By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
Memorial Day weekend is traditionally the start of summer, even though summer officially begins the third week of June.
The Boone County Water Rescue want people to be aware that if they plan to be out on the river, they need to brush up on water and boating etiquette.
“Many people think that they can go all over the river, but there are channels for barges, and they have the right of way,” said Sergeant Donnie Schuckmann, who is the PR person for the Water Rescue. “Another thing people do is not realize how powerful the river is. This means they don’t wear floatation devices, and if an accident happens, people are in the water before they know it, and the current will immediately take them down the river. It is very easy to drown.”
Boone County Water Rescue offers many services to areas that surround the rivers and the lakes in Kentucky and other states consisting of water safety programs, boat patrols, evidence collection, vehicle, aircraft recovery and also victim recovery. There are no other governmental agencies in the region that provide such a variety of services for boaters.
“We are kind of the leaders in technology for water rescue, so other agencies call us to give classes and talks,” said Schuckmann. “We have been to Colorado, Tennessee, Nebraska and Wisconsin to name a few.”
Since the beginning, the foundation of the rescue team centers around the diving abilities of the volunteers who make up the team. Every volunteer has to have a general diver certification, but in addition, each diver is trained initially under a public safety diver program but also as a search and rescue diver. Safety is of the utmost importance, so all divers use surface supplied air, allowing them to have an unlimited amount of air available to them while working underwater in zero visibility.
Schuckmann says there are a few safety things boaters should be aware of:
• There should be a floatation device for every person who is on the boat. That is the law. Children in particular need to wear their life jacket.
• Boat operators should take a class, available from Fish and Wildlife, or Ohio Department of Natural Resources, so that they are familiar with the rules of the water, as well as how to operate their vessel.
• Operators should always check the weather and the conditions on the water. The BCWR always post reports on their Facebook page every Thursday.
• Operators need to be aware of the barge channels and stay out of them.
• The operator at least should be sober at all times.
Ed Kuehne has been a member of the BCWR for a long time. He said the worst thing he sees out on the river is drinking alcoholic beverages, and he said that colors the attitudes and decision making ability of the operators.
“Many times if there is a concert at Riverbend, boats cluster around to hear the concert,” he explained. “People on the boat sometimes get hot, if the sun is still up, and they think they will just jump in the river to cool off. But the current is strong, and before they know it, they have been swept down the river.”
Both Schuckmann and Kuehne have seen a lot of people break down on the water. When that happens, sometimes the boat can drift into the channels. From Memorial Day until Labor Day the Boone County Water Rescue is out on the water from Friday afternoon through Sunday at midnight.
The part of the team that is the most visible to the public is its water rescue units. The team uses several types of boats and vessels. The work and rescue boats that are general purpose are used for lakes and rivers. These boats are easily transported and can be transported throughout Northern Kentucky and everywhere else. Their prize water rescue vessels are boats 219 and 220. These boats have state-of-the-art sonar, radar, and communications, all of which increase the capability and efficiency of these boats dramatically for any type of water rescue or recovery. Boone County Water Rescue takes responsibility for patrolling over 83 miles of the Ohio River from the Markland Dam to the Meldahl Dam.
The Boone County Rescue group was started in 1967 by Dale Appel under the direction of the Boone County Civil Defense program.
As Appel remembers, he started the organization because his best friend and his dad died in the river, and there was no one who could help him find peace or help give him closure about his friends. In his grief, he knew there needed to be someone people could call to help out if a loved one had an accident on the waterway.
He started with just a few volunteers and by word of mouth, grew to about seven volunteers.
“We had to buy all our own equipment,” he remembered. “After the Civil Defense faded away, we eventually came under the Emergency Management department, but before that, when Bruce Ferguson was the Judge Executive, he appropriated $600 for us, and I immediately went out to Brendamour’s and bought diving equipment!”
Appel stayed with the Rescue a long time, retiring, if there is such a thing as retiring from volunteerism, he said, about four years ago.
But the Boone County Water Rescue is stronger than ever and has taken his dream of a highly trained group of divers and rescue volunteers to even new heights.
Appel said the worst thing about boat operators that he has seen in his experience is that they don’t take the river seriously.
“Many times they don’t think to check how the engine is functioning, or if they have plenty of gasoline,” Appel explained. “Also, alcohol and water do not mix. The river can get very mean very quickly. That is the unforgiving part of nature. It will take your life.”
Years ago, Appel saw a need and took steps to fill that need, and the Boone County Water Rescue was born. He said there have been many incidents he responded to that will always stay in his memory, but he likes to focus on the positive.
“Every life we have saved is memorable,” he said simply.