Report: City Puts Up No Swimming Sign
Havre de Grace city officials reportedly put up no swimming sign at Jean S. Roberts Memorial Park.
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Havre de Grace officials have put up a "NO SWIMMING" sign at Jean S. Roberts Memorial Park, according to a television news report.
ABC2 reported that Havre de Grace officials have put up a sign at the Susquehanna River-side park and ordered "two [dozen]" more signs to be installed at other waterfront locations.
The action follows the May 28 drowning death of Havre de Grace teen Michael Sawyer.
Jean S. Roberts Memorial Park is located just north of the century-old Amtrak Bridge that crosses the river.
Sawyer, 16, drowned about 20 yards from shore in a location known as "the swimming hole," which is accessed via private property, and occasionally, as ABC2 previously reported, via the entrance to the adjacent park. The bulkhead and the platform where Sawyer and friends were photographed before swimming at "the swimming hole" is located on private property.
Many Havre de Grace residents—including teens—have said they plan to attend Monday's City Council meeting at City Hall to urge more action.
In This article
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Jean S. Roberts Memorial Park
Otsego St & Water St, Havre de Grace, MD -
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Havre de Grace City Hall
711 Pennington Ave, Havre de Grace, MD
JH
12:24 am on Saturday, June 4, 2011
If signs were up already, prior to this, they would still have went swimming anyway.
Tom Fitzpatrick
9:42 am on Saturday, June 4, 2011
Let's hope that we can all work with our civic leaders to come up with some real solutions for our towns young people. Signs do help. But I think it would be worth our while to insure that Michael Sawyer has a larger legacy than a collection of street signs.
Jane Doe
8:04 am on Sunday, June 5, 2011
We, as the youth of Havre de Grace, don't want signs! We want something to do in this town. Sure, signs may keep us out of the water, but that was our outlet last year. It's hot and humid in the summer, what are we going to do now? & On a side note, I don't think many of us will even want to swim in the bay after we all lost one of the greatest people, ever! Any and everything we do in this town seems to be frowned upon or terrible accidents like this happen, why doesn't the city put money into something worthwhile.
betty coakley
1:02 pm on Sunday, June 5, 2011
OK!! You taxpayers need to get busy. We need to provide summer entertainment for our teenagers. So much for sarcasm.!! It is so rewarding to be able to think of programs like SMILES to know that there are plenty of people who are resourceful. There is so much that could be done in the summer - everywhere. Plenty of people are no longer able to care for their yards. Think of all of the folks who can no longer shop for groceries. How many single parents need help with day care. Those kinds of jobs are for actual money. And there are volunteer jobs in places like nursing homes. That doesn't even scratch the surface. And you would be helping the people who are the taxpayers who are supporting the City of Havre de Grace and Harford County. In the long run we would be closer to a solution to the actual problem.
JH
2:32 pm on Sunday, June 5, 2011
Plus it gives the teens something to do....beneficial.
Jan Biondo
7:59 pm on Monday, June 6, 2011
While all Ms Coakley's suggestions are worthwhile and I hope some of the teens will take on some of the jobs and volunteer opportunities, the real need in this city is for recreational activities. I for one do not expect my teens to spend their entire summer working and volunteering. The skateboard park has gone and there is nowhere affordable and convenient for them to swim. Sarcasm aside, Ms Coakley, yes, if this is a caring city then we do need to provide summer entertainment for our teens. It will help keep them safe and out of trouble. According to posts on Patch, generations of teens have enjoyed swimming in the river. Since this is unsafe it would make sense to provide a safe alternative. I'm willing to help out in whatever way I can.
betty coakley
9:25 pm on Monday, June 6, 2011
If you were to know about the activities I support, you would realize that I consider an olympic pool something that is long overdue. We have just come through a political campaign where taxes were much discussed And there is currently a lot of consternation about watere and sewer rates, real estate taxes, and the budget. It is fine to say we must provide entertainment, but the things a few teenagers are talking about cost a lot of money. Havre de Grace does not have the money available to provide summer entertainment Maybe that is where we need to start - discussing financial problems.Generations of teens have enjoyed the river - and there have been a lot of accidents. The problem is a thorny one. I thought that rather than having idle hands, those very capable young hands could be helping those who need help. To me it should be a matter of priorities. And, though it is a hard lesson, there are some things that do need to come first. There is a lot more to keeping young people safe and out of trouble than providing them with "entertainment." How about an interested group of adults and teens starting the ball rolling to come up with some ideas - and a way to put together the money to pay for their ideas.
Bill Lawson
11:04 pm on Monday, June 6, 2011
I'm impressed Betty, Very well said.
Jan Biondo
7:46 pm on Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Ms Coakley, I am not aware of the activities you support and commend you for wanting a swimming pool for HdG. Your comment about sarcasm led me to believe that you were not serious in helping to provide recreational activities for teens.
I am familiar with the subjects discussed during the last election and understand the city's constraints. In another thread on this topic I mentioned obtaining donations from businesses to help make a pool more affordable. Just throwing that out there - I don't know the answer. Your suggestion of a group of interested adults brainstorming ideas is very good. In fact, it seems to be happening informally in these posts.
We seem to be in agreement. If you read what I wrote previously you will see that I concur with kids working and volunteering. I am encouraging my children to do just that. (One of them requires 40 volunteer hours before receiving her schedule for next year.) Of course "There is a lot more to keeping young people safe and out of trouble than providing them with 'entertainment.' " just as there is a lot more to it than making them work and volunteer. They need time for enjoyment, too, in order to be well-rounded individuals, which brings us back to the original problem: a place for them to cool off and have fun on a hot day. One day the toddlers and pre-teens in HdG will be teenagers so this problem is not going away. Let's take this momentum and try to make something happen before another tragedy occurs.
Walter Kovacs
12:06 am on Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Pools are costly no doubt about it, but if the City is serious about finding funding then perhaps they should look no further than their own backyard. Case in point the HDGPD. Does the public realize that the police are allowed to take the patrol cars home? Not that I don't think it's a good way to deter crime but I'm not sure I want to pay for policing Cecil county and PA with City tax dollars. Considering the price of fuel alone that's gotta add up.
Pat
9:31 pm on Tuesday, June 7, 2011
A good beginning would be to form a community group to go over to Conowingo to get the details on the Excelon pool there. It is certainly a great facility AND affordable. Maybe our many HdG industries and businesses could join together and fund such an enterprise here. I know Excelon is a big company but certainly a joint effort could work?
Pat
9:33 pm on Tuesday, June 7, 2011
And Betty- maybe the kids could "pay" for their membership with community service hours?