Reporter: Joseph F. William Park in the town of Cicero sits directly on the shores of Oneida Lake. It offers quite a bit to the townsfolk playgrounds and a dock just to name two. But this year it will be missing something.
Reporter Stand up: I’m here on the shores of Oneida Lake now it’s about ten am and normally what you would be seeing behind me in the water are people splashing and playing but this year the town of Cicero to close all it’s beaches around Oneida.
Reporter: The closures are being blamed on a lack of qualified lifeguards. The town of Cicero wants people to know they did their best to find people.
Linda Adams: We advertised on Social Media, Indeed, Craigslist. We have numerous community contacts athletic directors, swim coaches and we reached out to all of those people.
Reporter: The Parks Deportment says that while they have enough guards to keep their public pools open they lack people qualified for open water safety and at this point in the season it may be to late to open the beaches.
Linda Adams: We are far enough along in the game where we are not going to open this season I really don’t think that’s going to happen.
Reporter: SO, unless you’re a goose or maybe a seagull, swimming in Oneida Lake in the town of Cicero is unfortunately off limits.
CICERO, N.Y.–The Parks and Recreation Department of Cicero, New York has decided to close its beaches that border Oneida Lake. The closures are due to a lack of qualified open water lifeguards.
Parks and Recreation Program Director Linda Adams says the choice to keep the beaches closed came after an exhaustive search for qualified candidates.
“We advertised on social media, Indeed, Craigslist,” Adams said. “We have numerous community contacts athletic directors, swim coaches, and we reached out to all of those people.”
It is important to note that Adams did point out that the Parks Department does have enough lifeguards to keep its public pools open this summer.
Plans are being worked out now for next year to try and attract qualified candidates, but with the ongoing lifeguard shortage, Adams does not think the public beaches will be open for swimming this year.
“We are far enough along in the game where we are not going to open this season I really don’t think that’s going to happen.”
So, unless you are a fish or some breed of waterfowl, swimming at public beaches in the town of Cicero probably will not be a part of your summer.
