Jessica Gardner
Times Herald-Record
June 04, 2003
jgardner@th-record.com
Patrick Okoro didn't want his 17-year-old son, Obinna, to go on a
school rafting trip planned for Monday on the Delaware River. He
refused to sign the permission slip, telling Obinna it was just too
dangerous.
"I told him, 'Over my dead body are you going on this trip.' I said,
'You're going to drown,' " Okoro said. Now Okoro, of Union, N.J., is
waiting for rescuers to find his son, who has been missing since
falling off a raft Monday while floating down the Delaware near
Sparrowbush.
Obinna Okoro, who was scheduled to graduate on June 20, found a way
around his father's order. It probably cost him his life. "I think
he's done and it's killing me," Okoro said when called at his New
Jersey home yesterday. "I don't know how to function anymore."
Authorities were still searching for Obinna yesterday evening, using
divers, boats and a state police helicopter outfitted with an
infrared radar capable of detecting body heat. So far, there's been
no sign of the boy.
Obinna set out on the river from Barryville, N.Y., on a class trip
from Union High School in New Jersey. Lisa Hughes, general manager
of Kittatinny Canoes, which rented the rafts to the students, said
one of the teachers chaperoning the trip told her the raft that
Obinna and three other teens were on never actually flipped over.
"According to the teacher's account, the kids were lying down in the
boat and they popped out when they hit a rapid," Hughes said.
Only three of the four teens made it back to the raft. Obinna
disappeared. Authorities said the teens were not wearing the life
jackets they'd been given.
Patrick Okoro contends that his son never should have been out there
in the first place.
"I never signed the permission slip," Okoro said. "I've got it here
in my hand."
Okoro said that after reading the permission slip, which included
warnings about possible injury, illness or death, he said no way.
Obinna argued, but his father wouldn't bend.
But somehow, Obinna went on the trip anyway. The Union school
superintendent, Theodore Jakubowski, wouldn't say specifically
whether the school had received a signed permission slip from Obinna.
He did say, however, that no one goes on a field trip without
parental permission.
This is the fifth year the school has held the rafting trip. Seven
teachers supervised 53 teens on the trip, Jakubowski said.
Okoro said the school's principal, Samuel Fortunato, told him he had
received a signed permission slip from Obinna. Okoro said it wasn't
his signature.
Fortunato declined to comment, referring all questions to Jakubowski.
Obinna, a native of Nigeria who has been in the United States for
more than two years, lives with his father and two teenage brothers.
He was planning to attend his senior prom this Friday.
"He already paid for everything: the prom, the limo and the tux,"
Okoro said. "He had a date. I've got the receipt for the corsage in
my hand."
Wrath of the river 17-year-old boy was
missing yesterday at Sparrowbush
June 03, 2003
By Greg Cannon and Jessica Gardner
Times Herald-Record
gcannon@th-record.com , jgardner@th-record.com
Sparrowbush – A 17-year-old boy was missing yesterday after the
raft he was riding in flipped over on a high and fast-running
Delaware River.
According to police communications, the teen was on the river as
part of a group trip from a New Jersey high school. As of last
night, authorities had not released his name or where he's from.
Several area fire departments sent rescue boats and divers to the
stretch of river between Pond Eddy and Sparrowbush at about 2:15
p.m. to help the National Park Service with the search.
With the water running high and rough, authorities decided against
sending in divers.
"It is too risky to put the divers in the water," said Scott
Glynn, assistant chief of the Sparrowbush Fire Department. Glynn
said the boy was one of five teens riding in the raft when it
flipped over.
The raft capsized in the Butler's Rift rapids in the Hawk's Nest
section.
According to the park service Web site, rapids on the Delaware
are considered Class I, or easy, at average river heights. But the
river was running over 6 feet yesterday. At that height, Class II
and III rapids can emerge, creating intermediate and advanced
challenges.
The Web site also warns that the river can rise quickly after a
rain. River heights were between 3 and 4 feet for about a week
before doubling Sunday to almost 7 feet.
At that height, the park service warns that high boating skills
are needed. Less skilled boaters should only go out in rafts.
In fact, the risky conditions resulted in a warning to boat
rental companies.
