Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Site reveals lake access

By Morning Star StaffJul 19 2006 http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/
As summer temperatures bring beach cravings to life, residents and tourists tend to pack themselves on to Kal, Paddlewheel and Kin beaches. But one local resident is trying to spread the word that there are 20 other beaches in the area for everyone to enjoy. The only problem, said James Love, is that few people know about them. “I’ve lived in Vernon for over a year and have been visiting my parents here for 20 years, but I just found out about Kirkland Beach,” he said. “We’re a tourism town but so little of what we have to offer is known even to Vernonites.” So Love, a local Internet publisher, has created a Web site to highlight some potential hot spots. The Web site can be found at www.vernonbeaches.com. A prime reason Love took on the project was in response to complaints regarding the development of public lake access points along Okanagan Lake.‑ “While the wealthy should enjoy their property by the lake, English common law tradition holds that common people should also have easy access to lakes. These points of public access to the lake need to be known and easily accessible,” said Love. He said that there needs to be debate on how the public lake accesses should be developed, but he is adamant that the common person needs easy access to lakes. “The lakes exist for the enjoyment of everyone, not just the few.” The new Vernon beach web site provides maps, descriptions, driving times, video and pictures of each beach. Love welcomes anyone who wants to send any beach photos or information to contact him by e-mail at james2006@milebymile.com. “If you’ve got a good photo send it along. If anyone knows of any beaches that I’ve missed, I’d love to hear from you,” he said. “We live in the best city, in the best country in the world. We need to do a better job of letting fellow citizens and tourists know what Vernon has to offer.”

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