The INDEPENDENT, April 7, 2011
Now is perfect time to get boats ready
The sun is starting to shine a
little more and the days are get-
ting longer, which means it’s
time to de-winterize your boat
and plan for your spring and
summer water adventures. The
Oregon State Marine Board of-
fers some reminders and sug-
gestions for getting your boat
ready for the first excursion this
season.
First, make sure you have
your boater education card.
“All boaters who operate a mo-
torboat over 10 horse power
need to carry their boater edu-
cation card with them out on
the water,” said Ashley Massey,
Public Affairs Specialist for the
Marine Board. “Youth ranging
from 12 to 15 years of age will
need a card to operate a boat
on their own, if the motor is un-
der 10 horse power. If the boat
is over 10 horse power, youth
must be supervised directly by
a card-holding adult (16 or old-
er). When operating a personal
watercraft (PWC), youth 12 to
15 will need a card and be di-
rectly supervised by a card-
holding adult over 18.” Visit
www.boatoregon.com/OSMB/
BoatEd/questions.shtml
to
learn more about the mandato-
ry education program.
Second, make sure your
boat registration is current. “A
second renewal reminder will
be mailed to boaters toward the
end of April. The renewal notifi-
cation has a special identifica-
tion number on it allowing
boaters to renew their registra-
tion online. It’s simple and
there’s no online processing
fee. The best part is you can
print a temporary permit after
ordering online, so you can go
boating right away,” Massey
said. “For folks new to boating
or who didn’t renew for a few
years, you can contact the Ma-
rine Board and speak with a
registration specialist who can
help you, or simply send in your
payment to us,” Massey adds.
The cost for registering your
boat is a flat, $3 per foot fee,
rounded up.
Third, make sure your boat
is good shape before you get to
the water. “Prepare ahead of
time to ensure a stress-free ex-
cursion. We have links on our
website to do-it-yourself in-
structions online, including en-
gine maintenance and informa-
tion on blended fuels,” said
Massey. For the not-so-me-
chanically inclined, many ma-
rine centers and boat dealers
will de-winterize your boat. The
U.S. Coast Guard created a
pre-underway checklist to help
boaters prepare for their first
outing at www.uscgauxnh.org/
forms/PreUnderwayCheck
list.pdf.
Fourth, be sure to carry an
aquatic invasive species pre-
vention permit if you’re operat-
ing a paddle craft. Permits are
required for operators of boats
10 feet long and longer when
the boat is in use. Annual paper
permits cost $7 through ODFW
license agents, field offices and
online at www.dfw.state.or.us.
One year and two year Tyvek
tags are also available from the
Marine Board office in Salem
for $5 and $10. These tags can
also be ordered online at
http://www.boatoregon.com/OS
MB/Clean/docs/Boating_pub
lic_order_form_2011.pdf.
For operators of state-regis-
tered boats, the permit fee is al-
ready rolled into the cost of reg-
istering your motor boat. For
more information about this
program, visit www.boatore
gon.com/OSMB/Clean/AISPP
main.shtml.
Finally, be sure to check
your equipment. “Safety is
paramount,” Massey says.
“Make sure your life jackets are
in good condition (no mold, bro-
ken buckles, tears, etc.) and
that there are enough to prop-
erly fit everyone on board. It’s
strongly recommended to wear
a life jacket because even
though the air temperature may
be warm, the water is cold. Also
be sure to have fire extinguish-
ers, a sound producing device,
and visual distress signals. If
you are going out to fish, be
sure to have a good anchor
with plenty of line and a buoy.
Another reminder is to AL-
WAYS anchor from the bow,
not the stern, which can easily
cause a boat to swamp and
capsize.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary
and U.S. Power Squadrons
conduct free vessel safety
checks around the state and
alert the boater if any safety
equipment is needed.
One last reminder is to
watch the weather and be
ready to head in if the wind
picks up. There’s also a lot of
debris in the water, so keep a
sharp lookout for any hazards.
Boaters can get all this infor-
mation and more by visiting
www.boatoregon.com or calling
503-378-8587.
Registration
payments can be mailed to
OSMB, P.O. Box 14145,
Salem, OR 97309.
Turtle alert: Some turtles illegal to own
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife (ODFW) biologists
warn Oregonians not to buy
red-eared sliders, nonnative in-
vasive turtles which are illegal
in the state. Red-eared sliders,
named for the red “ear” (mark-
ings) on the side of their heads,
are offered for sale on Internet
sites, by street vendors and in
some pet stores.
