12-26-2009, 07:45 AM
I'll agree that my original post was a bit sarcastic and over the top. However, I think y'all are over-reacting just a bit too. All of a sudden it looks like I'm being labeled a cop-hater. I've now been to PV twice since the bouys were moved further out and still haven't seen a sign (unless you're talking about the yellow no trespassing sign near the gate which I believe has always been there). I wasn't exactly looking for a sign either.
My sarcastic comment (i.e. "Barney Fife") was merely pointing out that it would be very unwarranted for a cop to shoot an ice-fishermen SIMPLY for being too close to the dam. It would take someone the likes of Barney Fife to do such a thing! Sure they could legally do it were it JUSTIFIED (but simply being there wouldn't justify it!). Anybody posing an OBVIOUS threat to a major piece of engineering such as a dam can and should be eliminated. Neither the development of the Dept. of Homeland Security nor the Patriot Act has changed that fact...
I am sure that eventually somebody from one of the LE agencies (local, state, or federal) will get down there and start writing tickets to harmless fishermen. I do appreciate the head's-up! But nobody is gonna get shot unless they look like they are trying to breach the dam! No, I don't like the new rules, but I guess it's the law at this time.
It doesn't surprise me that this is happening here in UT now. What surprises me is how long it has taken them to do it. When I lived in CA, the feds shut down many great fishing areas that were popular for generations (South Tower of the Golden Gate, areas near SFO and OAK airports, etc.) in San Francisco Bay and the delta.
I harbor no disrespect for law enforcement in general. Heck, since 9/11, my own brother and others I know have had to pull that damned dam security duty at several major western reservoirs...
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My sarcastic comment (i.e. "Barney Fife") was merely pointing out that it would be very unwarranted for a cop to shoot an ice-fishermen SIMPLY for being too close to the dam. It would take someone the likes of Barney Fife to do such a thing! Sure they could legally do it were it JUSTIFIED (but simply being there wouldn't justify it!). Anybody posing an OBVIOUS threat to a major piece of engineering such as a dam can and should be eliminated. Neither the development of the Dept. of Homeland Security nor the Patriot Act has changed that fact...
I am sure that eventually somebody from one of the LE agencies (local, state, or federal) will get down there and start writing tickets to harmless fishermen. I do appreciate the head's-up! But nobody is gonna get shot unless they look like they are trying to breach the dam! No, I don't like the new rules, but I guess it's the law at this time.
It doesn't surprise me that this is happening here in UT now. What surprises me is how long it has taken them to do it. When I lived in CA, the feds shut down many great fishing areas that were popular for generations (South Tower of the Golden Gate, areas near SFO and OAK airports, etc.) in San Francisco Bay and the delta.
I harbor no disrespect for law enforcement in general. Heck, since 9/11, my own brother and others I know have had to pull that damned dam security duty at several major western reservoirs...
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