No one ever said all Montana people are smart. LOL Now I would think anyone with a brain would think twice before driving down on a rock bar seeing that Dam?? I am embarrassed to say these people are from here LOL 
Ron
[url=http://www.baxterbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060123/NEWS01/601230304/1002:27f7c]http://www.baxterbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060123/NEWS01/601230304/1002[/url:27f7c]
Ron,
These folks were really lucky, in my opinion. Many of these dams have turbines that are remotely activated. That is especially true where I work in the Tennessee Valley Authority. With enough advance notice, we could over ride the automation. But the risk!
Ron, don’t feel too badly they were from your state; there are ignorant (I didn’t say “stupid”!) folks everywhere!
Agreed Ron. And it happens everywhere.
I was discussing that just this weekend with my wife.
We have had a lot of people going through the ice and having to be rescued. These people venture out onto our main rivers and lakes and ice fish even though they’ve been told that the ice in unsafe.
We’ve had record high temps for January this year and the ice is highly unstable to say the least. Yet these folks pay no attention and need rescuing when their snowmobiles go through, trucks go through etc. etc…
Oftentimes in the summer too, people put themselves into stupid situations and rescuers are then called out, endangering their lives.
I know certainly accidents do happen but when blatant disregard for the warnings that are put out comes into the picture it makes me wonder why???
My point and personal feeling is this. When you’ve been warned by the local news media to stay off the ice in winter due to unfavorable conditions, to avoid boating due to flooded rivers in summertime, stay off the lakes when snowmobiling etc…if you ignore these warnings then you and you alone should have to pay IN FULL, for the rescue charges!
In addition to this, pay a substantial fine for the willfull endangerment of the rescue units that are unnecessarily put at risk. Then maybe made to do some kind of community service to help the lesson sink in.
This would aid on many fronts. Think of the cost savings to the community as a whole. More importantly, most people would think twice before doing something potentially dangerous if they had to pony up the TOTAL cost of recovery and the following consequences.
I think we all know how this would cut back on deaths and also get people to become more responsible for their own actions.
And that’s a bad thing???
Just my thoughts. I doubt it would ever happen. And for the sakes of me, I don’t know why.
Jeremy.
Just how did humans ever manage to get to the moon? I think truly it was all hollywood fakery
Oh my, … this is going to tun into a rant
My feelings exactly, … There are lots of Folks out here that think they can do ANYTHING and when they get into trouble, … they EXPECT someone to go get them.
Last week, … a snowmobiler got lost (was sledding OFF the marked trails), … got hurt, got rescued by VOLUNTEERS.
Saturday morning, he’s in the local paper COMPLAINING that the rescue took so long 
Same theme as this week’s article:
[url=http://flyanglersonline.com/features/canada/:2a038]Anatomie of a tragedy[/url:2a038]
Christopher Chin, Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum1/HTML/015738.html:2a038]2006 FishIn Ste-Marguerite River[/url:2a038]
[url=http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/:2a038]Fishing the Ste-Marguerite[/url:2a038]
Hi Chris,
Nope, no rant. And I hope it isn’t taken as such. It’s beef of mine however, that not enough people take responsibility.
It’s something I taught my two sons (20 and 23 yrs old) and so far it seems to be working…BG
Jeremy…gotta keep it light.
[This message has been edited by Jeremy (edited 23 January 2006).]
Jeremy, …
Ooops, … 'ya read it backwards, … I meant ME on a rant 
, … not you.
It’s a USDA Grade A Beef with me too. Heck, … I once LEFT a VICTIM on an out of bounds slide shoot when he started mouthing off to the ski patrol rescue team. (we eventually went back for him).
Christopher Chin, Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum1/HTML/015738.html:ac72a]2006 FishIn Ste-Marguerite River[/url:ac72a]
[url=http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/:ac72a]Fishing the Ste-Marguerite[/url:ac72a]
You know the funny thing about this is all they had to do was look up at that Dam and a light should have come on some place in there heads? LOL Ron
Where was the little thought process that asks…
“When I drive off the pavement with this big heavy van onto the nice rock and sand will I sink upto to door?”
