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Report ID# 2939

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Accident Description

TEXT ATTACHMENTS Owosso man drowns in river

By DOMINIC ADAMS Argus-Press Staff Writer

Saturday, September 20, 2008 12:47 AM EDT

CORUNNA - An Owosso man drowned in the Shiawassee River Thursday after he went over the Heritage Park Dam in a kayak. Charles M. Orgovan, 32, died at Memorial Healthcare shortly after rescuers pulled his body from the east side of the river. Williams said Orgovan was caught in the current just below the more than century-old concrete dam and emergency crews couldn't get to him until the river kicked him free. Orgovan was unresponsive when rescuers from the Corunna-Caledonia Fire Department pulled him out of the water about 4:25 p.m.

Williams warned people to stay away from any dam. According to the National Weather Service, the Shiawassee River was at 6.25 feet at 1:15 a.m. Friday. Flood stage is 7 feet. “That dam is never safe. There is no way you can go in there to get anyone out,” Williams said. “If you go in there, all you get is a body count.” Williams said Orgovan was an emergency medical technician for Corunna Area Ambulance.

Lenora Acord said she ran down to Heritage Park Thursday after seeing ambulances and police driving down Shiawassee Street. “I saw him [splashing] around,” she said. “I could hear him yelling and shortly after that he started floating face down.” Acord said rescue crews first were on the west side of the river in the park, but had to go over to the east side of the river to get Orgovan. Williams said Orgovan's wife and children watched from the west side of the river as he struggled against the current and was later pulled out. The last fatality at the dam was in 1965, he said.

Wayne Fickes was doing some handy work outside Johnson & Sons Piano Co. when he saw the commotion. Then he saw a partially submerged lime green kayak floating down the river. “It was so waterlogged, I thought there was a body in there,” he said. -

Contact Dominic Adams at 725-5136 extension 239 or by e-mail at dadamsarguspress@gmail.com.

http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/index.ssf/2008/09/kayaker_charles_m_orgovan_dies.html

Kayaker Charles M. Orgovan dies at Corunna dam

Posted by Shannon Murphy | The Flint Journal

September 19, 2008 11:40AM CORUNNA, Michigan -- A 32-year-old Owosso man died Thursday after he attempted to kayak over the Corunna dam. Police said Charles M. Orgovan had taken his kayak on the Shiawassee River about 4 p.m. with the intentions of going over the dam. As he approached the dam, high currents flipped his boat and took him under the water, said Corunna Police Chief Kim Williams.

Emergency crews were unable to reach Orgovan for several minutes because of the current. When he was pulled from the water, he was unresponsive, Williams said. Orgovan was pronounced dead at a local hospital a short time later. "It's just a tragedy," Williams said. "It's dangerous. He went right into the undertow."

Williams said Orgovan was an avid kayaker, although he was unsure if the man had gone over the dam before. The last drowning Williams remembers at the dam was more than 40 years ago. He cautioned boaters to avoid the dam. "People don't realize how powerful (the dams) are," he said. "There are spots there if you get in there, it's all over."

© 2008 Michigan Live. All Rights Reserved. http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/index.ssf/2008/09/kayakers_death_in_shiawassee_r.html

 

Kayaker's death in Shiawassee River stirs debate about whether Flint-area paddlers are going too far for thrills

Posted by Elizabeth Shaw | The Flint Journal

 

September 29, 2008 12:12PM Photo courtesy of Willi GutmannAdam Vollmar runs a sluiceway of a Shiawassee County dam in September 2006. Vollmar said access to the channel -- where a mill wheel once was -- is now blocked. Story updated at 12:12 p.m., Monday, Sept. 29, 2008 Michigan's lack of whitewater rivers prompts many paddlers to seek out storm surges and man-made features for a substitute thrill -- but some are unprepared for what they find. A kayaker's recent drowning death at the Corunna dam in Shiawassee County has sent shock waves through the area paddling community. The sport has boomed in popularity recently due to local river cleanups, and one booster sees the tragedy as a caution to newcomers. 

