Mighty Mississippi can be dangerous

The Mighty Mississippi is a great advantage economically to St. Charles. But it can be a deadly danger to its citizens.

We experienced such an example of this last week when the body of Brian Reed, brother of NFL safety Ed Reed, was finally recovered off the St. Charles Parish shoreline near Jefferson Parish. And it took three weeks to recover it.

The river is not your ordinary stream. It has currents that drag a body down to the bottom. It also has debris floating down the water with the tide at rapid pace.

And icy floats up north can chill the water as it comes south to the point of making it difficult for a person to swim out of at will.

Hopefully, residents will read the article on page one of this issue that gives the details of  how difficult it was to find even the body of Reed in the rough waters. And this has happened before.

Above all, parents should train their children not to go near the river’s edge because that is where the danger begins. The tide from boats passing by could sweep them underwater. And river banks can cave in with occupants subject to sink or swim situations. And sometimes swim is not an option. Above all, we should enjoy the river for the benefits it brings to our economy and the views of this historic waterway - - from a distance.

Many people have drowned along the banks of the Mighty Mississippi in St. Charles Parish. Let’s try to not let this happen again.