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What is this?
photo by Jessica St. James
Skipper, seen with Lawrence County Sheriff Jeff Lawless, right, and Deputy Steve Cartmel, left, is the newest tool acquired by the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. It will assist in teaching area children boating, water and swimming safety.
SO gets radio-controlled boater education tool
Published Wednesday, March 10, 2010
He talks, drives a snazzy little boat and with his big bright eyes he will unabashedly wink at you.
But the newest addition to the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office is in fact a high-tech teaching tool that, hopefully, will take the message of water safety to the under 12 crowd.
The sheriff’s office has gotten a remote-controlled robotic boat and ventriloquist-style doll that can be taken to schools, clubs and public events to teach young children about water safety, bringing an important but often scary topic down to a child’s level.
“We have a lot of water around this county, with the river and lakes. Our goal is to educate kids about dangers of water and the how to be safe around it,” Sheriff Jeff Lawless said.
Perhaps the nicest thing about Skipper is, he’s free.
At a cost of $10,200, Skipper was paid for with an Ohio Division of Watercraft grant.
Grant money is different from general fund tax dollars. Grant money must be applied for and must be used for a specific, stated purpose.
A grant can’t be used for instance, to buy a new cruiser, or balance the county’s budget or pay an official’s salary.
It must be used under the supervision of the agency giving the grant and only for the approved purpose named in the grant request.
The grant that was used to purchase Skipper had to be used specifically to pay for an educational tool.
The sheriff routinely applies for grants for a myriad of things county finances can’t easily cover, such as overtime for deputies, equipment, its marine patrol and education programs.
Although the boy with the boat is called Skipper for now, Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol Director Steve Cartmell said he hopes to have a contest and allow school children in Lawrence County to pick out a name for the robotic boy. And he hopes kids far and wide get to see the office’s newest addition.
“What we want to do is take him to schools, any Lawrence County school, even Jackson or Scioto County or in Kentucky. We want to teach boating safety, swimming safety,” Cartmell said.
Another topic Skipper is likely to tackle is high water safety during floods, Cartmell said.
When heavy rains cause streams to leave their banks, kids often find the event fascinating, not realizing the potential risk of getting too close to the swiftly moving water.
No ordinary fellow, Skipper has a hidden MP3 player, so his public appearances can be full programs with music.
He has a siren and lights that work and even a water squirter on the front of his boat — guaranteed to get a kid’s attention from five feet away.
Cartmell said the sheriff’s office’s marine patrol program has gotten watercraft grants in the past to pay for a 26-foot patrol boat for the Ohio River, to pay for Splish and Splash, the watercraft dummies, and even other educational supplies.
Skipper will make his county-wide debut in the Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade in May.
He will also visit the Lawrence County Junior Fair in July.
Any school or group that wants a visit from Skipper may call the sheriff’s office at 532-3525.
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Comments
Posted by bleedingheart (anonymous) on March 10, 2010 at 12:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
While Skip may be free, how about the cost of the deputies as they trapise about using him. Are their salaries or overtime paid with the grant???
Posted by hdm1903 (anonymous) on March 10, 2010 at 12:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
this robot is going to scare the BAJESUS out of kids!
He looks like an overweight chucky! Whats the deal with his left EYE?! YIKES! They should use him to chase crack heads around town. Send this freakoid into an ironton bar around 2:15 am!
Posted by chazz (anonymous) on March 10, 2010 at 6:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Grant, Federal money,state money, local money..... It still used to be MY money before it came out of my paycheck. What a waste of taxpayers money. No wonder this entire country is bankrupt.
Posted by jackport (anonymous) on March 10, 2010 at 6:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
wow thank god we have this when the county needs the money for soo much more important things.
Posted by payson (anonymous) on March 11, 2010 at 7:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If this l'il dude can make kids aware of water hazards and save just ONE life, he's worth the purchase. $10,000 is a cheap price to pay for the life of a child.
Posted by jonferguson (anonymous) on March 11, 2010 at 8:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
chazz,
This wasn't your money....
This is from the grant requirements, ODNR website:
"Grant money is appropriated through ODNR Division of
Watercraft’s Waterways Safety Fund. The Waterways Safety
Fund is composed of boat registration fees, a percentage
of the state gasoline tax (7/8%), and federal funding from
the U.S. Coast Guard. No general revenue funds are used."
However, what I did find interesting was, that grants through this department are only given on a 75/25 basis. Which means that the county MUST have came up with 25% of the cost themselves. In other words, $2500 had to come from the county somehow.
"Grants carry a minimum cost share level of 25% of the
total program. For example, a $1,000 program would
comprise $750 in grant monies and $250 in cost share
matches from the grantee."
Still, a very worthwhile project for the cost. Apparently, several people aren't paying attention to the part that says the grant MUST be used for a specific purpose. This one is listed under (I assume):
"Boating Safety Education Grant"
Posted by chazz (anonymous) on March 11, 2010 at 5:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes, it was my money. The ONLY way the government gets money is from taxes, fees, etc. Who pays the gas tax, boat registration fees? Where does the coast guard get their money? OH YEAH TAXES. It doesn't just appear magically. Not from trees, not out of someone's ear.
The whole country is bankrupt because of wasteful spending like this.
Posted by jonferguson (anonymous) on March 11, 2010 at 10:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
wasteful....hmmm....
Seems to me teaching kids about water safety is probably a worthwhile cause.
chazz, you must have missed the part that said "no general revenue funds are used." THAT is what taxes are. Gas tax is a sales tax, and it is used to better our communities. If this money hadn't come to us in this form, it would have went to someone else for the same purpose.
How do we get roads to drive on? Clean drinking water? Electricity? Waste management? Stop lights and street lights? Oh yeah...TAXES. Should these "wasteful" expenditures be stopped as well?
People have got to realize that tax money is used for the betterment of the community. Its not always put to the best use, no. But that is our duty to make sure it is. Vote. Its your only method of recourse
Posted by gthor78291 (anonymous) on March 12, 2010 at 4:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
jonferguson...spoken like a man that doesnt pay taxes.....
Posted by jonferguson (anonymous) on March 13, 2010 at 10:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
and sadly for you, it was spoken FROM a man that does.
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