Owosso kayaker Charles M. Orgovan, 32, a paramedic at Stat EMS in Flint, was killed Sept. 18 when he was caught in the current as he attempted to paddle over the dam during near-flood stage conditions on the Shiawassee River. Flint Journal extras Related articles: • Sept. 19, 2008: Kayaker Charles M. Orgovan dies at Corunna dam •March 19, 2008: Whitewater rapids in downtown Flint? It might not be as far-fetched as it sounds Safe paddling tips: • Wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device that fits. • Bring a water-sealed river map and compass, and study it beforehand for road crossings, take-outs and other features. • Hull float bags, helmets, spray skirts, tow ropes and dry suits can make swift-water paddling safer and more comfortable. • Pre-check conditions visually and online at the US Geological Survey's real-time stream flow data: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/rt. Sources: Willi Gutman of Headwaters Trails, Southern Michigan Adventure Club and SOLAR School of Outdoor Leadership and Adventure Recreation. The lowdown on low-head dams: • From 1999-2006, low-head dams -- those ranging from inches to several feet high -- accounted for nearly 11 percent of all whitewater deaths in the U.S., according to American Whitewater, a national nonprofit for whitewater resources. In the past decade, a national "open passage" trend has removed hundreds of them to improve public safety, fish passage and recreational use. • Michigan has about 2,500 dams, nearly 1,500 of them under six feet in height, according to the state Department of Environmental Quality. "He'd done that river many, many times, and I'm sure part of the reason he was out there that day was the high water," said Stat EMS co-worker and kayaking buddy David Klemkow of Genesee Township. "It's like a surfer looking for giant waves. You're looking for a little faster current because it's fun." "I can see why he'd want to run it. I love whitewater myself," said Eric Hall of Flint River Paddlers. "It's a personal choice, like rock climbing without a rope. There's a level of increased enjoyment when you're paddling higher, faster water. But there's also an increased level of danger and uncertainty. "He probably could've run that same feature a week before with no problem. But even a foot higher water and the hydraulics completely change." Low-head dams -- an artificial wall across a channel creating a fixed, uniform water drop ranging from a few inches to several feet -- are called "drowning machines" because of their powerful backwash current. That dangerous hydraulic effect becomes even more extreme during times of high water and heavy rains. Once caught, it can be impossible for even the strongest swimmer to escape. Swartz Creek Middle School teacher Adam Vollmar said he stopped running one local dam in 2006, when access was blocked to a spillway on the side that once housed a grist mill water wheel. "Where I went over, it was very shallow and more of a slide, so there really wasn't much danger of wiping out. The worst I would've done is maybe scratched my arm," said Vollmar. "They've blocked that off...The main part of the dam...is just a straight-down drop." Friends said Orgovan was no novice: He'd been kayaking for seven years and was skilled in basic rescue and safety maneuvers. "Charlie was very meticulous and organized. He wore a bulletproof vest to work. That's how safety-minded he was," said Joseph Karlichek of Stat EMS, where Orgovan worked for nearly six years. "He wouldn't do anything he believed would put him in actual danger." Klemkow said Orgovan was wearing a life jacket and paddling an Old Town Otter, a short, wide-bodied recreational kayak designed for stability and easy handling. Kayakers say the tragedy shouldn't give their sport a bad name and that storm surge paddling can be fun with reasonable precautions. "I probably shouldn't admit it, but I like doing the heavier water myself. It's more of an adrenaline rush. But you have to have the proper equipment and training, and you never do it alone," said Willi Gutmann, a Headwaters Trails member who helps stage the annual Holly-to-Fenton canoe race and organizes adventure racing events for the South Michigan Adventure Club. "Usually we wait for the rivers to go up after a storm. With all the pavement runoff nowadays, it all gets there in a very, very short time. The Huron River can go up a few feet with even a small amount of rain," said Gutmann. "Dams are something to be avoided, period," he said. "I don't advise that ever, for anybody. People really, truly underestimate the power of those dams. Even a guy who's experienced can get stuck." Not everyone's out for a thrill. Water conditions in the past two weeks caused many local groups to postpone events. "When rivers anywhere rise from rains, ... the river dynamics and power increase many times over," said Jim Suchovsky of Linden. "Obstacles in the river get rearranged, and new ones get added, and it's not the same familiar river that we may have paddled before in normal conditions." Even swift-water junkie Vollmar called it quits while he was out paddling with friends during the peak of last week's storms. "We were out on the Swartz Creek. It was so violent, we had to get out and walk home. Believe me, if I'm getting out and walking, it's pretty bad," said Vollmar. 

Fenton Area Paddlers founder Maggie Yerman said she hopes the tragedy will be a wake-up call. "I think that many of the people who have recently taken up kayaking think it is easy: Just get in and paddle like you would a canoe," said Yerman. "Unfortunately, rivers are unpredictable. ... There is so much to learn to make this sport safer and more enjoyable, from how to sit in a kayak to self-rescues. "We need to have businesses and organizations step forward and provide opportunities for instruction." 

© 2008 Michigan Live. All Rights Reserved.

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