Amazing boater rescue won’t soon be forgotten
by Bruce McDonald
Annual hunting and fishing licenses go on sale June 1 each year and expire June 30 of the following year.Many states require hunters education courses in order to legally hunt.
Why hunter education? Hunter education provides a foundation for safe and responsible hunting. Due to hunter education, hunting accidents have dropped significantly. Each year some 18,000 individuals graduate from a hunter education course in Louisiana.
The major objectives of the hunter education program are: reduce hunting accidents, improve the image of hunting through ethical and responsible conduct, promote the shooting sports?
What is taught in a hunter education course? Major subjects cover are: ethics and responsibility, wildlife management and conservation, understanding firearms and ammunition, safe firearms handling and personal safety in the outdoors.
Students are also required to participate in a live fire exercise and successfully complete a written exam.
Who Is Required To Take The Hunter Education Course? Act 149 of the 1984 Louisiana Legislature enacted a mandatory education requirement for anyone born on or after September 1, 1969.
All hunters born on or after this date must successfully complete the course in order to hunt in the State of Louisiana. Hunters who plan to hunt out of state should check regulations for those states.
All 50 states now require some form of mandatory hunter education. Who Can Participate? Anyone can participate in the basic student course, but only those persons 10 years of age or older are eligible for certification.
Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a Louisiana Hunter Education Certification Card that is recognized by all states and provinces that require hunter education.
How much does the Course cost? Hunter education and bowhunter Education courses are free.
How do I take a hunter education course? There are two ways to take a hunter education course: Standard course – This method requires a student to attend 10 hours of instructions provided by a certified hunter education instructor.
Waterway rescue saves boater life
It’s a matter of time, if you go fishing your outboard motor will down and you will be stranded. Are you prepared for this event?
Last Tuesday started out as a calm morning with very little cloud cover, a great fishing morning. By the afternoon, cloud cover turned into severe thunderstorms. Noon was an indication of how severe the thunderstorms were to be.
May had not produced a lot of rain, and maybe the local fishermen were becoming use to that fact.
This was the thought of Gerald Bourg of Destrehan, contacting Charlie Lambert, age 82, and grandson, Avery Schexnayder, age 7. Bourg decided to make a fishing trip to Lake Cataouatche for big bass and bream.
Once on the water the conditions turned nasty. Fishing in the Tank Ponds, he was only 15 minutes away from the boat launch. When the thunderstorms blew up, he tried putting his outboard into neutral and crank 150 hp without any success. Outboard engines will not start if not properly engaged in neutral.
The thunderstorms were producing strong wind, excessive lightening, and a hard rain and it was time to go.
The engine did not start. Bourg tried calling 911 and eventually reached his daughter. The daughter called the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Department and they quickly dispatched Sgt. James Hebert and Deputy Clint LeBlanc from their Marine Division.
The only information the deputies had was the stranded boaters were in the Tank Ponds. Sgt. Hebert and Deputy Leblanc launched their rescue boat at Pier 2 and headed out into the nastiest weather we have had in months.
They did their job and had the stranded boaters back at Pier 90 by 3 p.m. After some paper work, Bourg, Schnexayder, and Lambert were on their way back to Destrehan.
A simple fishing trip that could have turned out to be a tragedy.
But we have deputies in the sheriffs department willing to “Protect and Serve” at all cost to the citizens of St. Charles Parish.
Fishermen should remember to keep a fishing plan in case of emergencies.
This plan should have the following information: 1. Location of fishing area, 2. Place launched, Cell phone number, 3. Time of departure and return., 4. Have a GPS to give latitude and longitude coordinates.
Big Thanks go out to Sgt. James Hebert and Deputy Clint LeBlanc for doing a job well done!
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