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Were river warning signs just too scary?

The Bakersfield Californian | Thursday, May 15 2008 5:39 PM

Last Updated: Thursday, May 15 2008 5:40 PM

Malcolm Dougherty is a man caught in the middle. The district director for the state Department of Transportation has his boss, California's governor, and a state senator on one side. Kern River Valley merchants, an assemblywoman and a Kern County supervisor are on the other.

You would think this argument was settled last summer, particularly after the numbers alone attest to the success of a stepped- up program to warn swimmers about the treacherous Kern River.

Last year, I wrote about the dispute, and you would have thought I had nuked the Kern River Valley or at least its tourism industry.

Granted, I may have gone a little over-the-top in comparing the merchants to those in the movie "Jaws" who fought against warning tourists that a vicious shark infested the waters.

But when the Kern River merchants enlisted Assemblywoman Jean Fuller, R-Bakersfield, and Supervisor Jon McQuiston to pressure the governor to remove warning signs, it seemed they were more interested in tourist dollars than life saving. Their effort failed and the signs remained along Highway 178 in the canyon until Labor Day.

Last year, the Kern County Coroner's Office reported only two people drowned in the Kern River. While that's two too many, it's a far cry better than the often double-digit annual death toll. At the mouth of the canyon, a sign reports 240 people have died in the river since the county started keeping records in the 1960s.

Tired of writing about these deaths, The Californian's editorial board embraced an idea reader Curt Dalton was pushing: Use Caltrans' electronic signs to warn unsuspecting visitors that the river's calm surface is deceiving. The current and unseen obstacles can suck swimmers to their deaths.

The idea caught the attention of Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, who sought the governor's help. To the dismay of merchants, Caltrans signs appeared in the canyon warning:

250 Died

Stay Out

Of River

The signs conveyed more urgency than the few permanent ones installed years earlier:

Kern River

Wear

Life Vests

Think Safety

Merchants argue that they don't want people to stay out of the river. They want them to enjoy the river safely.

In advance of the warning signs returning in time for the Memorial Day weekend, Caltrans' Dougherty met with Florez, McQuiston, Fuller and some of the merchants.

"I'm trying to build a consensus. What will the message be?" Dougherty said. "What will promote safety, but not deter tourists? I am open to any and all suggestions."

Maybe last year's wording was too harsh. But urgency must be conveyed. Help Dougherty find the right words.

E-mail Dianne Hardisty at dhardisty@bakersfield.com.