Boat Oregon release – Corporal Daren Krag of the Klamath County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol received the prestigious Western States Boating Administrators Association’s (WSBAA) Officer of the Year award. Krag received the award on Tuesday, May 14, in Oklahoma City as part of the annual WSBAA conference. Cpl. Krag was selected from a pool of nominees from 16 member states for his effectiveness and dedication to serving recreational boaters. Cpl. Krag oversees a fleet of eight boats used to patrol Klamath County’s 96,034 acres of water, including Oregon’s largest lake, which makes up roughly 12% of Oregon’s boatable waterways. Lakes in Klamath County are popular year-round for fishing, bird watching, waterfowl hunting, and watersports, which mean Klamath County’s Small Boat Team is ready and capable to respond at any moment, including frigid winter months when the lakes are generally frozen over. Under Cpl. Krag’s leadership, his team conducted over 72 hours of classroom instruction in local schools and safety fairs reaching 1,732 individual students. Cpl. Krag personally completed 796 patrol hours in 2018, and with his team, completed 2,368 patrol hours, total. In addition to coordinating marine patrol activities, Cpl. Krag is passionate about enforcement in patrolling the waterways of Klamath County as well. In 2018, he stopped 256 boats and issued 501 separate violations. Under Cpl. Krag’s direction, his marine deputies completed 687 violation stops, issuing 1087 separate violations. Cpl. Krag personally issued 20 citations for “Child Not Wearing a Life Jacket”, 14 personal watercraft violations, 24 violations for no boater education card, 83 life jacket violations, and 30 Boating Under the Influence of Intoxicant (BUII) arrests. In fact, Cpl. Krag has arrested more than 120 BUII offenders since 2010 -far more than any other officer in Oregon. Cpl. Krag is ahead of the pack; one of Oregon’s leading marine instructors, contributing more than 190 hours towards the Marine Board’s annual Marine Law Enforcement Academy, drift boat school and jet boat school. He also serves on the agency’s Boat Accident Investigation Team and the Boating Under the Influence of Intoxicants (BUII) advisory committee. Cpl. Krag readily deploys his team of skilled marine deputies and volunteers and the Sheriff’s Office side-scan sonar to assist neighboring agencies in boat accidents, recoveries, and investigations, as well. As a result of this award, Cpl. Krag will now be considered for national Officer of the Year which will be announced in October by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators. “It’s an honor to have Cpl. Krag recognized for his work and dedication,” said Randy Henry, Boating Safety Program Manager for the Oregon State Marine Board. “He’s a pillar in this profession.”
