2003 started off a little differently than that for our area search and rescue workers.
An early morning radio call for help came from the waters of Kachemak Bay, and area emergency responders rose to answer the call. Seldovia police and fire department volunteers worked to find the family in peril. Alaska State Troopers headed across the bay to assist in the rescue.
On this side of the bay, Homer Volunteer Fire Department volunteers and staff prepared to receive the victims and aid in the search. Three Homer ambulances with crews were called into service to transport the victims and aid in the effort.
The Coast Guard answered the call with a giant C-130 search plane, two rescue helicopters and the USCG Cutter Roanoke. The Coast Guard Auxiliary activated its own rescue crews.
A valiant effort was made by all agencies involved. Rescue swimmers were dropped in baskets from helicopters, boats searched the waters, and volunteers stood by for hours waiting to receive patients. Spirits sagged as the hours wore on.
As more hours passed, it became evident that the radio caller was playing a game. The whole event was a hoax. Some guy sitting in his snug warm easy chair was playing a sick and costly game at the expense of our community. It was not cute. It was not funny. It was not the way to usher in a new year.
The Coast Guard alone spent nearly $250,000 worth of our federal tax dollars responding to this clown's party. Those costs don't even include the expense to the Alaska State Troopers and other agencies.
How many teachers' positions in our schools would that have funded? How many miles of road would that have repaired? How many other people in real need could have been helped?
Aside from the dollars spent, consider the countless number of volunteers that gave up their New Year's holiday to answer the call for help. No football or casual family time for them.
This joker lives in our community among us. If you know him, please help him find a better way to spend his spare time. We don't need this nonsense.
-- Gary Thomas, publisher
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