From left, Brett Koslow, Mary Ann Best and Lorie Rubino stand near a safety station at Wells Street Beach. Staff photo by John Luke
People will soon start flocking back to Lake Michigan beaches in Northwest Indiana.
The Miller Beach Water Safety group in Gary has been ramping up its efforts to save beachgoers from drowning.
The nonprofit has been hosting educational meetings, providing police with life rings, putting yard signs around town, hosting kayak safety classes in conjunction with the Northwest Indiana Paddling Association and teaching survival skills. It's increasing its efforts this year, installing a new lifejacket loaner station, sending out safety tips with every box of pizza Miller Pizza Co. delivers, putting out yard signs in Spanish as well and extending its billboard on U.S. 20 at the terminus of Interstate 65 for a three-month run.
The Miller Beach Water Safety group is hosting its annual fundraiser from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Marshall J. Gardner Center for the Arts at 540 S. Lake St. in Gary. Nashville Star contestant Nicole Jamrose will perform at the fundraiser.
"The money will go to help raise awareness of water safety this summer. We want to bring awareness about survival skills like don't panic, either swim or turn around and float," organizer Mary Ann Best said.
It's boosting its efforts as visitation to the beaches has increased as a result of Airbnbs and the Indiana Dunes National Park designation. The former Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore now draws more than 3 million visitors a year, many of whom are looking for an afternoon in the sun, surf and waves of a Lake Michigan beach.
Last year, the group put out a billboard encouraging water safety near the gateway to Gary's Miller neighborhood for a month. The billboard will return in June for a longer three-month run. It will feature the slogan "best day at that beach is a safe day at the beach" and the group's mascots, Sandy the Seagull and Corey the Cormorant.
"The cormorant is a duck-like bird in Lake Michigan that's often seen around Miller and is a strong swimmer," she said. "It dives underwater and pops up somewhere else far away."
For the last three years, the group has put out yard signs around the Miller section of Gary, warning about currents or encouraging people to "flip, float and follow" to survive if adrift at sea. This summer it's adding Spanish yard signs to reach out to more people.
The group also will continue to provide educational opportunities at social gatherings around the lakefront community. It teaches people how to spot threats like currents, rip currents and waves that can knock them down.
The Miller Beach Water Safety group provides advice like staying out of Lake Michigan during storms or high winds, locating the closest safety station and knowing how to use it and never swimming under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
It has a badge program in which people learn survival skills, such as the that the bottom of the lake is uneven and it's not safe to stand on sandbars as waves create holes in them.
"A boy drowned at Marquette Park a few years ago because the family stepped off a sandbar and not one of them could swim," Best said. "People think they're safe on a sandbar but the dropoff is a few feet."
To earn the badge, people have to demonstrate they can swim a whole block from one street sign to the next without touching the bottom.
"You can flip on your back or tread water if you need to build endurance," she said. "They go out further than they can walk back. What this really demonstrates is how different the depths are a distance offshore. People are used to being in thigh-deep water but when it's over their head they're surprised by how deep it is."
The group hands out water watcher cards at the beach that are printed on waterproof paper. They outline who is responsible for watching people in the water and what to do in the case of an emergency. Best urges beachgoers not to attempt rescues of struggling or stranded swimmers if they don't feel they're up to it.
"Many of the people who drown are trying to save someone," she said. "Call 911 and get help if there's trouble. If you can't do it, don't try."
The group is teaming up with Miller Pizza to deliver a tip card with every pizza, with tips such as to check the weather in advance of a beach visit and designate an adult water watcher.
"Miller Pizza has been an exceptional partner," she said. "They let us use part of their billboard last year. They've also been a great partner on programming and events, which we do there once or twice a summer."
Miller Pizza, for instance, sponsored the safety stations Miller Beach Water Safety put out at the beaches in Gary's lakefront Miller neighborhood.
"They've been credited with aid in rescuing seven individuals," Best said. "They've made a big difference."
The group also provided seven throw rings to the Gary Police Department and Lake County Sheriff's Office beach patrols.
"They've been used to bring three people out of the water," she said.
This summer, the group is installing a life jacket loaner station at Marquette Park. People can borrow life jackets for toddlers through adults for free. They're asked to put them back when they're done.
"It's operating on the honor system," she said. "It has information about how to size it properly and instruction on how to use it. These are popping up at small inland lakes and boat launches. South Haven, Michigan has one now."
It will be installed at Marquette Park in the next few weeks.
"Not everybody thinks about bringing a lifejacket to the beach," he said. "Hopefully, everybody thinks about it. Hopefully, it makes parents feel better with their kids out there. The saying is 'kids don't float.'"
People drown year-round in Lake Michigan but it's most dangerous in the summer because of the sheer volume of people out at the beach August tends to be the biggest drowning month as it's when the water is the warmest and more people are out, she said.
"Most drownings take place on yellow flag days," she said. "The waves look fun and safe and people don't understand how dangerous they can be."
The lake poses other hazards, such as hypothermia when it's still cold. People will start returning to the beach on Memorial Day weekend but the water in Lake Michigan will likely remain in the 50s.
Beachgoers also suffer from misconceptions that can put them at risk.
"There's not a single current in Lake Michigan that will pull out under," she said. "There are rip currents that will take you out and longshore currents that will pull you to the side. You might go to a deeper depth but if you float and calm down you'll be fine. People need to understand it's a big lake with surf. There are offshore winds. It's very different than practicing swimming in a pool."
Best grew up on the beach. She's served as a lifeguard and a water safety instructor who's pulled people out of the water who died.
She started the Miller Water Safety group with her husband and friends hoping small social gatherings passing out water safety tips would help save more lives. The neighborhood group has grown to offer bigger and bigger programming reaching more people who visit Lake Michigan beaches.
"This is really the time of year to bring awareness to people to be safe at the beach," she said. "Nobody likes the sound of a helicopter in the summer. People should enjoy the lakefront safely."
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