Too late to put on your life jacket after the boat crashes
Life jackets save lives on the water
A June boat accident off the southwest coast of Florida highlights the importance of wearing a life jacket.
Seven adults and a child were found clinging to a cooler after their 28-foot boat overturned near Boca Grande. Fortunately, they were all wearing life jackets and were rescued by the Coast Guard, but that isn’t always the case.
In the most recent USCG boating statistics, three out of every four boaters who died in a boating accident drowned and of those deaths, 87% were not wearing a life jacket.
Many of these people considered themselves long-term boaters who knew how to swim, but in an accident, you might be knocked unconscious.
You wouldn’t try to put a seat belt on in the middle of a car crash. Likewise, it is not possible to try to put on a life jacket when you are in the middle of a boating emergency.
When going out on the water, ensure everyone on board has a life jacket that fits properly. If you need one to borrow, check out one of the Sea Tow Foundation’s Life Jacket Loaner Stations. You never know just how lifesaving it could be.
Gail R. Kulp, executive director, Sea Tow Foundation, Montoursville, Pennsylvania
Voters can't keep Furst accountable
Bill Furst should have had opposition in his run for reelection as Sarasota County property appraiser.
He hurt homeowners like me by deciding that replacing a worn-out roof was somehow an addition or improvement, instead of maintenance.
Furst made us pay more taxes because of increased appraisals, something no other property appraiser in the state agreed with.
Dana A. Cyr, Sarasota
(Editor's note: Two homeowners challenged the property appraiser's policy and won, so higher taxes won't be collected for roof replacements in future.)
Biden puts country before self
Becoming president of the United States must be the headiest drug imaginable to those with the ego required to achieve this honor. The decision to step down and pass the torch, as President Joe Biden just did, required him to reach conclusions no one wants to even think about.
Biden had to acknowledge his age and his declining physical and mental abilities. And he had to realize that no one is irreplaceable, and that nothing lasts forever.
No matter what our political view might be, we must acknowledge that Biden put country before self. This is a great capstone to a long career of public service.
Norman Vaughan-Birch, Sarasota
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: In a boating accident, life jackets save lives
