skeeter

Sadly, the Federal Gov't. is actually doing next to nothing to oversee and regulate Monopolies and enforce Anti-trust law and I suggest you look no further than what happened in the U.S. and foreign Beer industry and right up in St. Louis at the "Megabrew" Corporation now called Anheuser-Busch/InBev for a classic example. Not only were they allowed to gobble-up American-owned Anheuser-Busch in late 2008, resulting in employment falling from over 42,000 pre-buy-out to 17,000 post-buy-out, but they recently bought South African Breweries (SAB/Miller) and got away with that one, despite two strongly-worded letters to the DOJ from a Senate Business Competition sub-committee stating "no-go" on allowing the buy, only because they sold-off the Miller/Coors portion to Canadian-owned Molson/Coors. Warnings were issued to A-B/InBev stating at the time of the SAB purchase that there would be no further acquisitions allowed.......since then they have openly acquired numerous ( I lost track of how many ) U.S. "Craft Brewers" without even a slap on the wrist. In other words, the Feds appear not to give a rat's-arse about Antitrust.

From what I'm getting out of this article: (thanks for posting ) 1.) The Authors state there is some "law" about liability arising from damages from huge wakes carelessly created by the negligence of the boat operator but they only quote "Maritime Rule XX" and don't indicate if that arcane law gives Law Enforcement the power to arrest and charge those in violation. MO WP tells the OA member and the dock owner at LOZ there is no such thing. So if there actually is such a law in Missouri then the MO WP is guilty of dereliction of duty ?? 2.) Authors also state there is some basis for a Civil (?) Law Suit for injuries and possibly property damages from large wakes....then is it up to the injured party to have proof of the cause of the injuries ( a video like the property owner at LOZ has ? ) and then retain an Attorney and file Suit ? I would think good luck with finding a Court in Missouri able to apply Maritime Law XX....we need a strong State Law that empowers the MO Water Patrol.

I apologize for contradicting you but one of the OA members who posts on the Lake of the Ozarks Forum has posted about a large, Commercial Dock owner on LOZ who knows that one particular boat that comes by his dock will create expensive structural damages from to the dock from its wake every time the boat passes by. The dock owner went to the extent of making a HD video of the passing vessel clearly showing the State registration numbers on the vessel's bow and following the wake that was created hitting his dock and doing a claimed $1500 in damages to the poles. The owner took the video to the Water Patrol where they viewed it and said they were sorry but there was nothing they could do due to a lack of enforceable State Law about wake damage. That is why I have posted that it's important to also communicate with your State Legislators about this issue. Our local State Senator and State Representative in the TR area both sit on committees concerned with Tourism and should be addressing this.

Then he'd better get on board with influencing the State Legislators to finally do something about limiting these incredible wakes that are filling-up fishing boats with water coming in over all four sides....or his market for fishing boats is going to dry up as more people get fed up with conditions on area lakes. Wasn't "Legend" yet another brand name that John Story made boats under ?

From what I've seen on the Lake of the Ozarks OA Forum where our "growing-problem" is even worse, the posts have said the Water Patrol claims there are no State laws in existence limiting boat speeds in combination with length. There is not even a law making the boat owner responsible for damages that their Vessel's boat wake causes ! The link to the KY3 article says dock owners are concerned with boat wakes from boats that are "speeding-by" which is NOT what produces these ginormous wakes from ballast-adding Wake Boats....it's their deliberate, slow-speed "plowing" meant specifically to produce a huge wake so one inconsiderate individual can pretend they are in the Ocean and "surf" the wake or jump their wakeboard over the wake while everyone else trying to share the Lake is forced to endure the effects of their play-toy's huge wake. Kudos to those writing their Congressmen but I think we need to start writing our State Legislators too and get them to pass laws limiting large boat speeds and making boat owners responsible for the damages their ridiculous-sized wakes do. Until those laws are on the books, the Water Patrol claims they are powerless as proven by the one LOZ poster who said the dock owner had video proof of the passing boat and the $1500 in damages it caused.

There's a scene showing Bateman crossing the main channel of the Lake in a 16', open, aluminum V-bottom with a tiller-steered outboard powering it. Not another boat nor a boat-wake in sight during daylight hours on a nice, warm, Sunny day. Now imagine the shock when viewers decide to go to LOZO based on scenes from "Ozark" and the surprise they're going to get

The second episode shows the money-launderer crossing the main channel of the Lake in a 16' open aluminum v-bottom with a tiller-steered outboard. Can you imagine doing that without bad results on LOZ ? LMAO ! There are several scenes filmed in the LOZ area but as soon as they show the Lake you know you're not at LOZ because you don't see the usual wall-to-wall docks lining the shore. So far, the series has not been kind in showing interactions with Locals. Also showed the guy buying a stringer of catfish for $100 from an angler tied up to a dock...

