Numerous lives have been saved by the sentinels of the beach and an exhibit celebrating a century of lifeguarding will be on display at the Beaches Museum & History Park beginning Tuesday.

As the summer draws to a close, the new exhibit will feature 100 Years of the American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps in Jacksonville Beach. Historical photographs, artifacts and gear used to save lives at the shoreline will be on display.

These are a bunch of very dedicated young people who put in a lot of their own time to make sure that visitors to Jacksonville Beach are protected, said Andrew Morrow, operations manager of the Beaches Museum.

The exhibit is in chronological order showing how the corps has changed through the years, the influence its had on lifesaving and the impact its had on beaches culture.

One of the items is the early model of the torpedo buoy that was developed by the Jacksonville Beach Corps and now is standard gear for lifeguards around the world. The buoys are about 2-feet long and attach to a lifeguards torso with a line.

George Hapsis, corps archivist and historian, is the co-curator of the exhibit. He joined the corps in 1950 and is still associated with the service as a retired member.

Hapsis retrieved most of the items in the exhibit by rummaging through storage areas and corners of the lifeguard station building with its iconic white tower and red cross at the foot of the Beach Boulevard public access.

Some of the stuff was left lying around. Some of the stuff was in the attic deteriorating, he said. We had leaks over the years and some of the stuff was destroyed because of that.

Even something as simple as uniform changes demonstrate aesthetic evolution, Hapsis said. Some of the early lifeguard uniform swim suits were wool and stretched down to the knees. Now they are synthetic shorts and tank tops.

Many of the photos, Hapsis said, also demonstrate the evolution of the diversity of staff for the corps.

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Beaches Museum exhibit to mark 100 years of lifeguard service

JEFFERSON CITY A hot summer gave Missouri residents plenty of reasons to want to cool off at state park swimming beaches, and a drought seems to have helped offer more opportunities to do so.

Tests from water samples at state swimming beaches showed that bacteria levels were low enough to keep beaches open more often than during the past two years.

Results from the past three years were provided to The Associated Press by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. They showed bacteria were high a dozen times at beaches this spring and summer, with half coming in April or May. That is less than half the frequency of 2011 and just a fraction of the nearly four dozen times that high bacteria were recorded at beaches in 2010.

High bacteria levels did not force any state park beaches to be closed this year from late May through the last week of July as summer heat was setting records. Since the end of July, the beach at the Cuivre River in northeastern Missouri was closed for one week and Watkins Woolen Mill near Kansas City has been closed in August.

This past week, park officials closed one beach at the Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri. The area around the popular tourist lake received some rain last weekend. Water samples are collected near the state park beaches at the beginning of the week.

Ken Midkiff, director of the Missouri Clean Water Campaign, said the lack of summer rainfall has contributed to fewer tests showing high bacteria levels and more open swimming beaches. Pollutants can be washed into lakes and rivers.

"A lot of the high readings were attributable to runoff. We've had no or very little rain," Midkiff said.

Precipitation figures collected by the National Weather Service from local airports and observers showed how little rain has fallen in Missouri. The figures are from May 1 to Aug. 29, which was just before the start of Missouri's drenching from remnants of what once was Hurricane Isaac. Those statistics showed that St. Louis was short by nearly 9 inches of rain, and Farmington was behind by 10 inches. Columbia has reported its driest summer ever and was short by 13 inches.

The U.S. Drought Monitor map reported that through Aug. 28, more than 97 percent of Missouri fell in the two worst categories of drought.

Missouri closes state park beaches when the bacteria level from a single water sample or a rolling average of sample data exceed the levels recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency. Officials say the tests provide important information but are a small snapshot from a single moment and do not reflect the overall water quality in a lake or river.

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Low bacteria levels kept Missouri beaches open during hot summer

LITTLE COMPTON, R.I. (WPRI) -- Beaches are back open to swimmers in Little Compton a day after a great white shark washed up on shore.

PHOTO GALLERY: 13-Foot Great White Washes Ashore in Westport

A man out for a morning fishing trip on South Shore Beach found the 13-foot shark Saturday morning, a few hundred feet over the state line into Westport, Massachusetts.

Researchers say the shark weighed in at about 1,700 pounds and after dissecting it to marine biologists were unable to determine what killed it.

Officials plan to leave the shark where it is and let the tide take it out to sea.

