Grand Forks mayor raises fine for walking on dikes
April 12, 2011 at 8:39 am in Grand Forks Herald
$1,000 fine, 30 days in jail possible for disturbing, tampering with GF permanent, emergency flood protectionGrand Forks city officials really want you to stay off the dikes and have raised fines to $1,000 and/or 30 days in jail for offenders. And mayors from both Grand Forks and East Grand Forks issued a joint statement urging people to stay off the dikes. Continue Reading
About time…. way to many morons that don’t understand how powerful the river is. Nature is not something to take lightly.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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$1,000 fine and 30 days in jail is a bit steep for walking on a mound of dirt. That’s similiar to life in prison for jaywalking. If anyone is dumb enough to get that close to the water, let nature take its course in a Darwin sort of way.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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But if they mess up the dike and it leaks or breaks that can hurt everyone else. Hence the fine?
Hot debate. What do you think?
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The mayor is over reacting to something that has never been, during my 15 years in town, a serious problem. In some areas, for crying out loud, the river is hundreds of feet away from the top of the dike. Can that really be considered unsafe?
As for foot traffic damaging the dike, that’s ridiculous. Bulldozers made the dike system, which means they were dozing on top. A few shoe prints aren’t going to cause a breach.
To be honest, I don’t understand how the mayor can raise the fine (or even assess one) when on a regular basis volunteers are called on to help sandbag areas north and south of town, which put people closer to the river than simply standing on the dike. Is the mayor insinuating that we shouldn’t volunteer as it’s too dangerous? If so, he needs to stop calling for us to help.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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I grew up with the dike in my back yard. If there was damage from people in general it happened during the times when there wasn’t a flood and people running off road vehicles up and down it. On the other hand the soil is slicker this time of year and that’s the real problem when it comes to people getting too close to the water’s edge. Non the less I too think that the same results cold have been achieved with a $100 fine instead of a $1000 fine. Not everyone keeps up with the news. Is there signs close enough to each other to assure that people know they will be fined? I heard they had that problem in Fargo with people getting fines when they didn’t even know they could be fined. With fines that high they really should have the areas well marked saying so…
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This policy is going unenforced. Today I witnessed the GF Community Service Police truck spot two kids standing on top of the dike. And were any tickets issued? Of course not. He honked at them!
However, I think this fine/jail policy is stupid. So it didn’t bother me. I think the cop did the right thing. How about setting up a designated viewing area so citizens can witness their tax dollars at work?
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There is a viewing area.
Go stand on top of the County building parking ramp.
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The RIver is very dangerous this time of year. The dikes are made of clay and are very slippery when wet. If you fall in you might not get out before hypothermia takes over.
I remember when I lived donwtown and the little neighborhood girl said ” My brother rode his bike into the river and drowned”. He was a energetic young fellow who was a fixture in the neighborhood. It was a sad day. Hopefully it will never happen again. Be safe!
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