Regarding your oh-so correct comment about total lack of action and expressed concern about ridiculous boat size and their huge wakes they are generating makes any person very aware of just how freaking hypocritical the Bureaucrats and Army lifers in the Corps of Engineers truly are. Stating their supposed concern about environmental characteristics of the shoreline without addressing this huge wake issue is just further proof that the worst thing you can hear is: "I'm from the Government and I'm here to help" !

no! per the thread author.

What happens to those expensive, glass Solar panels after one of our frequent hailstorms ? Wait till your Insurance Companies figure that one out and adjust Premiums accordingly... ! At least they'll hold down the tin dock roofs better in windstorms.... How heavy are those multiple panels + necessary batteries and how much lower will that added weight make the docks sit in the water ? Will the dock owner(s) then run afoul of the ACOE minimum distance required between water level and the metal on the underlying dock structure ? Maintenance on these Solar systems ain't cheap...now you'll replace solar batteries as often as you replace trolling motor batteries.....might be time to invest some $$ in the Doe Run Company (formerly St. Joe Lead).

So, has anyone taken the few minutes necessary to send an email on the subject to your State Legislators ? If you aren't sure who they are there's an easy way to find out and they all have email addresses. Try....http://www.senate.mo.gov/LegisLookup/default.aspx/leg_lookup.aspx for your State Senator http://www.senate.mo.gov/LegisLookup/default.aspx/leg_lookup.aspx for your State Representative. Get your family and fishing buddies to do the same an let's get this "growing" problem stopped...now !

The location in question in the article is LOZ...but don't ever think this isn't headed right here. The time for action is now to contact State Legislators about a needed law concerning boat wakes. http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/bigger-boats-bigger-wakes-breed-conflict-on-lake-of-the/article_1cecbedd-e647-5302-93ae-7a78974dc6c8.html?mode=comments#_=_

A great three-day Summer holiday entertainment was always a shady spot for lawn chairs accompanied by some cold refreshments down by the launch ramp. Several times though, you get to feeling so bad and so sorry for the folks trying to launch or recover that the Christian thing to do is go and offer to help them....if they'll accept it ! Usually the poor woman driving the tow-rig will but the male in the boat won't.

We have somewhat of a view of the rock Bluff where both Indian Creeks empty into the White (Baxter) and where the kids have a good time jumping off that Bluff while the spectators' boats mill around in front of the Bluff. So we're sitting out enjoying the lakeview and watching the "festivities" and "recreation" on the water over last weekend when we hear these BIG engines approaching from the North.....here comes an offshore-racer "Cigarette" Boat of at least 40 feet in length and the "dude" running it pulls in close to the Bluff and SLOWS DOWN to "plowing speed" so he and the others with him can take a gander at the Bluff-jumping. The Battleship immediately starts throwing at least a four foot wake and causes the spectator boats to bob-around like corks in a hurricane and people in them were clearly observed getting tossed around and grabbing for whatever they could hold onto. It's pretty deep there and hardly anyone has anchor lines that long so most boaters maintain their positions by idling. The "dude" running the Battleship decides to resume his 80 mph "run" and takes off after "plowing" for the entire length of the Bluff face and the "fleet" is seen hastily backing away from the jump-off area and the face of the rock Bluff and each other where several boats have been washed into each other.

If you recall, our taxes and license fees just recently got put towards awarding this Marina owner with a nifty $100,000.00 "award" for something like providing "service facilities" for larger boats (over 26 feet in length). https://mdc.mo.gov/newsroom/mdc-recognizes-campbell-point-marina-enhancements

Lifting the moratorium on new docks....dumb as they come until the unsold (by dock speculators) numbers of unused, vacant slips, is greatly reduced....some have sat there empty for over six years. For just one example, I have a direct view of a 20 slip monstrosity (placed for once on an unproductive bank...surprise,surprise) across the main channel from me that has sat there for four years now with ONLY one boat on it. Lifting the moratorium on the ability to make repairs to existing docks....good idea and that particular "moratorium" should have never happened which shows a person just how poorly managed the Little Rock ACOE District is. Leave the darn shoreline alone...people have based their property and plans on the existing restrictions and rules. They might stop giving out exceptions and deferments based, very obviously, on someone getting their palms "grea$ed".

