As communities across Ohio experience high water and local flooding this summer, one tourist center is working on a project to enhance river safety.
Nicknamed the camp and canoe capital of Ohio, the small town of Loudonville in north central Ohio is home to just around 3,000 people. But it brings in about a million visitors a year, lured by scenic campgrounds, hiking trails and floats down the Mohican River.
Miranda Burrell is the executive director of Discover Mohican, the local visitors bureau.
She says sometimes those river adventures turn into emergencies, and she’s working on a solution to keep people safer: By installing location markers along the river’s banks, she’s hoping first responders will be able to more quickly reach visitors in distress.
Almost weekly emergencies
Burrell says incidents along the Mohican River have increased in recent years.
“There [is] almost weekly — if not every week — some sort of emergency on the river,” she said. “Within the last couple of years, we've noticed a lot more people fighting. There's been people kicked off some buses. And then a couple years ago, we had a family go on the river when it was a little bit too high and they actually had to be rescued by the local fire department.”
But when people call in for help, it’s not always easy for first responders to find them. Cell service in the area is poor.
“Not only is it hard for dispatch to accurately locate them via GPS, but if they ask them, ‘Where are you?’ People don't always have a great way to identify where they're at,” Burrell said.
A solution through signs
Last year, the community assembled a safety committee, made up of the visitors bureau, local law enforcement and a couple state agencies.
They decided to put up location markers approximately every half mile along the river’s banks. That way, people in distress can quickly inform emergency services where they are.
Burrell says it’s a relatively simple solution, but not a common one along Ohio’s smaller waterways.
And while she hopes the new signs help people in need, it’s not the only thing visitors can use to stay safe on the water. She also recommends people use a personal flotation device and be mindful about drug and alcohol use.
