Safety enhancements to Racine's North Beach after drowning

RACINE -- Summer is here, and that means sunny skies, warm temperatures and people seeking fun in the sun at area beaches. After a drowning in Lake Michigan last year at Racine's North Beach, this year means new safety enhancements, aimed at preventing future drownings and keep beach-goers safe.

Mike Erb brought his children to North Beach on Sunday, June 10th -- a mostly sunny day with temperatures ranging between 70s and 90, depending upon the distance from Lake Michigan.

"They are liking it a lot. The little guy doesn't even think the water is 65 degrees," Erb said.

Racine Mayor John Dickert says the city has implemented new safety measures for this year's beach season, after 10-year-old Willie Bogan drowned last year.

"What we decided was we were going to get our team together and try to determine how we can prevent it from happening again in the future.  One of the first things that we did was at the end of the protected area, we put a buoy line.  It's called a grab line, so that it demonstrates where people and where the lifeguards end, but also where the unprotected area is," Dickert said. 

Officials bought a jet ski for lifeguards to use, hoping that will give them a quicker response time. Officials say they're also creating a course to explain beach rules to the public, and discuss hidden dangers of open water.

Additional safety implementations for the 2012 beach season include:

Officials say these measures are meant to help keep people safe on the beach, but parents must still do their part, and keep an eye on their children.

"Everybody just needs to make sure they watch their kids too, that's the thing," Erb said.

Racine officials estimate nearly 200,000 people will visit North Beach this summer.

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