President’s Report – July 8, 2019

People’s behavior on our lake must change and must change now or drastic measures may be taken that a lot of you may not like. My observations of total disregard for safety this past weekend on our lake really emotionally upset me. The time for talking is over The time for immediate swift action is now. I want people to like me, that’s human nature, it’s how most people behave. I may make some decisions that will cause many to have a not so good opinion of me, I’m not crazy about that, but if I can save a child or adult from getting seriously injured or worse in our lake, I’ll be that bad guy. Here are 4 incidents that happened on our lake over the weekend.

Friday afternoon I had my boat anchored at the dam “No Wake” area with 10 other boats with our family and friends swimming in the lake. A jet ski came ripping through the area, weaving between boats and when I finally got a good look at him, he accelerated and took off. Thank God nobody got hit, there had to be some close calls.

One of our RRA Board members was working on his pontoon on his dock, with his back to the water. A wake boat came within 10 feet of his boat and caused a wave that actually launched him from the pontoon and into the lake. He didn’t know what happened at first but when he got out of the water, he saw the tail waters of the boat speeding away. He didn’t get hurt thankfully but we can all imagine what could have happened.

An erratic jet ski was spotted at the south end and the driver appeared to be impaired in some way. The jet ski ended up sinking in the lake and eventually popped up to create a huge hazard. What if you with your family on your boat struck that abandoned jet ski? The watercraft was towed to the marina, and the homeowner will be responsible for a tow bill and will definitely be brought up for review. We know who you are!

The fireworks were wonderful. What a great event for all of us to be able to watch, either on or off of the lake. Every boat that I saw Saturday night did a great job of respecting the space of the other boats around them and navigating in the dark……Except a boat that was about 20 yards in front of my boat. After the fireworks, I heard people jumping into the water off of the boat as the masses of other boats are leaving after the fireworks. There were boats in between my boat and that one by now but I screamed at the top of my lungs. “Get out of the water and back on your boat” What are people thinking? I didn’t hear of anyone getting hurt Saturday night but I cringe when I think what could have happened.

These are just what I know and most of you have stories as well.

So, what do we do? The RRA Board will be working on some immediate plans to put up some major restrictions if this continues for another weekend.

I know that Lake Patrol just isn’t enough to see all of the lake all of the time, The RRA Board is working on better solutions.

Do we ban Jet Skis, wake boats, and fireworks because of rule breakers with total disregard for safety? Pretty extreme isn’t it?

See something, say something. We want to know. We all own a piece of this community and lake. Take it upon yourself to try to let people know that what they are doing is wrong.

I know that it is only a few and most of your follow the rules and are responsible adults.

Anyone under the age of 16 without a driver license, that is operating a jet ski on our lake, will result in the permit of the property owner to be revoked, no exceptions. You can email me at : DJMAN78@aol.com. Yes, I used to be a Disc Jockey.

Sincerely,

Rick Brothers

RRA Board President