(STORY IMAGE:KHQ.COM)
NINE MILE FALLS, Wash. -A Nine Mile Falls man says he was out enjoying Long Lake with his family, when suddenly, one of the kids found a hypodermic needle. "Had a family day at the lake at Suncrest Park. We were having a barbeque and the kids were playing in the water," said Dan Koolstra. However, it took a quick turn when one of the kids found something alarming in the water.
"Handed us an uncapped hypodermic needle with the needle still on it," said Koolstra. He snapped a picture of it.
“Really concerned. Kids are out there on jet skis, they’re on innertubes. These syringes float if they are empty. People can get poked by them in the water. Imagine being on the shore in your chair and putting your toes in the sand and all of a sudden you get poked by a hypodermic needle," said Koolstra.
He's never seen a needle there before.
KHQ did talk with a maintenance worker. He says they clean Suncrest Park daily. It’s a private park. He says they have found needles in the past but it doesn't happen very often.
Koolstra believes the needle came from Spokane, where he's found needles before. "Our drug habits are growing, they are not shrinking," he said.
Koolstra says he'll go back but has a message for other families. "Just got to keep an eye out for hypodermic needles apparently in your own community," he said.
There's no way of knowing where the needle came from. KHQ reached out to the Stevens County Sheriff's Office to see if dirty needles have ever been a problem in the county. We're still waiting to hear back.
The city of Spokane says if you ever do see a needle, call the city services hotline at 3-1-1.