RVRGIRL
Taurus
HDF Supporter
Poopsie Bubble Buns
 
Lake Havasu City, AZ
Posts: 2,220
APPD 0.27
Post Rank: 29
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Posted: June 28 2006,5:50 pm |
Post # 1 |
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Ready for the party
BY DAVID BELL
Tuesday, June 27, 2006 11:26 PM MDT
While Independence Day may be Tuesday, law enforcement agencies are preparing like this weekend is the holiday.
Lake Havasu City Police, Mohave County and San Bernardino County Sheriff's Offices all will be fully staffed on Lake Havasu and the Colorado River this weekend, canceling leave and vacations and calling in extra officers.
“We talked with the Convention and Visitors Bureau and they said that most of the hotels are indicating that people that are booking rooms are including Sunday and Monday,†said Lake Havasu City Police Lt. Rich Sloma. “We've already got extra officers in the Bridgewater Channel on weekends but with the holiday weekend, we're bringing in the mobile booking stations, the officers on quads and the foot patrols.â€
Once again the Lake Havasu City Police Department is requesting for help from Bullhead City and Kingman, looking to pay for off-duty officers from those cities to help augment patrols in the Channel.
The Mohave County Sheriff's Office announced plans to run their full fleet this weekend - eight boats on Lake Havasu and one patrolling the Colorado River to the north.
“We're looking at this as a very long holiday weekend and treating it just like Memorial or Labor Day weekend,†said Mohave County Sheriff's spokesperson Trish Carter. That means pulling in deputies from other parts of the county in order to have a minimum of two deputies per boat.
Because of the extra day, Carter said volunteers will also be called upon. “We have a lot of boating volunteers on Lake Havasu so we will be devoting resources to that,†she said.
There are 35 Boating Safety Volunteer vessels ready to assist the Sheriff's Office on Lake Havasu. The Sheriff's Office also will station two boats on Lake Mead with 15 Boating Safety Volunteers.
On the California side of the lake, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office is ready as well. Sheriff's Sgt. Tim Smith said he gets a large number of requests from deputies across the county to assist on Lake Havasu so staffing is no problem.
“We will have 48 men and women with 7 of them dedicated to the off-road team, three to the Sheriff's helicopter, three handling transportation for people taken into custody, one reserve and the rest on water,†said Smith.
Once again the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office will be instituting a safety lane at Copper Canyon, while the Mohave County Sheriff's Office will be doing the same at Steamboat Cove. And beaching, anchoring and stopping at Blankenship Bend - known as the Sandbar - will be prohibited for the holiday weekend.
A No Wake zone is in effect at the Devil's Elbow area of Topock Gorge, the backwater area between the south buoy line at the entrance to the river and Castle Rock is now a No Wake and No Personal Watercraft (PWC) zone, waterskiing is prohibited along the entire stretch of the Colorado River from the north end of Lake Havasu to the I-40 Bridge and loud boats are not permitted to operate on any area of the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge.
Considering the number of children that have died on the Colorado River this year - A 14-year-old boy near Site Six and 8-year-old boy near Big River in April, a 17-year-old girl near Topock Memorial Day weekend, a 13-year-old boy at London Bridge Beach and a 10-year-old boy in the Bridgewater Channel earlier this month - all agencies said they would once again be strictly enforcing the law that children 12 years old and under must be wearing a personal floatation device (PFD) while on the water.
“On boats we take a zero tolerance approach. Kids have to be wearing a life jacket or get off the water,†said Smith. To encourage PFD use, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office will once again give away t-shirts to kids wearing life jackets.
“Our main focus is safety,†said Carter. “We're focusing on DUI/OUI and will strongly enforce PFD's for children 12 years old and under. We want people to have fun but be safe.â€
Bureau of Land Management, U.S. and California Fish & Wildlife, Arizona Game & Fish and State Parks also will have officers on Lake Havasu and the Colorado River.
- You may contact the reporter at dbell@havasunews.com
 Thats "MRS" RVRGIRL 2 you..... "When life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt."
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