Little Compton Police say Goosewing and South Shore Beaches are back open to swimmers Sunday morning, but there will be boat patrols just offshore keeping watch for sharks.

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Little Compton beaches back open

GARBAGE will be removed from several beaches across the island on September 15, as Jamaica joins the rest of the world in observing International Coastal Cleanup Day.

Programme Director at the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET), which is organising the days activity, Suzanne Stanley, said a number of sites have been confirmed for cleaning.

She said that a list of sites will be posted on the JET website at http://www.jamentrust.org, where persons can register as volunteers

She said already, several schools, youth and community groups, non-government organisations and service clubs, have indicated that they will participate, and we have support from several corporate entities that will send teams and will also assist us with refreshments for the volunteers."

She is imploring Jamaicans to come out on the day and support the coastal cleanup effort.

Its the largest volunteer event in the world so come out and support the event, become familiar with the solid waste management issues that are (affecting the beaches) and play your part and try to contribute to reducing the amount of waste that we have on our beaches, she urged.

JET has organised beach cleanups in Jamaica since 1994. On International Coastal Cleanup Day 2011, observed on September 17, JET, with the support of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) and the business community, mobilised more than 4,000 volunteers for the cleaning of 55 beaches.

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Beaches to be cleaned September 15

(Photo Credit: Matt Gill)

LITTLE COMPTON, R.I. (AP) Beaches in southeastern Rhode Island have reopened to swimmers after a dead great white shark washed ashore just over the Massachusetts line.

Officials reopened Goosewing and South Shore Beaches in Little Compton, R.I., on Sunday morning. Little Compton police say the sharks carcass remains on the beach just over the state line in Westport, Mass.

Police say a boat patrol will monitor the beach area for other sharks.

MORE PHOTOS:Shark Washes Ashore In Westport

A Little Compton fisherman found the 13-foot shark on Saturday morning a few hundred feet over the line in Westport, forcing officials to close the Little Compton beaches.

Its not clear what officials plan to do with the carcass.

A marine biologist dissected the shark on Saturday. His findings havent been released.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

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Beaches Reopen Day After Great White Shark Washes Up In Westport

LITTLE COMPTON, R.I.Beaches in southeastern Rhode Island have reopened to swimmers after a dead great white shark washed ashore just over the Massachusetts line.

Officials reopened Goosewing and South Shore Beaches in Little Compton, R.I., on Sunday morning. Little Compton police say the shark's carcass remains on the beach just over the state line in Westport, Mass.

Police say a boat patrol will monitor the beach area for other sharks.

A Little Compton fisherman found the 13-foot shark on Saturday morning a few hundred feet over the line in Westport, forcing officials to close the Little Compton beaches.

It's not clear what officials plan to do with the carcass.

A marine biologist dissected the shark on Saturday. His findings haven't been released.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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RI beaches reopen after dead shark washes ashore

A series of great white shark sightings have caused the closure of several beaches on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Reports indicate at least three sharks were sighted along Cape Cod beaches, with the sharks measuring between 14 and 18 feet.

One popular Cape Cod destination, Nauset Beach in Orleans, will be closed to swimmers at least through Labor Day, Cape Cod Online reported. This could be a big blow for the region, as the Labor Day holiday weekend is one of its most popular resort times.

The first two shark sightings were made by different commercial-fishing spotter plane pilots, and the third was made by state shark expert Greg Skomal. As a result of the great white sightings, multiple beaches on Cape Cod are closed.

No shark attacks have been reported, but authorities in the area are taking no chances.

However, it's worth noting that since 1936 there has only been one recorded shark attack in the New England area, so it's much more likely that a swimmer will meet his or her end by drowning than by being eaten by a shark.

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Business Insider reported the increased sightings of great white sharks can be directly traced to an influx of seals along the Massachusetts coast. Seals are a favorite food source for great whites, so the man-eating sharks have been following the seals just a little too close to human civilization lately

Meanwhile, Cape Cod is in the vicinity of Martha's Vineyard, the island setting employed by Stephen Spielberg while making his blockbuster film "Jaws" in 1975.

Considering the first shark attack in New England since 1936 occurred in July, as noted by ABC News, residents of Cape Cod have good cause to be a little wary about going out in the water at this time.