On Sunday night, the park service called all companies licensed
to rent boats on the river, according to Sandra Schultz, assistant
superintendent of the park service's Upper Delaware Scenic and
Recreational River, which manages that stretch of river. The service
warned that the river was expected to crest over six feet and
advised them to use caution, Schultz said.
"The river's extremely high and it's extremely fast," said Kelly
Leavenworth, who works at Whitewater Willie's canoe rental in Pond
Eddy.
The outfit didn't send any boaters out yesterday because of
conditions on the river. "I think it's a little too rough out
there," she said.
The raft the boy was riding in was rented from Kittatinny Canoes
of Dingmans Ferry, Pa., which bills itself as "the first and finest"
outfitter for Delaware boat trips.
A worker who answered a call to Kittatinny yesterday said, "no
comment," before hanging up the phone.
The other four passengers in the raft were sequestered on a
Kittatinny Canoes bus in the parking lot of the Sparrowbush Post
Office yesterday afternoon as rescuers searched for their boat mate.
Authorities would not allow a reporter to talk to them.
The search continued into the late afternoon as a state police
helicopter made slow passes over the river.
Shortly after the search began, rescue workers plucked two other
boaters from the river. The pair, who were not affiliated with the
missing teen, had been in a canoe that flipped over in the rapids
near Beach 2.
"We've taken this trip for the past four years at the same time
and something like this has never happened before," said Robert
Flowers, one of the two in the overturned canoe. "It got rough and
we got turned around and that was it."
New Jersey News Sunday, August 11, 2002, Latest river victim from
South America, Why?
From staff reports
PHILLIPSBURG -- The man who drowned Sunday night, August 11, 2002 in
the Delaware River was identified Monday as Ramos Santiago.
Santiago, 38, is a native of Colombia, South America, according to
Warren County Medical Examiner Isidore Mihalakis. Mihalakis said he
conducted an autopsy early Monday. He said there was nothing unusual
about the death, such as the presence of drugs or alcohol.
Phillipsburg police said they do not know why Santiago was in the
Phillipsburg area. An investigation into the incident is ongoing,
police said. Police said they're still attempting to contact
Santiago's relatives in South America.
Pennsylvania News River claims eighth victim since early June
Group tries to swim across; three friends make it, but the fourth
doesn't. Sunday, August 11, 2002
By RUSSEL HIGGINS
The Express-Times
PHILLIPSBURG -- In what has been a summer of swimming tragedies, yet
another person died Sunday afternoon in the Delaware River, town
police said. Police did not release the man's name because
authorities could not reach his relatives.
He was the eighth person to die this year in the stretch of river
that separates the Lehigh Valley from northwest New Jersey. Warren
County Medical Examiner Isidore Mihalakis said an autopsy is
expected today.
Witnesses said the male victim was swimming with four friends early
Sunday afternoon about a half-mile north of the Interstate 78
overpass in a remote area near the Easton sewer treatment plant. The
man and three friends -- the fourth didn't swim -- attempted to
cross the 100-yard width of the Delaware. The man never made it, his
friends told police.
Rescuers were alerted by the friends who had made their way to a
home near Howard and McKeen streets in Phillipsburg, rescuers said.
Rescue personnel from the Easton and Phillipsburg fire departments
and Garden State Underwater Recovery searched for the body for about
two hours in the murky 8 to 15 feet of water. The Easton Fire
Department eventually recovered
the body.
Rescue divers combed a quarter-mile bend in the river throwing
yellow buoys to mark search areas. One of the man's companions sat
and watched rescuers as they searched.
Witnesses said at one point Phillipsburg police officers
commandeered kayaks from people nearby. Police were also assisted by
boaters near the scene. The Phillipsburg Police Department and the
Warren County Medical Examiner's Office are investigating.
As temperatures have flirted with and surpassed 90 degrees, many
people have challenged the river's tricky currents and deceptive
distances, and seven other people have not made it out alive.
Luis Alberto Vargas, 39, of Berkeley Heights, N.J., was found Aug. 4
at the bottom of the river near a popular swimming hole north of
Raubs Island. George and Howard Ariars, brothers from Astoria, N.Y.,
died July 27 when their inflatable raft capsized near Reliant
Energy's power plant in Portland.