It’s likely asking to much for them to realize the rocks are bare on a tailwater due to sudden extreme flows.
“Stupid is, as Stupid Does!” ~ Forest Gump
“Baxter County Sheriff’s Office and Lakeview Police responded to the call. No charges were issued”
Maybe the couple, should have be charged with endangering themselves! ~Parnelli
I responed to a cry for help from a canoist . He was way out in the middle of Okanagan lake about 3 miles from the nearest shore . The waves were about 2 feet and rising rapidly . We got him and his 8 year old daughter into My boat . I had a 25 ft campion cabin cruiser . The canoe was dragged up on the stern . I headed for the marina , the guy started griping about wanting to go to Westbank , about 21 miles from where we were . I said nope I’m going to Penticton marina its just 3 miles away and thats where I’m moored . I dropped him off at the dock and pushed his canoe over to him . Someone on shore had called the rescue people and they met us . The biggest thing was neither he nor his daughter had a life jacket , either in the boat or on them . He then called me a jerk for ratting him out . I went back to my boat and snugged her down . When I got back to the marina about 10 minutes later , I found out he gotten into a scrap with someone and punches were thrown . Wish I had been there for that .
Gnu Bee,
This world’s full of all kinds isn’t it! Pity.
Ya done good!!
Jeremy.
While visiting my hometown of Springfield, MO (not far from the story pictured above)about four years ago, I noticed a story in the paper about three young men lost on Table Rock Lake. It seems they had chosen the coldest, windiest night of the winter to go “sucker gigging,” a prized Ozarkian pasttime. They had constructed a boat from two john boats, a large piece of plywood, a camper top, and a jet ski motor, all held together with metal c-clamps. A couple of days later, the boat was found, intact but upside down on the bottom in 40 feet of water. The bodies of the three men were later recovered as well. The last line in the story said: “Investigations are still underway to determine if alchohol played a role in the incident.” Any bets?
to bad there is no law against being stupid. well maybe it is a good thing because we’d have to build 100 times more jails.
Hey! Bubba, Watch This!!!
Warren
I remember a news story from about 15 years ago, when jet-skis were first becoming popular.
A guy had rented one in the Chicago area and taken it too far out from shore. He ran out of gas and the wind/current pushed him out even farther. He was rescued a day and a half later, suffering from sunburn and dehydration.
The sunburn was inevitable, but dehydration?
There is a law against stupid…see the note from above(mickmcco) …it was enforced.
You know what most of these stories are…
I.N.S. rescues…
Interfering with Natural Selection. Jack
A couple seasons back, fishing the AuSable, downstream from Rusty Gates’, there is a small island, and on the north side of theriver there is a very deep hole with very low cedar trees out over the water. I was sitting (literally) on the edge of the island, neatly dropping nymphs into that hole and pulling browns out one after the other. There was (as is the case) a good-sized aluminum hatch; three canoes with folks my age or older, each passenger (husband and wife) sitting high on their cushions, trying to sneak under all those cedar branches, and every single canoe tipping over, dumping each passenger and their collective gear into that hole. Not once. Not twice. Three times for one one particularly intrepid couple. Each time, as I helped them gather their gear and steadied their craft I said, “You seem to be sitting a little high which makes your boat way less stable-try kneeling”. No way. Three times. Took half an hour to find the guy’s glasses and wallet. Used my landing net to drag the bottom. What’s that saying about thos that don’t remember the past?
Jeremy, the fellow I share an office with has a side business with his brother of pulling vehicles out of the lake that have gone through the ice. They have been very busy this winter.
One person’s snowmobile went through the ice. He got out safely and called the local police, who in turn called my friend. When they got the snowmobile out, the person was suprised that there was a $500 invoice. “You mean the government doesn’t pay for this?” He got kind of snotty with my friend. The police officer said to him, “These guys will keep your snowmobile until you come up with the money.” He was back within the hour with the cash.