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Cape Cod Beaches Closed After Multiple Great White Shark Sightings

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) -Big crowds and big waves at our local beaches are keeping lifeguards on alert. They have already performed dozens of rescues Saturday.

Hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to pack San Diego's beaches over the three day weekend.

In this video report, News 8's Shannon Handy is at La Jolla Shores with more on what steps they're taking to keep everyone safe.

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Big crowds, big waves show up at local beaches

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Michael Clifford spotted dolphins at Rockaway Beach on Thursday.

The dad says he jumped in a kayak with his kids and grabbed a video camera to capture the moment.

"We went out about 100 yards out," he said. "It was maybe 20, 30 dolphins. It was a mother with the babies, all swimming right down the beach. The kids were very excited. I was paddling as fast as I can. They just kept moving down the beach. They're very curious, as were we following them as long as I could until I ran out of steam paddling."

Outdoor pools close for the season on Monday, and life guards will no longer be on duty at city beaches.

Untill then, beaches are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and pools are open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information, go online to nyc.gov/parks.

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Beaches, Pools Open For Last Weekend Of Season

Heather Wood looks for crabs and other creatures with her sons Collin, age 4 (left) and Austin, age 1 at the Flag Ponds State Park in Lusby, Md. Cliffs along this beach hold Miocene fossils and treasures like the shark teeth. (Linda Davidson - The Washington Post) Its almost over. Summertime is coming to its traditional close this weekend. Want one last try? Hop in the car and go to the beach. No, lets not talk of things such as loading up the car and sitting in Delaware traffic. Were talking beaches just an hour or so from downtown. Beaches with sand. And ice cream stands. And fossils. Places to take your dog and your kids. Places to crack open a crab or a dozen. Places to learn a few things and definitely places to hunker down with that last, lazy read.

So, enjoy.

Read more from the Going Out Guide: 2012 summer bucket list

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Best beaches near Washington for Labor Day weekend

OKALOOSA ISLAND The surf remained rough Friday, and most local beaches were closed to swimmers following Hurricane Isaac.

However, residents and tourists should be able to enjoy the water over the Labor Day holiday weekend, as lifeguards and local officials expect conditions to improve enough to be able to reopen the beaches.

Overnight things are going to get much better, Tracey Vause, Okaloosa Countys beach safety division chief, said Friday afternoon. What were dealing with right now is multiple, multiple rip currents. We still have relatively heavy surf, but we have high water and outgoing tides and rip currents. Its a number of different things that create a highly hazardous situation.

Okaloosa Countys beaches have been closed to swimmers since Monday, but officials reopened beach accesses to the public Thursday. Walton County reopened its beach accesses at noon Friday.

This is what the beaches looked like Friday.

What they will be doing is monitoring the conditions of the beaches, said Wendy Ammons, public information officer for the Walton County Sheriffs Office. Theres a high surf advisory, and with the rip currents they will continue to monitor that and they can change it at any given point. We just want to keep people safe out there and have the double-red flags and continue to monitor.

Vause said he will be on the beach at 5 a.m. Saturday and will decide about 9 a.m. whether to reopen beaches.

In the event that we do come off the flags (today), we will likely still be under a red flag in the morning, which means the conditions are still highly hazardous and people need to be aware of that when theyre making a decision to come to the beach, Vause said

Even if the beaches are open, Vause said water conditions will likely require single red flags Saturday, which still warns swimmers to use caution. He recommended that beachgoers swim near lifeguards this weekend.

Santa Rosa County reopened its beaches to swimmers Friday. Joy Tsubooka, public information officer for the county, said the decision was made at 9:30 a.m. to switch to a single red flag.

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Beaches expected to reopen to swimmers this weekend (SLIDESHOW)

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- The state Department of Environmental Quality has closed all Mississippi beaches because of potential hazards with water quality and debris created by Isaac.

MDEQ officials say in a news release that there's uncertainty about water quality because of widespread flooding.

MDEQ says it will resume water quality testing when the debris has been cleared, and beaches will open to water contact when results show water quality standards have been met.

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Beaches closed in Mississippi

CHATHAM, Mass. Shark sightings off the eastern coast have beachgoers dealing with some disappointment this holiday weekend.

Boston News, Weather, Sports | FOX 25 | MyFoxBoston

All of Orleans' Atlantic Oceans beaches, an area on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, coast will remain closed to swimming throughout the Labor Day weekend, CapeCodTimes.com reports.