“This time of year, we seem
to see more illegal turtles for
sale, although it’s a year-round
problem,” said Rick Boatner,
ODFW Invasive Species Coor-
dinator. “We are especially con-
cerned about small turtles that
are sold as pets for children
and commonly carry the bacte-
ria salmonella on their skin and
shells.”
Turtles less than four inches
in shell length are banned from
sale and distribution by the
U.S. Food and Drug Adminis-
tration to protect infants, young
children, pregnant women and
others. Under Oregon Depart-
ment of Agriculture rules, it is il-
legal to import turtles less than
four inches into Oregon.
If you are in possession of a
red-eared slider, contact your
local ODFW office for advice.
Never release a nonnative tur-
tle into the wild; it hurts both na-
tive habitat and species.
Red-eared sliders are native
to the East Coast of the United
States. In Oregon, they com-
pete with native turtles for food
and habitat, especially nesting
and basking sites, and can
spread diseases to which the
state’s native turtles have no
immunity.
Oregon has only two native
turtles: the western painted and
the western pond, both are list-
ed on the state sensitive
species list and highlighted in
the Oregon Conservation Strat-
See Red-eared on page 20
Page 15
Power of the People
By W. Marc Farmer, General Manager,
West Oregon Electric Cooperative
I Can Dig It!
Once used as Seventies slang, it also fits
during the Spring and Summer months for
those who become anxiously engaged in
gardening, landscaping, construction proj-
ects, the honey-do lists, road repairs, and so
forth. It is a time of concern for us here as
we inevitably incur outages from those who
dig where our power lines are located. This creates a safety haz-
ard and puts lives in jeopardy. It also causes additional work for
our crews who have to drop everything to go repair the line and
restore power to our affected members. To save us all from harm,
and save time and money, let me share with you information on a
new number you can call before you start digging. It is as easy as
it gets as it has only three numbers – 811.
The new 811 number is a national “Call Before You Dig” phone
number designated by the FCC to eliminate the confusion of mul-
tiple “Call Before You Dig” numbers, and to help saves lives,
costs, and minimize damages to underground utilities. The call
will be directed to a Local One Call Center where personnel will
notify affected utility companies, who will send crews to mark un-
derground lines for free.
Knowing where underground utility lines are buried before you
dig helps prevent injury, expense, and penalties. Every year, al-
most 700,000 utility lines across the U.S. are hit by digging proj-
ects. Only 52% of people planning to dig are likely to call to have
lines marked before digging. The penalties for not calling before
hand are significant. The person causing the damage to under-
ground facilities, (it is the same for telephone, gas, electric, ca-
ble), will be charged for the repair of the facilities. They will also
be subject to enforcement actions by the Oregon Public Utilities
Commission and Civil penalties of up to $1,000 for the first viola-
tion and up to $5,000 for each subsequent violation. Civil pen-
alties for intentional violations of the Oregon Excavation Law are
up to $5,000 for the first violation and up to $10,000 for each sub-
sequent violation.
So, let’s all be safe and call the 811 number before any digging
around underground utility lines. It will end up saving us all a lot
of time, money, and possible injuries.
On the same token, it is also a time that a lot of folks trim or fall
trees on their property. We invariably end up putting lines back up
that someone has dropped a tree across or a limb has fallen
upon. If you are falling any trees that have the potential of falling
across our power lines, please notify us and we can make
arrangements to drop the line until the tree is down. It is free if we
drop the line, but it will cost you if you drop the line. We charge
the full costs of repairs to anyone who damages any of our lines
by negligence. If you notice limbs or trees that pose an imminent
danger to our lines, please give us a call so we can notify our tree
trimmers to put it on their schedule. This will help us be proactive
rather than reactive and have to come out during a storm or at af-
ter hours to repair a downed or damaged line.
Together, we can keep our lines and our people safe, our costs
down, and the system up and on. Thank you for helping us to help
you.
State Farm ®
Providing Insurance and Financial Services
Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710
Bunny Girt, Agent
1229 N. Adair
PO Box 543
Cornelius, OR 97113-0543
Bus 503-357-3131 Fax 503-357-9667
bunny.girt.b71g@statefarm.com