The Meeker County Sheriff’s Office hires water safety personnel each summer to help patrol the area lakes. They check registrations, assist boaters, remove debris from the water and look for boating violations.
Sheriff Brian Cruze says the patrols will call in a deputy if there is a violation. He says boating while intoxicated is illegal and it’s a little different than spotting someone who is driving intoxicated on a roadway, but there are indicators.
Sheriff Cruze says intoxication is the leading cause of accidents on waterways, and boaters are exempt from open container laws, but he still recommends that the person driving a boat refrain from alcohol consumption. He says boat passengers under age 10 are required to wear lifejackets and they are to be readily available for all passengers, but he advises all boat passengers to wear them.
Sheriff Cruze says even if you’re a good swimmer, you can be knocked unconscious in a boating accident or injure your limbs – making it impossible to swim, or you could get tangled in weeds. He says boaters should have a fire extinguisher on board, have a horn, lights – which are required to be on from sundown to sunup, and you should have a cell phone which you can use in case of an emergency or to alert you to severe weather.
Sheriff Cruze says his office usually receives numerous fireworks complaints this time of the year and they are still illegal, except for things like sparklers. He says things like firecrackers, Roman candles, and bottle rockets are illegal and when someone tries to fire a shell, it often doesn’t get far off of the ground and it can land on a building and start a fire.
The 3rd annual Cam Shaft Special will be held tomorrow from 10-to-1 in the Litchfield Civic Arena. It’s a free event for participants and spectators.
Mitch Simmons says it’s sponsored by Miller Automotive, Simms Napa Auto Parts of Litchfield and Cokato, along with Litchfield Auto Body, Ramsey Printing and Farm Bureau Insurance. He says it rained both of the first two years that they had the Cam Shaft Special so they’re hoping for better weather this year.
Simmons says motorcycles are also welcome to the Cam Shaft Special and if you’re working on a car and it’s not finished, bring it on a trailer so people can see your progress. He says awards will be handed out for best of show, driver’s choice and peoples’ choice.
Andy Miller says they cut back the hours a bit this year compared to the previous two years and the concession stand will be open at the Litchfield Civic Arena along with Herradura’s food truck. He says they had 60 cars the first year that they held the Cam Shaft Special, but the rain deterred participation. Anyone is welcome to just show up with their car, but if you want to preregister or get more information, go to camshaftspecial.com.
On this day in music, June 11, 1988, the star-studded Freedomfest concert took place at London’s Wembley Stadium. The event, which marked the 70th birthday of the then-imprisoned anti-apartheid revolutionary, Nelson Mandela, was organized to raise awareness of apartheid (institutionalized racial segregation) in South Africa and called for the country’s political prisoners, including Mandela, to be freed. Performances by the likes of Whitney Houston, George Michael, Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder, and the Bee Gees were broadcast live to an estimated global audience of one billion. Less than two years later, Mandela was freed from prison, while apartheid was repealed in 1991. Mandela, who died in 2013, went on to serve as South Africa’s first present.
In 1966, The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It, Black” became the first No.1 hit to feature a sitar. The song, which began a two-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 on this day, also reached the top spot in the UK, Canada, and the Netherlands.
In 1969, The Beatles topped the UK pop chart for the 17th time with “The Ballad of John and Yoko.” The recording only featured John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
In 1977, with their single “I’m Your Boogie Man,” KC and the Sunshine Band became the second group in Billboard chart history (following the Jackson Five) to score four US No.1 hits.
In 2005, Queen co-founder and guitarist Brian May was recognized for his charitable and musical contributions when he was awarded a CBE by Queen Elizabeth II. On that same day, Led Zeppelin founder and guitarist Jimmy Page was awarded an OBE.
BORN ON JUNE 11
1934: James “Pookie” Hudson (The Spaniels)
1946: John Lawton (Uriah Heep)
1947: Richard Palmer-Jones (Supertramp, King Crimson)
1949: Frank Beard (ZZ Top)
1951: Lynsey De Paul
1952: Donnie Van Zant (38 Special)
1961: Robert Birch (Stereo MCs)
1964: Penny Ford (Snap!)
1969: Steven Drozd (Flaming Lips)
1997: Kodak Black
The Litchfield Area Mentorship Program has lots of summer events coming up. Members of the organization will be involved in the Parade of Bands next Tuesday, Litchfield’s Watercade celebration, the Meeker County Fair, and they will have a pork chop supper on July 7th.
Judy Hulterstrum says LAMP will have a booth on 6th Street next Tuesday during the Parade of Bands – starting at 4 p.m. – where they will sell dirty sodas and popcorn, and then they will have a drive-through pork chop supper on July 7th from 4:30-to-6:30 p.m. near the Fieldgate pavilion. She says they will be handing out sunglasses during the Watercade Kiddie Parade on July 11th and they will have a booth at the Watercade Art-in-the-Park event on July 11th.
Hulterstrum says they will have kids decorate white ceramic mugs at their booth and they can also do a reverse tie-dye project in which they will spray a water and bleach solution on a stencil onto a dark-colored t-shirt. She says LAMP will also have the Great LAMP adventure again at the Meeker County Fair in which teams go on a scavenger hunt around the fairgrounds.
Hulterstrum says LAMP has 4 new mentors, but they also have 8 children on a waiting list waiting to be matched with an adult, so more mentors are needed. She says donations to LAMP may be sent to P.O. Box 82, Litchfield, MN 55355, and for more information, call 320-699-1616 or email info@lampkinship.org.