New safety features being installed along Sheboygan pier

NOW: New safety features being installed along Sheboygan pier
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Last summer at Sheboygan's south pier, two fishermen were swept out into Lake Michigan by high waves and were never found.

New safety features are now being installed to prevent that from happening again.

"It's a very popular place for fishing. It's probably one of the most fished pier," Bob Palm, a local fisherman said.

Palm fishes the South Shore Pier but he also respects that it can become dangerous in a matter of minutes.

"Very quickly. I mean, storms can come up in a hurry so you want to pay attention to the weather and know what's coming, know what it's supposed to do."

That danger became all too real last summer when three men were fishing on the pier and high winds and waves knocked them into the water. One man was rescued but the other two were never found. Since then, signs have been installed along the pier.

"The best thing we can do is just warn and make people aware. You don't really realize the power of those waves that come over the pier and even when the pier gets slippery, it can cause danger," said Joseph Kerlin, Superintendent of Parks and Forestry for the City of Sheboygan.

"It's just a great place to come fishing. You can actually catch fish out here. If you don't know what you're doing here, it can be dangerous."

Hotels along the pier are also working on safety videos that will warn guests of potential dangers. 


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