CORBIN: Deadly, disturbing trend

A month ago, after a long day working at the Columbia Generating Station, I walked into my RV and turned on the Tri-Cities local news. “There have been 19 deaths here in the last 19 years,” the reporter said. The camera was panning the beach at Corbin Park. My heart was in my throat. I never wanted to see that place again. This beautiful park has a deadly secret.

Across the Spokane River, a sheer rock cliff plunges into the water, making up perhaps 300 feet of shoreline. The cliff forms a slight arc, punctuated downstream by a large, flat mass of rock which juts out into the water. The rock structure forms a horseshoe bend where the river turns back on itself, pools and churns. Thirty feet offshore, the water is a spinning vortex. That’s where the scuba diver found the body of my wife’s little brother on July 2, 2000. Rick Parker, young father, marvelous guy, was one of those 19.

Seasonal releases over the Post Falls Dam increase water turbulence and turbidity. There are no rescue boats downstream of the dam. In emergencies, by the time marine deputies trailer their boat around from the lake, all hope of rescue is lost, and their mission shifts to one of recovery. Once the boat got there that day, they knew just where to go. The scuba diver later described the whirlpool in the river as, “52 feet of spinning water.” He said he had trouble catching Rick’s body because centrifugal force held them apart as they spun around and around, a gruesome watery dance 30 feet below the surface. I’d swum across the river to the point of rock downstream and thrashed about in the water, praying he would come floating to me. The slate gray water would not let him go. It was a full 45 minutes from the time Rick went under until the deputies pulled his body into the boat.

It seems they know where to find the bodies, but no one knows how to stop the deaths. If a stretch of highway killed this many people, changes would be made. The bland [Swim at your own risk] sign posted by the boat launch does nothing to inform the public the danger is extreme. A TV station 200 miles away puts together a story detailing the alarming number of drownings occurring at Corbin Park, but here at home, we hear almost nothing. Do these lives mean nothing? In the desire to preserve our region’s image as a tourist mecca, is the local media so callous they will continue to gloss over this glaring threat to public safety? Rick died because we didn’t know. The marine deputies know. Post Falls Parks and Rec must know. State officials must know. Surely something can be done to prevent further loss of life.

RUSS FAHLGREN

Worley