Officers lead boating and water safety program for Medina students

Provided photo: Deputy James DeFilipps (back left), Deputy James Burke (back right) and Medina police officer Brian Marsceill (front right) are pictured with Medina 6th graders on May 19.

Courtesy of Medina Central School

MEDINA – Three local police officers led a boating and water safety program on May 19 with sixth graders at the Clifford Wise Middle School.

Medina police officer Brian Marsceill teamed up with James Burke and James DeFilipps, both Marine Unit deputies with the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office.

They presented a detailed boating and water safety assembly for Medina’s Clifford Wise Middle School 6th Graders. The program highlighted accident prevention and the importance of age appropriate Personal Flotation Devices/Life Jackets. They reminded students about the boating regulations pertaining to their age group.

Officer Marsceill showed the students how to develop a “float plan.” He insisted that a detailed float plan should be written up prior to any boating trip. It should include the names of all passengers on the boat, as well as a contact number. The plan could be used as a tool to assist authorities in locating boaters if reported missing. Float plan templates can be found online.

Deputies Burke and DeFilipps presented a hands-on demonstration to the students on how to size a PFD for themselves. They emphasized to the students that all children 12 years of age and under are required to always wear a PFD on a boat. Multiple styles of throwing lines were available for the students to view.

All three officers stressed the importance of acquiring boating certification and shared important resource information to the students. This seasonally appropriate assembly will equip these young students with safety awareness while they are around our local waters, whether fishing or boating.