A program aimed at preventing drowning is returning to Martha Lake County Park. The life jacket loaner cabinet is now open at the busy swimming area on the south end of the lake.
“The goal is to increase life jacket use by making them more accessible. We also want to raise public awareness about water safety,” said Kim Schroeder, Fire District 1 public education coordinator.
Life jackets for children and adults are available in the self-serve cabinet for free checkout through Labor Day.
“It’s been a popular program with parents and kids at Martha Lake. It helps save lives and helps make people more aware of the need for life jackets,” Schroeder said.
Organizers also want to make parents more aware of the need for close supervision when children are around water. “We don’t want the life jackets to provide a false sense of security. Parents still need to keep a close watch on their kids,” Schroeder said.
We have two child size life jackets we would like to donate. Can we drop them off somewhere?
We have asked Fire District 1 about this. Since the story was from 2012, we aren’t sure if the program is still operating.