A Kenosha City Council Committee Approves Lake Safety Measures

A Kenosha City Council Committee unanimously voted Monday night to place three life rings along the harbor channel, scene of a drowning earlier this month that claimed the life of a 17 year-old Indian Trail student. Donovan Anderson had jumped in near the lighthouse and was swept into the lake by strong currents. 

An Illinois woman, Marlene Tare, was visiting Kenosha and witnessed the drowning. Tare was so moved by the incident that she returned to Kenosha to personally offer to donate up to $1,000 to cover the costs of the rings. "If a life ring had been on the pier, there are no guarantees," she said. "We don't know whether he could've been saved or not but at least there could've been something done."

Two friends dove in but were unable to reach Anderson. The first police officer to arrive didn't have a flotation device, but by the time he got to the end of the pier Anderson had gone under.

The Public Safety and Welfare committee approved a proposal to place two life rings in kiosks on the north pier and another on the south pier. Two other rings would go on either side of the Pike River as it empties into the lake. Several drownings have occurred there over the years. 

The committee recommended approval of related measures, including one that bans swimming near piers, breakwaters and jetties, and near the mouth of the river. A resolution calls on the Coast Guard and police and fire departments to teach a new safety course to high school and middle school students. A new ordinance would create a steep fine--up to $1,000--for anyone caught stealing or vandalizing a life ring.

Tare sat through the entire meeting. "People are asking me why am I doing this," she told committee members. "I'm not from your community but I am a single mother of a 22 year-old son, and I can't imagine what that boy's mother is going through." 

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