Boaters on Lake Denton recently won a small victory for mankind, after local county commissioners reversed themselves on closing the public boat ramp to all boaters, regardless of their intent. Unwavering support for all user groups, and many letters from the public, went a long way in turning the decision around.

In a nutshell, commissioners voted to keep a boat ramp an actual boat ramp, cordon off a 100-foot area either side of the boat channel as a no-swimming zone, and issue a request for divers (mostly from out of the county) to find other areas nearby to train and still enjoy clear visibility underwater.

A move had been afoot to close the (evidently popular) lake to the public,

but it never got off the ground, so to speak.

As county administrator Carl Cool said, "It doesn't make sense to single out and exclude boaters from lake use, when the boaters have never been the problem."

FS