"Swim at your own risk" has taken on new meaning at Pennsylvania state parks.
Over the last nine years, the state's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has withdrawn lifeguards at 22 of 37 state parks with lake beaches.
The plan is to eliminate the last of the lifeguard posts this summer.
The upside, claims the DCNR, is the $800,000 in savings the staffing reduction brings.
The downside, of course, is an increased risk of tragedy.
That prospect has put state Auditor General Jack Wagner in an unusual position. The watchdog of the state's treasury is asking the DCNR to restore lifeguards -- and to spend more money.
Wagner praised DCNR officials for wanting to save taxpayer funds, but also criticized them for the way they did it.
State parks are a great summer attraction. They promise to be especially appealing this year as families look to save gas money and keep their vacations within the state. It actually is a great opportunity for DCNR to showcase their unique recreational properties. But that showcase may be tarnished if tragedy occurs at a crowded, unprotected beach.
Parks officials point out that, even as they have reduced lifeguards, there has not yet been an increase in incidents.
"Yet" is one of the biggest three-letter words around. In this case, the cost of that word fulfilling its foreboding promise is too high.
Is saving $800,000 worth the life of one drowned child at a state park?
Wagner is right to say "no."
Opinion
Swim at your own risk?
- Opinion
-
-
Good-paying jobs
I am writing in response to comments made by several lawmakers and certain media regarding people receiving unemployment compensation not searching for employment but only wanting extensions.
-
Economy is tough but still pay rises
It was my first time attending a Lewisburg School Board meeting last night. I went to hear public comment on the Boards recent decision to extend the Superintendents contract, which included a 20-plus percent pay raise.
-
Sunbury has a lot to offer
I would like to respond to the letter writer that inferred that Sunbury was a pretty package with nothing inside.
-
Mutual aid is necessary
Mutual aid agreements in local law enforcement strike at the heart of basic small-town decency. When a neighbor is in need, those equipped to help ought to drop everything and spring to aid.
-
Lifting me higher
I am not a winner of a Pulitzer Prize, nor am I an author of best selling novels, I'm just a human being attempting to live life here on earth with purpose and I can find no greater way to do that than through my faith and my belief in God.
-
Understaffing
I read with interest your article regarding police mutual aid in Northumberland County.
-
Carney, Marino ought to get focused on issues
U.S. Rep. Chris Carney and Tom Marino ought to focus on the issues in the upcoming campaign for Congress.
-
Blatantly unfair
The Pennsylvania Republican Party is supporting an effort to strike third-party candidates from the general election ballot in November.
-
Fiscal responsibility
This editorial letter is only the second such letter I have been moved to pen in my lifetime.
-
Schools need a little help from home
Milton High School failed to meet its adequate yearly progress under Pennsylvania's version of the federal No Child Left Behind because one student did not show up for the standardized test.
- More Opinion Headlines
-
Good-paying jobs
