Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 13, 1990 TAG: 9007140411
SECTION: SMITH MOUNTAIN TIMES PAGE: SMT-9 EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN
SOURCE: ELLIE SCHAFFZIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Rash and others who share a love for the lake want to keep those sunsets peaceful and safe. They have formed the Smith Mountain Lake Water Safety Council in an effort to accomplish that.
The 45 members of the newly formed council represent groups such as the Red Cross, area schools, Boy and Girl Scouts, sheriff's departments, marinas and recreational clubs. All members are actively involved in water recreation or the promotion of safety at the lake.
Under the banner "Promotion Through Education," the group hopes to build awareness of safety rules for every form of activity on the lake. Rash said the group is concerned with the negative image Smith Mountain Lake may have suffered because it has had "more than its share of accidents."
"It's hard to put a finger on what causes" these accidents, Rash said. Many are due to improper lookout procedures on boats, he said, and to make things worse, many boaters do not wear personal flotation devices.
Rash, who is vice president of the council, said boating accidents are especially "messy" for several reasons, citing the most obvious:
"A boat is not like an automobile. There aren't any brakes," he said.
The council began in 1989 as a "meeting of lake minds," which resulted in the creation of a safe boating video by Appalachian Power Co., an agency represented at this meeting and in the council. The video is now handed out to boat buyers and shown to boat renters around the lake.
This group became the Water Safety Council in June, joining the National Water Safety Congress soon afterward. Council President Bob Hawlk said the group is already generating great ideas together.
The council has channeled this energy into some projects that are already under way. The group hopes to distribute 10,000 wallet-sized laminated cards that list 10 basic boating tips on one side and emergency numbers on the other.
Financing such projects is not a problem, Rash said. Most of the work will be done by volunteers, and lake merchants are willing to chip in as well, he said.
The group plans water safety education in the future. It hopes to help coordinate the safe boating courses already offered at the lake to make them more efficient and to sponsor Red Cross training in the schools. Both Hawlk and Rash said children may be their parents' best teachers.
"They're the best ones in the world to correct an adult. . . . You'd be amazed how daddy feels when they do that," Rash said.
The council also hopes to print boating tips in local publications to teach boaters about everything from hypothermia in winter to hauling a boat down to the lake in spring and keeping cool in summer.
One enemy the group wants to combat is boating under the influence. The combination of alcohol and boating is more likely in this recreational setting, and is all the more dangerous.
This is obviously a difficult task, as is promoting safety in areas beyond boating, such as swimming and water skiing. But this is where Rash, an experienced sailor and a member of the Governor's Boating Advisory Board, and Hawlk, president of the Smith Mountain Lake Association, hope to put their expertise to work.
"We've got to feel our way along in some areas. . . . If we can make a difference on this lake, save one life or prevent one accident, it was all worthwhile," Hawlk said.
by CNB