West Side Beach swimming area to be better defined

The city of Oconto Falls will install buoys to define the swimming area at West Side Beach. The Oconto Falls City Council approved a Park and Recreation Committee recommendation to use boat launch fees to pay for the buoys after hearing concerns about swimmers who wander far from shore from the sandy beach along a stretch of the Oconto River. One boater told the committee it’s a fairly common occurrence to encounter swimmers in the middle of the river. “You will get people just about every time you’re out there who want to swim to the other side, and you’re going along and you see only that much of someone sticking out of the water,” the unidentified man said. The recommendation passed the council unanimously.