Sept. 12, 2008 | The Clarion
— Opinion —
Waterfall safety for the masses
Page 5
by John Moore
Staff Writer
As a founding member of
S.A.D.D. (Students Against
Drank Diving), I feel it is my
calling to bring an important
safety message to Brevard
College students this week:
Waterfalls can be dangerous.
Two weeks ago Robert Brown,
a native of Navarre Fla., jumped
to his death from the top of
Looking Glass Falls right here
in Transylvania County.
From my research Brown is
the third individual to die this
year in a waterfall related
accident. Of the three deaths.
Brown’s accident was the only
one to involve alcohol. In fact,
Transylvania county rescue
services reports that on
average they respond to five
waterfall accidents a year
This surprised me. How
could something so beautiful
be so deadly? The reality is
that waterfalls are not
dangerous at all if one takes
the proper safety steps when
visiting.
The first tip is a fairly
obvious: never jump off the top
of a waterfall. The pool beneath
is shallow with lots of jagged
rocks, and if you jump bad
things could happen. Yes, it
looks fun; but a waterfall is not
a diving board. In fact, tip two
is to stay away from the top of
waterfalls all together So logic
holds by following step two,
step one should be a breeze.
Tip three(my personal
favorite) is that you should
never try to climb a water fall.
No matter how dry the rocks
look, looks can be deceiving
and the rocks are extremely
slippery. Tip four is to never
cross over steams above
waterfalls. The current of the
stream can be stronger than
expected, and all it takes is a
slip to carry you right over the
falls.
Tip five is never to swim
directly under a waterfall
because often times there are
very strong currents that act
very much like eddies on a river
If you get caught in a powerful
undercurrent, chances are you
might not come back to the
surface.
If all of these tips are too
complicated to remember, just
stay on the trail. Odds are there
are no trails in Transylvania
County that will take you over
the top of a waterfall, and most
often there will be warning
signs notifying you of danger
For example there is one such
sign posted at Looking Glass
falls. The simple key to the
signs is not to ignore them.
We are blessed to live in an
area of such beauty and
wonder. In Transylvania
County alone there are over
two hundred and fifty
waterfalls, that is why the
counties slogan is “The Land
of Waterfalls”. The fact of the
matter is that no one should
ever needlessly be killed or
injured due to a waterfall
accident. In every thing that
you attempt dear reader please
remember Safety First, the life
you save may be your own.
7th anniversary of 9/11 passes with
little fanfare. Have we forgotten?
by Chris Dixon
Contributor
As we all know Thursday
was September 11*. The events
of that tragic day not only
affected the world, but ripped
the nation. The tragedy was
fresh on all our minds but in
recent years to me it has
seemed that people have
somewhat “forgotten” about
the ones we lost on that terrible
day. The war we are in today is
partially caused by 9/11 and yet
we are in the streets chanting
“We Hate WAR!” Of course
everybody hates war and
ultimately wants peace, but I
firmly believe that you caimot
get peace without some type
of war I ask you to read the
following poem that I wrote for
my BCE Peace and War class
with Dr Steve Martin. Whether
your are voting for Obama or if
you’re voting for McCain,
either candidate not matter
their stance on the war,
abortion, economy or any issue
you want to bring up would
agree on one thing about the
September 11* tragedy
“NEVERFORGET!”
Peace or War
When I think of America, I
think of Peace and War.
I think of the time George
Washington was building this
great Peaceful nation, but had
to fight a War to get its
freedom.
I think about the time when
America thought we were the
most Peaceful nation, but it
took a civil War to prove that
was not the case.
I think about the times of
World War I when our
nation’s Peace was threat
ened, and we fought in a
World War to keep it.
I think about the times of The
Great Depression when
America looked like
a War tom country, but every
American still held on to a
little bit of Peace.
I think of December 7, 1941, a
day when our Peace was
attacked and we had to fight
in a Second World War to get
it back.
I think of the forgotten
Korean War, when America
thought the nation was at
Peace.
I think of November 22, 1963 a
day in which our own
president was killed by our
own people who wanted
anything but Peace, but to
start a domestic war that
ripped our nation in the
sixties.
I think about April 4, 1968
when a black man only
wanting Peace was killed,
fueling a race War that is still
here today
I think of the time of the
horrible Vietnam War when all
America wanted was Peace
but did not appreciate the
ones that gave it to them.
I think about the Gulf War,
which did nothing for Peace,
but only escalated a later War
I think of 9/11/01 a date that
Peace seemed extinct and War
was what we wanted.
I think about now, when all
Americans want is Peace but,
are not willing to fight a War
to get it.
Tell me where in America’s
storied history we have not
had to fight some type of War
to get Peace.
So what do you think about
when you think about
America.... Peace or War?