FORT WORTH, Texas – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Whitney Lake office will host a water safety event May 18 at Whitney Elementary School, 308 South Bosque, Whitney, Texas 76692, from 10:30 a.m. through the lunch periods to increase public awareness on safe water and boating practices. Scheduled visitors to the school include the Fort Worth District Deputy Commander, Lt. Col. Andrew Liffring along with Bobber the water safety dog. Teachers and staff will receive ready-made water safety lesson plans, statistics, and "Saved by the Jacket" stories to share with their students to promote water safety. Park Rangers and Bobber will also visit the classrooms to perform safety checks and "pass" or "fail" teachers on their proper wear of personal floatation devices.
With the start of the summer recreation season, there has been a noticed increase in the number of visitors to area lakes and parks. The water safety events are intended to bring awareness to lake and park visitors which will decrease the potential for water fatalities. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the leading provider of outdoor recreation on all Federally-managed public lands in the United States. Last fiscal year there were 39 deaths on the Fort Worth District’s 25 lakes. The goal this year is to reduce these incidents by no less than fifty percent.
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About the Fort Worth District: The Fort Worth District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was established in 1950. The District is responsible for water resources development in two-thirds of Texas, and design and construction at military installations in Texas and parts of Louisiana and New Mexico. Visit the Fort Worth District Web site at: www.swf.usace.army.mil and SWF Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fort-Worth-District-US-Army-Corps-of-Engineers/188083711219308
Release no. 12-029