Retired deputies work on Marine Patrol

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 May 2013 at 12:00 am

Photo by Tom Rivers – Bill Larkin, left, and Larry Manning work part-time on the Orleans County Marine Patrol.

POINT BREEZE – I saw two familiar faces yesterday at Point Breeze. Bill Larkin and Larry Manning are both retired deputies from the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department. I remember them both from my earlier days as a newspaper reporter in Orleans County.

They’re still working the beat, but now they’re part-time as part on the Orleans County Marine Patrol. There are seven part-timers on the Marine Patrol, and they’re all retired police officers. The county also assigns a full-time officer to the group from April through October.

Manning worked full-time for the Sheriff’s Department from 1974 to 2001. Larkin worked full-time for the department from 1976 to 2005, retiring as an investigator.

The Marine Patrol has boats based out of Oak Orchard Harbor and Lake Alice. Another boat is on a trailer and can be taken to any waterway in the county.

The Marine Patrol does safety checks on boats and makes sure they have life preservers. Sometimes a boat will get stranded and need help. Other times, a boater may be intoxicated.

“Usually it’s pretty quiet down here but you have to be ever vigilant because you never know,” Larkin said.

The state reimburses the county half of the Marine Patrol costs, Larkin said.