By McKenzie Romero | Editor
It’s a grim scenario emergency responders have seen more than once. A paddleboard, drifting distant from the site where recovery efforts are underway, an unused life jacket strapped to the top.
State officials are urging Utahns as they head into the water in the final weeks of summer, to not just take their life jacket with them, but to wear it.
In this weekend’s Dispatch we share the life jacket warning that some fear isn’t sinking in and bring you our top stories of the week, including an in-depth look at ousted Senate President Stuart Adams’ time in office and a family’s message about domestic violence and suicide.
“When you go skiing, everybody now is wearing a ski helmet. When you go mountain biking or motorcycle riding, people are wearing those helmets. For some reason, boating is having a hard time communicating the importance of wearing life jackets. I think people think that it’s not going to happen to them.” — Maj. Steve Bullock with the Department of Natural Resources’ law enforcement division, about the state’s campaign promoting life jackets.
Maj. Steve Bullock of the Utah Department of Natural Resources wears a personal floatation device and displays an underwater drone used to recover drowning victims. (Annie Knox/Utah News Dispatch)
By Annie Knox
Eight people have drowned in Utah lakes and reservoirs this summer, and just one of them was wearing a life jacket. In a rare occurrence, one of those who perished was a scuba diver.
Life jackets in Utah are required for children until age 13, along with anyone on its rivers and those being towed, including on water skis or in an inner tube. State law doesn’t require adult boaters, kayakers or paddleboarders to wear them on reservoirs — only to have one aboard for each person.
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