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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, June 14, 2002
Contact:
Jim Dunn, Thurston County Sheriff’s Detective, 360-786-5519
River
Users Urged To Take Safety Precautions
OLYMPIA – The arrival of hot weather in the South Sound means many
people will head to area rivers to cool off with swimming, rafting, inner
tubing and other water based recreation.
But officials with the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office urge
recreationalists to put safety before fun.
Jim Dunn, head of the
Sheriff’s Dive Team, urges river users to scout out the water before jumping
in, or starting out on a rafting trip. “A
river can change dramatically over the winter.
Even if you have swum or rafted a section before, it may be very
different from the way it was last summer.”
Large logjams may have formed in new places. And Dunn says the big debris piles may only be the most
obvious hazards. “A single tree
down in the water or a stump or large rock may not seem like a big problem,
but a raft or inner tube can easily be pulled under the object taking the
riders down with it.”
There are numerous other precautions to take:
·
Make
sure everyone has an approved life jacket and WEARS the device.
·
Buddy
up and make sure someone at home knows the starting point and the ending point
and the estimated times.
·
River
rafting trips often take longer than you think they will.
You may have to get out of the river and walk certain stretches.
Give yourself adequate time to finish in the daylight.
·
Never
use alcohol or drugs while on a river outing.
·
Do NOT
tie inner tubes together, that way if one tube becomes trapped, it won’t
pull all the tubes in with it.
·
Children
or adults who cannot swim should not go on a river-rafting trip.
Some time spent in preparation for a river outing
can make it a safe activity and a lot more fun in the end.
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