A tragedy at the lake

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July 31, 2010

A tragedy at the lake

Editorial for August 1, 2010

Anonymous Jacksonville Daily Progress The Jacksonville Daily Progress Sat Jul 31, 2010, 04:12 PM CDT

JACKSONVILLE — How embarrassing for Jacksonville that every one of the 18 life jackets donated to help keep our kids safe while at the lake are gone.

Those life jackets were placed there to be used on the honor system — use it for the day, then put it back before you leave.

One or two accidently packed away in someone’s gear is understandable — for every single one of them to be gone before a month was through is just plain ridiculous.

Those life jackets were given to our community by a local business and a business that isn’t even in our city. That’s how much they care about our kids.

And that is the whole point of the life jackets being there and available — they are to keep the kids of our community safe while they swim.

If you’re one of those who accidently packed away one of the jackets with your gear at the end of the day, just take it back and hang it on its hook.

The jacket that may have saved your child’s life will then be there to possibly save the life of someone else’s child.

If, for some reason, you took one of the jackets because it was an opportunity to snag a free life jacket, then shame on you.

How can someone take away what could be essentially the difference between a family’s fun day at the lake and the tragic loss of a child?

One can only hope they were all taken accidently. Eighteen accidents like that in a community as small as ours is hard to believe, though.

Especially since the sign above the life jackets states, very clearly, to replace them after use.

Hopefully the jackets will be returned or replaced. Then maybe our community can prove it can be trusted with a free service designed for one purpose — to keep our kids safe.

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A tragedy at the lake

Editorial for August 1, 2010

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