With today being Memorial Day and the unofficial kick-off to the summer season, it’s a good time to go over some boating safety tips.

Greene County Conservation Director Dan Towers says whenever you are on the water, whether it be in a boat, kayak or canoe, always have a life jacket with you. For those under 13-years-old, it must be worn at all times.

“You can’t just have it in the canoe or boat with you, you have to have it on. If you have it in the boat and you tip over it’s not going to do a little person very much good to have it not on. So be sure to have that on, fastened securely, zipped up, tied (or) whatever so it’s securely on them.”

When boating down the Raccoon River, Towers cautions everyone to stay away from brush piles.

“It you get against a brush pile, the water is going under that brush pile and it can pretty easily suck your canoe or kayak right under that brush pile too. So just as you are approaching a brush pile-and there are plenty of those on the river-as you approach it, get to the opposite side of the river and steer clear of it to where you can navigate around that.”

He also warns water-users to not be on the river if it is at or approaching flood stage. To hear more from Towers, listen to part two of our two part series with him on today’s Community State Bank in Paton Let’s Talk Greene County program.