THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 1996 TAG: 9604230182
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LINDA McNATT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ISLE OF WIGHT LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Boaters and jet skiers plying Jones Creek this summer will have to take it a little easier around the Rescue Road Bridge.
Supervisors last week voted 3-2 to establish a ``no wake'' zone for approximately 1,000 feet south of the bridge.
The action came at the request of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries after several property owners with homes on the creek told the supervisors that their docks are being damaged and their land eroding as a result of wave action from high-speed recreational crafts.
``No wake'' means that the boaters will have to slow their crafts down around the bridge to a speed that would not create wave action strong enough to wash onto or under nearby shorelines.
``There are ways to enjoy Jones Creek other than high speeds of boats,'' said Jim Corbett, who owns waterfront property near the bridge. ``I don't think people are going to exercise restraint on their own. Someone is going to get seriously hurt, and it damages property.''
Charlie Green, another property owner, said that 5 feet of his shoreline has washed away under the bank because of wave action from boaters. Another property owner said that a small boat he owned had actually been sunk by waves washing over it from larger boats.
Supervisor O.A. Spady, who represents the Newport District, including the Rescue area, opposed the no wake designation.
``We've got a lot of waterways in this county,'' Spady said. ``If we make it all no wake, some people are going to be happy; some people are going to be unhappy.''
Spady suggested a ``no ski'' zone that would prohibit water sking in the area. But Supervisor Henry Bradby, who represents the Hardy District, said that he felt a no wake zone was necessary to slow boaters down in well-traveled areas.
``A no wake sign makes the difference,'' Bradby said. ``In my judgment, we need to slow these boats down now.''
Spady and board chairman Phillip Bradshaw voted against the Jones Creek change.
The supervisors voted 4-1 to deny a similar request for a no wake zone in another area near the Rt. 10 bypass bridge on the Pagan River. Bradby, once again, voted no.
In another matter, the supervisors heard School Superintendent Jane York and Rita Cargill, representing the Isle of Wight Education Association, speak at a public hearing in support of a $31.4 million 1995-96 school operating budget.
The supervisors will act on the budget at a meeting at 3:30 p.m. on Monday. by CNB