Not on the usual ACOE ramp, it's still several feet underwater. Some are managing to wade their rigs thru the water at the upper level of the lower parking lot, pull around onto the upper lot and launch at that one narrow spot between the tree-line that separates the upper from the lower parking lot but it's really tight. Forget about using the courtesy dock, it's still floating about 50' out in the lake.

There must be different conditions for mooring it or different caretakers of the Courtesy Dock at Shell Knob than at Baxter. Baxter's courtesy dock is still floating about 50' from shore and the way the small dry portion of the lower parking lot is sloped it makes it tough to launch there but some guys are finding a way. The upper half of the parking lot is dry at least and I think if you stick real close to the tree line separating the two lots you can get parked on that upper lot and carefully, very carefully, back down thru that narrow, boulder-lined "slot" in the trees that is just above the submerged ramp and launch. It looks like the Lake has crested, barring any more heavy rain. Thanks for the report and you don't need alcohol to enjoy "the hoot" at the Memorial Day launch ramps, just a comfortable lawn chair and the ability to keep from falling out of same. I've helped out a few over the years but hesitate when the language and tempers flare up. Kind of unfortunately we have a "crew" of visitors coming down and they will expect to be taken out on the ocean swells the wake boats produce.

Found a dead Rainbow several years ago before the Dogwood Canyon thing began. We guessed it had been chasing something and went airborne and landed in the bottom of a tin boat tied-up in a slip at Baxter Marina of all the darn places. Thinking about how the Taney trout grow fat on the shad that get sucked thru the turbines and over the spillway at the dam they ought to do well in Table Rock but I've never heard of anyone catching a Brown which can tolerate slightly warmer water and can grow larger than Bows.

The concerns of Chappelle-Nadal are well founded on this issue but she and the others in the otherwise wholly-owned MO Legislature and Governor's Office are going about this mess entirely the wrong way. This is totally and completely a Federal Problem which is caused by the WWII era Manhattan-project Radioactive waste mess and the problem is far too large for just the State of Missouri to clean up and rectify. Instead of "grandstanding" with little and no results at the State level, they should be bringing all the pressure they can muster on the entire cadre of Federal Missouri Politicians to get the Feds, especially the lying EPA bureaucrats, to get off their dead asses and clean this mess up once and for all. Our "pals" at the ACOE are actually far better, more efficient and thorough at cleaning up these "sites" and are well-recognized for it, yet, the EPA is still involved and has been caught in several lies about how dangerous to large numbers of Citizens the continued presence of this burning waste-dump is. Lately, the EPA even published test results contradicting the findings of low-level radiation contamination of nearby homes by an independent testing lab and were caught lying by their own, Kansas City based review Board. If you think this situation in East Central Missouri doesn't affect you then you are unaware of ground-water tests that show low-level Radioactive contamination of ground water very near the Missouri River just upstream a few miles from its confluence with the Mississippi and the potential results of wind-borne radioactivity should the underground fire break thru their claimed underground barrier and the resulting Radioactive combustion products reach the atmosphere. Even the surrounding Major School districts have prepared emergency procedures should that calamity occur.

Heartily agree on the Term Limits. We have those in Missouri but we learned, the hard way, that unless those Term Limits are accompanied by strict limits on amounts of Political Donations, the big money special interests wind up "owning" most of the Politicians. Another post mentioned McCaskill...I'm wondering if she is unopposed in her Party's race again how she will directly interfere this time, like she did in 2011, in the other Party's Primary election ?

Baxter down at the end of Highway "H" from Lampe is unusable and deep under water as is the access road, except for the first 40 feet or so, and the entire parking lot. The "other" side of "H" launching area reached from Highway 39 South of Shell Knob may be usable but launching would be from the parking lot.

Severe flooding at record levels coming from the Black River affecting NE and E Arkansas reportedly limits what BS can discharge until the Black recedes. http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/breaking-levee-breaches-along-swollen-black-river-near-pocahontas-arkansas/70001570 The Black is a tributary of the White entering at Jacksonport AR.

No Drought around here in previous years ? Respectfully, you should look back at historic NWS National/Regional drought maps first. Dry to abnormally dry to full drought on several year's maps. Includes NW AR, NE OK, SW MO.