Water skiers will have more time to spend on Lone Star Lake this year.

On Wednesday night, Douglas County commissioners voted to allow skiing between noon and 8 p.m. on Wednesday through Sunday between May 30 and Sept. 3. Skiing also will be allowed during those times on May 29, Memorial Day; July 3; and Sept. 4, Labor Day.

Later in the year, skiing will be allowed between noon and 8 p.m. on the weekends of Sept. 9-10, Sept. 16-17 and Sept. 23-24.

Changes in the skiing hours had been requested earlier this year in a letter to commissioners from people who ski at the lake. The vote by Commissioners Bob Johnson, Jere McElhaney and Charles Jones was unanimous.

Commissioners also approved a request by the Baldwin Maple Leaf Festival Committee to close the Sixth Street portion of Douglas County Road 1055 on the morning of Oct. 21 for the festival’s parade. The street will be closed from U.S. Highway 56 south to High Street.

The parade will be rerouted onto Sixth Street from Eighth Street because of renovation of Baldwin’s sidewalks, making safety a concern, committee members said. Baldwin officials are not sure the renovation will be completed in time for the annual festival, which draws thousands.