Name:   Lake Magazine - Subject:   This article ticks me off! Date:   9/10/2010 4:24:29 PM

I’m acting as the newspaper’s unofficial ombudsman here because I’m afraid this article was misunderstood.

I heard rumors earlier this week that people were concerned about the emergency response time to Sunday’s accident. I called around, but I didn’t find any concrete complaints. However, I did find that two Montgomery media outlets reported – key word here, they didn’t accuse – that strained resources could have affected the response.

Anyway, I thought that gave me an interesting opportunity to look into the marine police. What I found was, like many businesses and families in Alabama, the agency is struggling because of the economy. I spoke to several helpful marine police officers and learned a lot, such as the fact that they also perform homeland security duties and that they don’t expect to make new hires until 2014.

It’s been an interesting and sad story and we’ll continue to follow new developments, if there are any.

I write for The Record, The Outlook and Lake Magazine and I usually enjoy feedback from readers. If you ever have questions or comments, feel free to email me directly at katie.cole@alexcityoutlook.com.

Thanks for reading. 

Katie Cole