CLEAR SAILING FOR LAKE PATROL POLICE PRESENCE SEEMS TO CREATE CALMER WATERS.Byline: Amy Raisin raisin, in botany and cooking raisin, dried fruit of certain varieties of grapevines bearing grapes with a high content of sugar and solid flesh. Although the fruit is sometimes artificially dehydrated, it is usually sun-dried. Staff Writer CASTAIC - The boat marked ``Police'' has only been patrolling Castaic Lake Castaic Lake is a lake on Castaic Creek formed by Castaic Dam, in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, near the town of Castaic. The 323,700 acre foot lake (399,000,000 m³) is the terminus of the West Branch of the California Aqueduct, though some comes from the 154 mi² waters for a month, but regulars at the popular recreation spot insist that speeding and alcohol-related violations have already dropped. Members of the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Park Police Department were trained to augment lifeguard patrols at the lake following a speedboat accident that killed four men in January. Because the Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer at the lake, Sgt. Kevin Empey and Officer Jeff Jernigan had expected a crush of boaters Saturday but were surprised at the small crowds. ``I'm sure it will pick up (Sunday) and Monday,'' Empey said. ``But I can't help but think that, with all the warnings going on lately, all the terrorist warnings, maybe people are deciding to stay home.'' Those who did launch boats Saturday seemed pleased by the increased security, waving and chatting with the police as the ``patrol car boat'' ventured in and out of coves and across the man-made lake. ``I love it. I love that they're here,'' said Avi Abikzer, a frequent boater at Castaic Lake. ``I come here at least once a week and their presence deters people from being negligent negligent adj., adv. careless in not fulfilling responsibility. (See: negligence) , the speeders, the drinkers. I bring my kids now. It's more of a family environment.'' Sgt. Empey, a former park ranger A park ranger is a person charged with protecting and preserving protected parklands, forests (then called a forest ranger), wilderness areas, as well as other natural resources and protected cultural resources. at Lake Piru Lake Piru is a lake located in Los Padres National Forest in Ventura County and was created by the construction in 1955 of the Santa Felicia Dam on Piru Creek which is a tributary of the Santa Clara River. who was working at the East Los Angeles East Los Angeles, uninc. city (1990 pop. 126,379), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles, in an industrial area. It has a large Mexican-American population. There is a performing arts center and a cultural center. A junior college is there. police station when he was tapped to lead the Castaic boat program, said he has noticed fewer partiers and more families on the water. ``People know we're here now, and they're complying,'' he said. But Empey was quick to note the importance of the lifeguards and their indispensable contribution to the lake. ``They've been out here the whole time. They know this lake better than anyone else,'' Empey said. ``Our purpose here is law enforcement and safety, but we're not lifeguards. We can't do their functions, and we don't expect to work their functions.'' The differences between the police boat and the familiar lifeguard boats are striking. Just as in the patrol cars, the police boat is equipped with radios, flashing lights Flashing Light is a rhythmic light in which the total duration of the light in each period is clearly shorter than the total duration of the darkness and in which the flashes of light are all of equal duration. , sirens Sirens with song, bird-women lure sailors to death. [Gk. Myth.: Odyssey] See : Enchantment sirens their singing so sweet, it lured sailors to their death. [Gk. Myth.: Hamilton, 48] See : Singer and, locked in a mounted holder next to the steering wheel, a shotgun shotgun: see small arms. shotgun Smoothbore shoulder firearm designed to fire a number of pellets, or shot, that cover a large target area after they leave the muzzle. It is used mainly against small game such as birds. and assault rifle assault rifle Military firearm that is chambered for ammunition of reduced size or propellant charge and has the capacity to switch between semiautomatic and fully automatic fire. . Because of the unexpected launch of the program, the county police department has not been able to train as many officers for lake duty as they would like. Of the 25 officers working out of the Castaic station, only three are trained to operate the patrol boat. The boat - a used vessel that will be joined by two new boats later this summer - is still without a name. But, if approved, she will bear a proud name in the future. ``We're waiting to get approval for it, but if all goes well, we want to name the boat after the female officer that died in the (twin) tower attacks'' in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of on Sept. 11, Empey said. Until the new boats arrive, the police will continue to patrol the lake in the used vessel seven days a week. On Saturday, the most serious violations on the 35-mph waters, where alcohol is prohibited, included a young man fishing off the rocks without a license and the improper display of a water ski flag. A slow day, yes, but Officer Jernigan - in shorts on a sunny day - wasn't complaining. ``I was with the Coast Guard before, so they asked me to come up here,'' said the 30-year-old Lancaster native. ``I'm sure there are some (officers) who'd rather be out here than stuck in a patrol car somewhere. This isn't a bad assignment.'' Empey acknowledged that the lake duty is different than patrolling the streets, but not necessarily less dangerous. ``If you get a belligerent person, if you get in a fight out here on the lake, it's not like the streets. There's nowhere to go,'' he said. ``There's no cover. That's one of the most dangerous parts of the job. ``Most of the public has been very receptive to us. A lot of families have approached us and said they're glad we're here. Our whole purpose here is for public safety, not to just issue tickets. If it's a mistake, an honest mistake, then we take that into account.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color -- ran in SAC Sac: see Sac and Fox. SAC - 1. An early system on the Datatron 200 series. [Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959)]. edition only) Officer Jeff Jernigan writes a ticket for Daniel Lawson for fishing without a license Saturday. (2 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) County police Sgt. Kevin Empey, left, and Officer Jeff Jernigan patrol the shore Saturday at Castaic Lake. (3 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) A Castaic Lake sun worshipper enjoys the day off. The county has supplemented lifeguard patrols at the lake since a January boat crash. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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