And the ban comes after Chatham officials placed a restriction on swimmers at the towns ocean-facing beaches for the rest of the season due to sharks.

Swimmers are warned to keep aware of their surroundings and stay at least 300 feet from any seals spotted.

Sightings of sharks, including great whites, have increased off Cape Cod in recent years along with an increase in the population of seals, which sharks feed on.

In July, a man was bitten on his legs by a great white shark while swimming of Ballson Beach in Truro, north of Chatam.

Beaches on Cape Cod Bay remain open, MyFoxBoston.com reports.

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Shark sightings close beaches along eastern shores

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Harrison beaches closed; Gulfport harbor to open today

Aug 31, 2012 8:22am

(Image Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Some beaches in Cape Cod, Mass., could be closed for the big Labor Day weekend after fishermen reported shark sightings hundreds of feet from the shoreline.

Beaches from the Orleans-Chatham town line south along Nauset Beach to Monomoy were closed Wednesday with no date for when they will reopen.

A family enjoying the day off the coast of Chatham last week came across a great white shark feasting on a gray seal, according to ABC News affiliate WCVB-TV in Boston.

Swimmers were warned to stay at least 300 feet away from seals. Sharks have been more visible along Cape Cod this summer with numerous sightings. Experts blame a drastic increase in the areas seal population on which sharks feed.

The elbow of the cape has these large, dense concentrations of gray seals now, and these white sharks go to the area to feed, said Greg Skomal, a senior biologist at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. Because the seals are so abundant, now the white sharks are paying more attention.

A man was attacked in July by what is believed to be a great white shark in the waters off Ballston Beach in Truro, Mass. Police said Chris Myers was bit in both legs below the knees in possibly one single, crushing blow.

Ive been swimming at that beach since I was a little kid, and no one in recent memory has ever had a shark attack, let alone by a great white, which they are saying they think it was, Myers told Good Morning America after the suspected shark attack. Maybe people need to be a little more careful.

Three weeks before that incident, a great white shark was spotted trailing a kayaker at Nauset Beach, about 25 miles south of Ballston Beach.

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Shark Sightings Close Beaches Along Cape Cod

Tropical Storm Isaac spared Martin County's beaches from significant erosion, a county official said Wednesday.

"Lifeguards all felt that Jensen and Stuart beaches were generally unchanged," said Martin County Coastal Engineer Kathy Fitzpatrick. "Bathtub (Beach) looked much the same as before the storm, as well."

The high winds and big waves during the storm caused no serious impacts to any of the county's beaches, Fitzpatrick said. The north-south wind directions may have been a factor in keeping the sand on the beaches.

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Martin County beaches OK after Tropical Storm Isaac

By Sarah N. Mattero, Globe Correspondent

Chathams ocean-facing beaches have been closed to swimming until further notice after multiple reports of increased great white shark activity in the area, the towns Department of Parks and Recreation says.

Several fishermen have reported white sharks in their nets offshore. The Division of Marine Fisheries has also spotted numerous white sharks close to shore in the vicinity of swimmers, Dan Tobin, director of parks and recreation, said in a statement.

Beaches will be closed from the Orleans line along Nauset Beach to Monomoy, Tobin said. All other public beaches remain open to swimming, including Hardings Beach, Ridgevale Beach, Cockle Cove Beach, Forest Street Beach, and Pleasant Street Beach.

Tobin warns that beachgoers should be aware of their surroundings and not swim within 300 feet of seals.

Shark sightings should be reported to the Chatham harbormaster at 508-945-5185, officials said.

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Chatham beaches are closed to swimming due to shark concerns

With temperatures expected to top 90 on Friday, three beaches in Scituate, two in Plymouth and one each in Quincy and Hull have been closed because of unhealthy bacteria levels.

In Plymouth, the north end of White Horse Beach tested at 35 times the maximum considered safe for swimming and the middle section of Plymouth Beach was 31 times over.

In Scituate, Peggotty Beach was five times the limit and Lighthouse Beach was three times over. Egypt Beach in Scituate was under the limit, but is closed because contamination was high in three previous tests.

The bacteria counts were three times the limit at the Sachem Street section of Wollaston Beach in Quincy was three times the maximum and 65 percent over the limit at the bay side of the A Street Beach in Hull.

