Mark your Calendars!:

Permit Training for Watercraft Operators
(Ages 10 through 17)

Thursday, June 28, 2001, 9:00am to 3:00pm
Hackensack Community Center

by Don Harris and Jerry Mills,
TMLA Safety Committee

On Thursday, June 28, 2001, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., the Cass County Sheriff's Water Safety Officer will provide training leading to the Water Craft Operator's Permit for children ages 10 through 17. The training session is hosted by the lake associations of Ten Mile, Birch, Pleasant, and Poquet Lakes. The Hackensack Lions Club will sponsor lunch (hot dogs or hamburgers and soft drinks) as well as treats at breaks, and will assist with the overall program. The training program will begin at the Hackensack Community Center and continue at the Hackensack City Dock on Birch Lake.

Minnesota boating laws require that for all motorboats with motors larger than 25 horsepower, children ages 12-17 years old must have a water-craft operators permit or someone on board who is at least 21 years old and in reach of the controls. There are no restrictions for motors under 25 hp.

The training will be free, and offered in three phases: Phase One will start at 9:00 a.m. and will consist of lecture and videos by Sheriff's Deputy Tom Berglund. Phase One will include a break and end at lunch. Phase Two will start after lunch at the City Dock on Birch Lake, and will involve hands on boat safety exercises. It will include instructions with personal watercraft. In Phase Three, participants will receive a written test, to be completed later and mailed to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). After evaluating the tests, DNR will mail watercraft operators' permits directly to the graduates.

Tim Berglund, Cass County Sheriff's Water Safety Deputy, has requested that ALL PARTICIPANTS PRE-REGISTER for the training. You may register your child with any of the following:

We hope to make this training an annual event and we would really like to see an enthusiastic turnout for this first session. It will be an important step to improving boating safety on all our lakes. We strongly urge parents and grandparents to get their children ages 10-17 signed up.