It's a Bird, It's a Plane . . . It's the Beach Safety Banner!

[Kurt]

In our ongoing efforts to maximize the safety of South Walton beachgoers, the TDC introduced new initiatives for the 2011 season. One of those initiatives is an aerial banner to be flown during periods of strong rip currents, urging beachgoers to stay on shore.

We were advised by Beach Safety Director Gary Wise last Friday that we were experiencing strong rip currents, prompting us to launch our banner in its inaugural flight. We've gotten positive feedback from bed tax collectors and visitors, like this facebook comment: "I am thankful y'all did this because it made it easier for me with not allowing my kids to go in the water today."

We also received positive feedback from our email notification to bed tax collectors apprising them of dangerous surf conditions. Thank you all for helping us keep our visitors safe along our beaches!

 

[ameliaj]

The plane was great. But........We were on the beach at Watersound and no one ever comes and changes the flag. They were doing that in June, but no one has come since and the flag has been yellow for two months even on Red Flag days. It's tough to educate folks to the danger of the currents when there is a yellow flag flying right behind them. Who should I call to get us back on the list for "flag changing"?

 

[seagrovegirl]

Call 267-1298 and speak to Chief Rick Talbert. I'll follow up as well. I am not familiar with this access, but there shouldn't be a list if Watersound is a public beach access.

The banner plane appears to have had a positive impact on the amount of swimmer incidents. Compared to Bay and Okaloosa Counties, our incident reports were much lower and thankfully Walton County had no drownings last week when the Gulf was very rough. I applaud the TDC and SWFD on their collaberation to ensure the safety and welfare of our residents and visitors.

 

[Kurt]

Call 267-1298 and speak to Chief Rick Talbert. I'll follow up as well. I am not familiar with this access, but there shouldn't be a list if Watersound is a public beach access.

The banner plane appears to have had a positive impact on the amount of swimmer incidents. Compared to Bay and Okaloosa Counties, our incident reports were much lower and thankfully Walton County had no drownings last week when the Gulf was very rough. I applaud the TDC and SWFD on their collaberation to ensure the safety and welfare of our residents and visitors.

We try to help also.