By: (AP) A newspaper carrier who rode on a rubber raft with her father to deliver papers to customers stranded by floods may have thought she was doing nothing wrong, but she and her father both got in trouble with the law.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission cited Rick Patrick, 48, on Sept. 19 for negligent operation of a watercraft. Betsey Patrick, 24, was cited for disorderly conduct for arguing and swearing at the officer who cited her father. She was delivering The Sunday Patriot-News of Harrisburg to six stranded customers.
On Monday, District Justice Susan Day dismissed the charge against Betsey Patrick, agreeing that she was exercising her constitutional right to free speech. But she upheld the citation against Rick Patrick and fined him $220. He said he will appeal to Cumberland County Court.
Thomas Burrell, a Fish and Boat Commission agent, said the raft was not suitable for the conditions, noting that trees, poles, and signs were submerged, and he said white water was visible in some places.
"The fact that they made it to shore I attribute as lucky," Burrell said. "As a professional, I felt that they were in a dangerous situation."
Rick Patrick, a longtime canoeist and Boy Scout leader, said he examined the area and spoke with someone who had been kayaking there before suggesting to his daughter that they deliver the papers by raft. He noted that the raft was rated to carry six people and that they had life vests, signaling whistles and a bag with a rescue rope.
"There were no problems. The water was very calm. ... The boat was never out of control," Rick Patrick said.
Betsey Patrick said she got angry and swore because Burrell wouldn't listen to her and her father.
"If they just would have listened to us, I don't think they would have found that what we did was negligent," she said. "I was just very upset that they were giving us a citation for something that just wasn't wrong."
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