The Water Safety Committee of TMLA believes that many families may be unaware of this requirement in the Minnesota Boating Laws, and is therefore working with the Cass County Sheriff's Department to prepare for presentation of a water safety course which will prepare youths to receive a Watercraft Operator's Permit. Preliminary plans call for a two-hour period of classroom instruction, a lunch break, and another two-hour period of 'hands-on' instruction in the water. At the completion of the course, an open-book test will be provided that the students complete and then mail to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). DNR will then send back Watercraft Operator's Permits.

Mark your calendars! The course is scheduled for Thursday, June 28, 2001, at 9.00 a.m., in the Hackensack Community Center.

Parents and grandparents are invited to attend the course as well. Many of us learned our boating skills by the seat of our pants, and might learn something ourselves from a professionally taught course. The course will be open to all (a requirement of the Sheriff's Department). It is being co-sponsored by the Hackensack Lions Club and the Birch Lake Association.

Further information on enrolling will be provided in the Spring 2001 Newsletter.