Oregon man shot in head while snorkeling

[downdeep]

Ow. Zak, we are all so sorry about this tragedy. We will pray for his speedy recovery.

 

[Jcsgt]

My thoughts and prayers are with your friend for a speedy and full recovery. Sounds like he was a true victim in this case.

 

[james croft]

What a mess. I saw the mug shot of the felon. Bet he shows up in court looking clean cut and wearing a suit. Hope your friend mends up as good as new. In my line of work I know a lot of folks that have been shot. Most of them bounce back pretty good, with the right attitude. Sound like your friend is made out of the right stuff. Best wishes.

 

[airsix]

Zak,
Best wishes and prayers for your friend and his family.

-Ben

 

[nlbford]

Many 60 year old guys got over the need to do stupid things with guns years earlier....

Those not named Cheney anyway.

 

[haze diver]

Those not named Cheney anyway.

 

[H2Andy]

He has some serious nerve damage creating difficulty swallowing, partial paralysis of one side of his face, some hearing loss, speech impairment, as well as trouble blinking one eye. He underwent surgery yesterday attempting to repair some of the nerve damage caused by the fragmented bullet and bone. It appears that the procedure was successful, as he is already experiencing some improvement.

i am very sorry to hear the damage, but am glad he is improving

all the best for him and his friends and family

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Zak, I'll keep him in my thoughts. Best wishes for his swift and seamless recovery.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Well I'll be hornswaggled! Looks like my distribution map's out of date. I knew they'd expanded dramatically - and unwelcome - along the northern Gulf of Mexico watershed, but I had no idea there was a population in Oregon! I've now updated my info and I see they're gettin' to be a PITA all over the country

Rick

Rick,

I've only read about half of this thread, but felt the need to comment here. Nutria were imported into Oregon in the 1930s to try to establish them as a source of fur. The fur business went belly up, and so the nutria were released into the wild. They have been proliferating for years now, and are quite common throughout the Willamette Valley. I don't think they have invaded into the Eastern Oregon areas though (the Columbia east of the Cascade Mountains). At one time there was a price on them from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, as they are very destructive pests. In other words, you could shoot them or trap them and turn in the evidence for a reward. Apparently, according to ODFW, 12,181 were turned in during the 1997-98 season, and at 8.47 each they netted the hunter/trappers $103,173. Intel, and many other companies, are required to work on their wetlands, and have had to deal with nutria:

http://www.intel.com/community/oregon/environment/RonlerAcresWetlands.htm

The company I work for had to trap two out of our storm water retention pond about four years ago, as they ate all the flowers planted alongside the area, and were coming right up to the door of the building while visitors and employees were coming in. These are just one of the invasive species that we are having to deal with.

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/springfield/nonnative.html

These photos were taken within the city limits of the City of Hillsboro, Oregon, an Intel's Ronler Acres campus:

http://www.intel.com/community/oregon/environment/WetlandsPhoto.htm

Now, I'll read the rest of this thread. By the way, I have dived in the rivers here at all times of the year.

John

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Zak,

I just read your post, and your friend is in my prayers.

For those who might ask why there was no dive flag, I've tried that in the Clackamas River, and it was a disaster. In current, the line is hard to keep from tangling. Then, because this was a commercially available flag with a styrofoam float, the current pulled the float off the pole, and the weight at the bottom dropped the flag to the bottom, where it and the line tangled with the rocks. So in current, I don't dive a dive flag, as it causes as many problems as it solves in Oregon rivers.

I do dive with a bright yellow helmet, which has reflector tape on it too. Maybe that way, I will not be mistaken for a nutria either.

I have photographed some interesting fish in the winter in the North Umpqua River, near Roseburg, Oregon some years ago. I'm no longer around there, but there were sticklebacks, some other small fish, and insect larvae in the cold, yet clear (up to 15 foot visibility) waters of that river in the winter. You had to get in when the water was low, like right now (we've had a high pressure system over us for the last two weeks, and not much rain).

John