In a recent newspaper article discussing the budget problems at the Curwensville Lake Recreation Area, it was proposed to cut the lifeguarding staff at the Lake. The apparent logic to this proposal was 1 – it would save money (somewhere around $8000) and 2 – the state parks cut their lifeguard staff, so it must be ok.
I would sincerely hope that the CCRTA would reconsider this action. Yes, the state parks did discontinue their lifeguarding staff at all parks except Lake Erie’s Presquisle State Park. There are no more lifeguards at Parker Dam, or Black Moshannon. The thing is, there are also no motor boats at these locations. The other thing is, they don’t charge a fee for admission.
Curwensville Lake has unlimited horsepower, which is great for boaters (like us) who have large boats with large engines, ski boats, bass boats, etc. However, based on our experience, not all boaters show caution when on the water. Many times, I have been “waked” in the no wake zones up above the dam, and on more than one occasion, have witnessed a guard dealing with boats too close to the swim areas.
The Curwensville Lake website advertises lifeguards at beach from Memorial Day thru Labor Day. Their beach would be the only one in the area to have guards. It would seem that this safety feature would be very easy to market. Doesn’t it sound like a better ad that “they care about your safety” rather than “swim at your own risk and watch out for …..”
My solution to this problem would be to keep the guards, and combine their duties with grounds keeping, collecting fees at the gate, and whatever else they have additional staff doing. This way, all the duties are being done, while maintaining safety standards.
I am surprised that the Army Corps, and the CCRTA would even consider not having lifeguards at the Lake, and hope they reconsider their decision.
Hopefully Gant Daily will have this issue as one of their shout out pieces, and it will gain support from the community.
Jennifer Kolbe
Woodland