On July 4, Otoniel Villanueva of Rahway, N.J., drowned at the
Delaware Water Gap, and Julio Garcia of Trenton drowned while wading
near the Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park in Hunterdon County. On
July 1, Fred M. Irwin, 77, of Upper Mount Bethel Township died while
canoeing in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area,
officials said. Irwin was boating with his son and grandsons when
their canoe capsized. He died there, police said.
Donald Teets of Palmer Township drowned near the Northampton Street
bridge between Easton and Phillipsburg after he fell out of his boat
while fishing June 3.
SHANDAKEN - A 49-year-old New York City man drowned while kayaking
in the Esopus Creek on Saturday.
Police said he became entangled in a tree alongside the stream and
went under.
Lawrence Kirwin's death was almost identical - in both location and
circumstance - to the June 10 drowning of a Brooklyn girl, and it
was the second drowning in less than 24 hours in the Esopus. A farm
worker drowned Friday afternoon while fishing and swimming in the
creek in the town of Hurley.
Shandaken police said Kirwin was kayaking with a group of friends
from the Appalachian Mountain Club when, at about 11:10 a.m., he
became entangled in a tree growing over the creek as the group
rounded a bend near Wettje Road. Kirwin's friends were able to pull
the kayak free, but Kirwin, who had fallen out, remained pinned
underwater, police said.
Kirwin's friends got him out of the water after about 10 minutes and
began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation until emergency
workers arrived, police said. Kirwin was taken to Benedictine
Hospital in Kingston, where he was pronounced dead at 12:12 p.m.
Police said the water was moving fast on Saturday at the accident
site.
On Friday, 22-year-old Juan Lopez, a seasonal worker at the Robert
O. Davenport and Sons Farm, drowned after losing his footing in the
creek while fishing and swimming with a cousin in Hurley.
The cousin and other farm workers tried in vain to pull Lopez from
the water after the 2 p.m. accident. By the time police divers
reached the Florida resident, around 4:30 p.m., it was too late. He
was pronounced dead at the scene.
Saturday's drowning happened at almost the same spot where
17-year-old Nicole Coppolino of Brooklyn died while tubing on the
Esopus. She, too, became entangled in trees and got trapped
underwater. She was submerged for about 30 minutes before being
pulled out and died later at Albany Medical Center.
Shandaken police were assisted on Saturday by the Ulster County
Sheriff's Office, the Shandaken Ambulance squad and Phoenicia
firefighters.
High water level forces closure of long stretch of the Delaware
Saturday, June 08, 2002, BY KATIE WANG, Star-Ledger Staff
The National Park Service shut down a 40-mile stretch of the
Delaware River yesterday after the water level rose to 11 feet above
normal, capsizing two canoes carrying five people.
No one was injured in the canoe accident, but officials said they
wanted to close the river within the Delaware Water Gap National
Recreation Area after watching it jump from its normal level of 6
feet to 11 feet in 24 hours. A portion of the tributary in Montague,
Sussex County, was expected to crest at 11.7 feet overnight before
receding to normal levels.
Officials intend to reopen the river to water recreation this
morning. "The reason for the closure is the river has been rising
pretty fast because of the heavy rains," said Bill Halainen,
spokesman for the National Park Service. "When it gets near 12 feet,
it gets hazardous."
Officials also were worried about surfacing debris, the water
temperature and fast-moving currents. The water temperature was 58
degrees, considered colder than usual, and flowing at 5 mph, faster
than the normal 3 mph, when park officials closed the river around 1
p.m.
But it was the breadth of the rising water level that forced
National Park officials to shut down the river, even though it was
expected to crest well below the flood stage of 25 feet.
A line of thunderstorms dumped between 1 to 2 inches of rain in the
area Thursday night, which meteorologists say is a lot in 24 hours
and can cause rivers to crest at alarming levels. It usually takes
about one day for a heavy downpour to have an impact on water
levels.
"Larger rivers such as the Lehigh and Delaware have a lag time
because the runoff has a while to go from the smaller streams into
the larger rivers," said Jim Poirier, meteorologist with the
National Weather Service in Mount Holly.
