Twenty bright red life jackets, hanging on a wooden rack at Gary’s Marquette Park concession stand, now greet beachgoers as they walk to Lake Michigan.
The Friends of Marquette Park’s Miller Beach water safety committee dedicated the new life jacket loaner station rack on a warm, sunny Saturday that drew beach lovers to the lake.
The group purchased the life-saving equipment with the proceeds from a fundraiser that netted about $3,000 last year. Earlier, Gary’s Parks and Recreation Department approved the project.
Most Gary and Northwest Indiana beaches open for swimming during the Memorial Day weekend. Many, but not all, have lifeguards on duty
The life jackets, with sizes from adult to infant, are free for swimmers to wear when they swim in the lake and return as they leave.
“They’re for anyone who would feel more comfortable with one in the water,” said Paula Rooney, who headed the effort. “Life jackets save lives. They help people float to keep them safe. We encourage people to look for these devices.”
She said although they can be used in an emergency, the life jackets are meant for swimmers to wear as soon as they arrive at the beach.
Rooney said the water safety group has been educating visitors on how to stay safe in the lake’s sometimes unpredictable water and waves for years.
“The Miller Beach Water Safety Social Group provides programming about water safety and we felt this was a great extension of that,” she said.
Just after the dedication, a family arrived for a day at the beach. Heaven Dawson, 7, was the first to wear one of the life jackets, fitted by Mary Ann Best, a long-time water safety advocate.
Heaven’s mom, Crystal Russell, of Gary, admitted she couldn’t swim. She said Heaven and her son Honor Dawson, 6, have taken swimming lessons and she welcomed the additional safety provided by the life jackets.
Last year, the Friends’ water safety committee stocked beaches at Lake Street and Marquette Park with water safety stations that include a life jacket and lifesaver ring with a rope. Each public access road in Miller has one.
Signs are posted along the Gary beaches with information on how they should be used as well.
In March, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a state Senate bill into law that requires the placement of similar high-quality Lake Michigan rescue equipment on public access sites where it’s not available.
The law goes into effect July 1.
Called the Lake Michigan Rescue Act, sponsored by Sen. Rodney Pol Jr., D-Chesterton, it mandates life rings and ropes and other equipment to aid struggling swimmers, especially if they’re caught in rip currents.
It doesn’t provide funding for the equipment, leaving it up to municipalities.
Earlier, Pol estimated it would cost about $100,000 for local municipalities to install the equipment at about 104 public access sites.
A single rescue effort by first responders can cost up to $500,000, he said.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
