During the past few weeks the sun has been seen in the skies over Bothell and Kenmore. We don’t see it too often and it warms the air an makes many of us want to get outside and enjoy our beautiful surroundings. It even makes many of us want to jump into Lake Washington or paddle down the Sammamish River.

For us at the Reporter and those in emergency services we have a different take on the warmer weather. We know that certain calls or stories are headed our way.

But those stories are told far too often during the spring and early summer months.

The stories are normally somewhat the same from year to year. They are about people not realizing how cold the local waters are or people forgetting their life preserver on local rivers and being pulled under.

Stories about a drowning are some of the worst that we have to write. They are horrible stories because they are preventable. Don’t become a statistic; wear a life jacket on the Sammish River and stay safe on Lake Washington by swimming with friends and staying close to shore. That is not the type of story we want to write about people in our community. Have fun in the sun but stay safe this summer.