The last significant crest at Montague was on Dec. 2, 1996, when the
river reached 18 feet above normal. Other portions of the river in
Belvidere and Trenton also are expected to crest at 10 feet and 12.5
feet respectively today.
Halainen said he can't remember the last time park officials closed
the river in the park area, but said it is rarely done. Authorities
yesterday closed and barricaded seven boat ramps after canoers got
out of the water. Thursday's storm also knocked a large number of
trees and branches into the river, which are hazardous to canoers. A
canoe carrying an adult and two young children capsized yesterday
afternoon after it hit a branch. The three people were able to hang
onto a tree while they waited to be rescued. Two people in another
canoe tried to rescue the trio, but their canoe also capsized.
National Park rangers came to the rescue within 10 minutes, said
Halainen. The accident occurred near the Pennsylvania shoreline of
the river.
The crest comes as the state is struggling to break free from one of
the worst droughts in its history. A damp spring helped compensate
for a dry winter, which plunged the state's 13 northern reservoirs
to dangerously low levels. As of Thursday, the state's reservoirs
were at 86 percent capacity, inching closer to its normal capacity
of 95 percent for this time of year. Katie Wang covers Warren
County. She can be reached at kwang@starledger.com or (908)
478-0100.
Water safety is learning to love your life vest
By TRACY DENMAN
RIVER VALLEY- Suzanne Williams and her boyfriend, Joseph O'Leary,
went out for a canoe trip on the Delaware on Monday, June 4. Only
one came back alive.
Both were inexperienced canoeists, and some troubling waters among
the Staircase Rapids, below Pond Eddy, capsized their canoe. Even
more troubling, however, is that the pair had life vests in the boat
but were not wearing them, according to Orange County coroner Donald
Parker. As the rapids approached, the two tried to pull them on, but
it was too late. O'Leary was a strong enough swimmer to keep himself
and the canoe afloat. Unfortunately, Williams was not.
According to Parker, O'Leary thought Williams was holding onto the
canoe as he pulled it toward shore but she was, in fact, struggling
in the water. Despite later efforts by National Park Service (NPS)
Ranger Vince Preago to revive her, Williams drowned.
The couple rented the canoe from Landers River Trips boat rentals in
Narrowsburg. General Manager Eric Orr said he has all his customers
put on the life vests before they leave and both Williams and
O'Leary were wearing life vests when they left. They simply took
them off. Orr said, "We have a safety checklist and a trained staff
to go over safety rules with the customers." Orr also said that his
staff is available to accompany customers on river trips by request.
In William's case, "Wearing a life vest would have changed the
circumstances."
While Orr said some of the general public is aware of water safety,
"There is always room for improvement. The information needs to get
to the people boating."
Orr suggested more safety information in commercials about canoeing
or boating at rental places. According to Parker, a commercial for
canoeing on the Delaware inspired Williams and O'Leary to take the
river trip. Orr said, "We want people to have fun safely."
NPS Ranger Cliff Daniels is always trying to enforce water safety in
his jurisdiction. "We have several means and avenues. We educate
visitors and we also go out and make contact if we notice potential
violations." Unfortunately, those over 14 are not required to wear
life vests, although they must be present in the boat. Those under
14 face a $50 fine if riding without a
life vest on.
According to Daniels, the general public is not aware of water
safety. "Because they come to enjoy themselves, they are not aware
of their surroundings or environment. People have to take
responsibility for their actions... A lot of people still think,
'it's not gonna happen to me.'"
A list distributed by Landers River Trips identifies the following
safety tips: watch out for potential river hazards such as sudden
drop offs, swift currents, eel weirs, trees and branches; bring
adequate water; don't drink out of the river; wear sun screen and
shoes; abstain from drinking alchohol; and always wear a life vest.
Additional tips from the Red Cross are: If you have been capsized,
float with your arms over your head. This will allow your arms to
come in contact with things first, protecting your head or neck from
injury. In general, jump feet first rather than dive to avoid
shallow water accidents and hidden rocks. When floating downstream,
float feet first.
Wearing, or not wearing, a life vest is a leading cause of water
accidents. Authorities agree that, had Williams been wearing her
life vest, she might still have her life. |
