OSAGE BEACH, Mo. — The Osage Beach Board of Aldermen on Thursday endorsed a push by Lake of the Ozarks-area lawmakers to reverse the 2011 merger of the state’s Water Patrol and Highway Patrol.
State Rep. Diane Franklin of Camdenton is the primary sponsor of a bill introduced this week in the Missouri General Assembly to sever ties between the Water Patrol and the Highway Patrol. Lake-area Reps. Rocky Miller and David Wood also support the measure.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A state legislator with a lifetime of experience at Lake of the Ozarks…
On Thursday, the Osage Beach Board of Aldermen approved Mayor Penny Lyons’ request to send a letter to Rep. Franklin expressing support for the bill.
In the letter, Lyons said the merger of the Water Patrol with the Highway Patrol by Gov. Jay Nixon in 2011 has “impaired the safety of residents and visitors to the area who love and use the Lake of the Ozarks”
She said only an independent Water Patrol can focus on “the unique challenges of boating safety and law enforcement on the water.”
“Missouri must return to the days of an autonomous, professionally managed and nationally recognized State Water Patrol,” she wrote.
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Alderman Kevin Rucker agreed. He said when he moved to Lake of the Ozarks in 1996 to become Osage Beach’s fire chief he learned firsthand the value of the Water Patrol.
“I had the opportunity to visit with some international people for purposes of the fire codes and the opportunity to visit with a lot of race drivers, because I was chairman of the Shootout for six years,” he said. “All of them had high regard for the Water Patrol. That was because it was an excellent division, providing great, great service.”
Rucker said safety on the Lake of the Ozarks has regressed since the merger.
“I think whatever we can do to stand behind (Rep. Franklin’s bill), we should do that,” he added.
In her letter, Mayor Lyons called Lake of the Ozarks one of Missouri’s “crown jewels” for recreation and second homes, and the “safety and security of our residents and visitors is an issue of primary importance for all levels of government.”