New water samples have been taken and the results are expected on Friday.

The other 53 beaches on the South Shore that are tested weekly are open.

Testing ends this week in Quincy.

See water quality test results for each community and for Cape Cod, the South Coast and North Shore.

For more on Quincy beaches, call 617-376-1288, or visit tinyurl.com/ledger-quincy-beaches. For more on Wollaston Beach, call 617-626-4972.

Seventy-five salt water beaches on the South Shore are tested for enterococci, intestinal bacteria found in humans and animals. High levels of enterococci indicate the waters may also contain other disease-causing microbes that are present in sewage but are more difficult to detect. Bacterial colonies are filtered from three ounces of water and placed on a gel infused with nutrients and chemicals designed to promote growth. Left in an incubator, the single cells isolated on the filter grow explosively, forming colonies visible to the naked eye.After one day, the colonies are counted and if they exceed 104 colonies, the beach is closed to swimming.

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7 beaches in Scituate, Plymouth, Quincy and Hull closed

The beaches at two parks, Lewis and Clark State Park in Buchanan County and Trail of Tears State Park, Cape Girardeau County, remain closed for maintenance unrelated to water quality.

Results received showed continued water quality issues at Watkins Mill State Park beach. Staff at Lake of the Ozarks State Park closed Grand Glaize Beach when results showed that one of the two water samples taken at the beach failed to meet Missouri State Parks standards. Both beaches are scheduled to close for the recreational season after the Labor Day holiday weekend. Therefore, no additional water samples will be collected from the beaches and they will remain closed for the season. Public Beach #1 at Lake of the Ozarks State Park remains open until Sept. 4.

The water at all designated beaches in the state park system is sampled weekly during the recreational season by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to determine suitability for swimming. Water quality can be determined to be unsuitable for swimming based on either the single sample taken earlier in the week, or by the geometric mean, which is a mathematical value that takes into consideration results from the current week plus the results taken during the previous weeks. Both beaches closed this week had single samples in excess of the standard. The beach at Watkins Mill State Park also exceeds the geometric mean, which is a mathematical value that takes into consideration results from the current week plus the results taken during the previous weeks.

Higher bacteria levels are often associated with heavy rains that result in runoff from adjacent lands. However, there are a number of possibilities that can contribute to higher bacteria, and chances are no single source is the cause. The sample test results indicate a snap shot of the water quality taken at the beaches at a specific time; however, a single sample does not provide an overall sense of the water quality in the lake where the beach is located.

The beaches at two parks, Lewis and Clark State Park in Buchanan County and Trail of Tears State Park, Cape Girardeau County, remain closed for maintenance unrelated to water quality.

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Watkins Mill and Lake of the Ozarks' Grand Glaize State Park Beaches Close

Around Town

Bumbershoot: Seattle's end-of-summer arts binge takes over Seattle Center grounds Saturday through Monday. Get ready for a long weekend of entertainment with a live webcast featuring "bumperformers" Sera Cahoone and Deep Sea Divers, noon Friday at seattletimes.com. For a guide to the festival, pick up Friday's Weekend Plus in The Seattle Times; for tickets, http://www.bumbershoot.org.

Seattle beaches: Last weekend of the season for lifeguards at beaches, weather permitting, noon-7 p.m. Friday and Monday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Matthews, Madison, Mount Baker, Seward and West Green Lake beaches, Seattle (www.seattle.gov/parks/beaches.asp).

Art, jazz and wine at the Chateau!: Wines sold by the glass, display of work by 25 artists, music, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, Chateau Ste. Michelle, 14111 N.E. 145th St., Woodinville; free (425-415-3300 or http://www.ste-michelle.com).

At the movies

The annual 1 Reel Film Festival comes to the SIFF Cinema at the Film Center as part of Bumbershoot.

"Lawless" and "The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure"

Both the Depression-era gangster saga and the interactive film about characters similar to Barney or Teletubbies opened Wednesday at several theaters.

"The Awakening": This thriller set post-World War I London and starring Rebecca Hall opens Friday at the Meridian 16.

"Side by Side": A documentary about the histories of digital and photochemical film creation opens Friday at the Grand Illusion.

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Weekend Preview: Beaches' last hurrah, plus art, jazz and wine