In the News
September 2017
A selection of paddling-related news stories.
"New canoe launches coming to Brays Bayou" (Houston, TX)
"Houston paddlers will soon have five new launch points for their canoes and kayaks with City Council's approval of a plan to build paths down to Brays Bayou on the city's east side. Councilman Robert Gallegos will contribute $5,000 from his district funds to help lay gravel paths lined with old railroad ties at five spots along Brays. Once complete, the effort aims to provide a 5-mile "urban paddling trail" between MacGregor Park and the Houston Ship Channel..."
"Commissioners vote to ban swimming, fishing in San Luis Pass"
(Freeport, TX)
"Brazoria County commissioners voted Tuesday to ban swimming and fishing in San Luis Pass, a day after a grandfather and his son-in-law drowned while swimming. The vote was unanimous to ban people from entering the water due to dangerous undercurrents and recent drownings..."
"Something needs to be done" (Huron, Michigan)
"Ridiculous. Unnecessary. Absurd. These are just a few of the words muttered around the newsroom after the local sheriff’s office reported that nearly 30 kayakers had to be rescued from Lake Huron last weekend after one high-winded storm. Kayakers didn’t know their limits — and/or the limits of their kayaks. They weren’t vigilant regarding the weather..."
"State worker claimed injuries, went kayaking" (Albany, NY)
"New York authorities say a state psychiatric center employee who received nearly $3,000 in workers compensation benefits for work-related injury claims was caught kayaking in Puerto Rico..."
"Lifetime Products Co. soars on 'Made in America' wave with kayak line"
"The idea started with founder Barry Mower in his garage in the 1970s, as he sought to create a high-quality basketball hoop for the masses. By 1986, Mower had succeeded in making that basketball hoop -- and then a company called Lifetime Products was born. Now it makes more than just hoops, including what president and CEO Richard Hendrickson called the company's "latest and greatest" product: kayaks..."
"Death of man, 24, fuels efforts to warn of dam risks" (Indiana)
"A northeastern Indiana couple whose 24-year-old son drowned in a low-head dam is raising awareness about the dangers of dams. The Hiebel family founded the Pelorus Project after Sean Hiebel died two years ago while kayaking in the Hosey Dam. The organization has put up 30 signs along Fort Wayne's three rivers warning kayakers and canoers to get out of the river before they reach a dam...."
"Dogs trained to search waters for submerged bodies" (Ohio)
"Jason LaGore pulled the frozen body part from the cooler in the bed of his pickup truck, tucked it inside a wire cage to hold it together over time, tethered the contraption to a tree limb and let it sink 8 feet into the middle of Caesar Creek Lake. He waited a few minutes for the scent to travel up through the water. Then LaGore, the Natural Resources officer who trains the department's six-dog K-9 unit, strapped a life vest onto Sarge, his 2-year-old Labrador retriever, and together they boarded a small boat. As the vessel motored out across the lake, LaGore waved his hand toward the water and gave Sarge his command: Find Fred. The dog immediately dropped his head over the bow of the boat and went to work, sniffing for a scent from the gases and oils that a cadaver gives off..."
"Volunteers show trash, 5,000 cans, shoes gathered from river during Central Texas Float Fest" (San Marcos, TX)
"Float Fest drew a plethora of people to the San Marcos River last weekend - a record number, according to organizers. But San Marcos River volunteers said it also left behind a plethora of marks on the ecosystem. "They don't care about the river," Carina Boston Pinales, a Float Fest Active Clean-Up organizer told mySA.com. Float Fest, the Central Texas event featuring live music, camping and tubing down the San Marcos River, drew a crowd of over 10,000 this past weekend. And those people left a lot of trash..."
"The Match Game; or, the Art of Picking Paddling Partners"
"Which is harder: finding a mate or picking a paddling partner? Maybe you think this is an easy question. Tamia doesn't. Both are important decisions, and in each case, your choice can have consequences that go far beyond the moment. Is Tamia setting up shop as a marriage counselor? No way! But she knows a thing or two about picking paddling partners, and this week she tells all..."