SFC Musgraves, (RET), with more than 22-years under his belt, this full-fledged Veteran appears to have a leading edge over the Fishing Frenzy. Not only has he caught all Salmon species, he's enjoying fishing through-out much of the year in Alaska! It appears to be a battle between Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Soldiers still serving, Retired Veterans and several proud Americans! Who would have ever believed this Fishing Frenzy would have got this far?
Bass & Catfish in Tennessee!
During a visit back to Tennessee, on October 7, 2008, Dennis caught Bass and Catfish at a secret location in Western Tennessee - Unbelievable, but part of the proof is in his recent film flick (above)!
You Can Catch THESE In Alaska!!!
Before year's end in 2003, SFC Dennis Musgraves, was just having a great time in Alaska fishing and wanted to know if Clarksville Recreation would be stocking the pond with any fish like these below!
Left to right in the first row is a King Salmon weighing in at 25-lbs, slayed in Copper River, Alaska on 13 July 02; Arctic Grayling hooked in Badger Slough, Alaska in April, 2002; Pink (Humpy) Salmon, Montana Creek, Alaska, late July 2002!
Then, in the second row is a Chum Salmon in bright spawning colors caught in Salcha River, Alaska; The next is another Chum Salmon, Montana Creek, Alaska; and finally a King Salmon weighing in at 43-lbs caught at Sheep Creek, Alaska on 23 June 02.
Note: Sergeant Musgraves returned for his 3rd tour of duty at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, on September 5th, 2003, in Clarksville, Tennessee, and began his 21st year of service with the United States Army and decided the fish just were not big enough. He left for North Pole, Alaska, and his forthcoming retirement on 15 October 2005.
The PVA Bass Tour
A B.A.S.S. Sanctioned Event
In order to introduce people with disabilities to recreational and competitive sport of bass fishing, The Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) Sports and Recreation Program founded the PVA Bass Tour.
Currently, the tour has four tournaments. The success of the Tour has drawn the attention of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.), who now officially sanctions the Tour events.
Wheel Me On was pleased to learn several of their members attended this exciting event and wished all our paralyzed veterans and disabled participants a wonderful tournament on the first stop of the Tour, Lake Conroe in Willis, Texas. The Texas PVA hosted the event at Anchorage Marina on Lake Conroe, April 1-3, 2005.
Congratulations to All Anglers!
Over one hundred and fifty anglers from twenty-six states made the trip to Lake Conroe, Conroe TX, the first stop on the 2005 PVA Bass Tour, a BASS Sanctioned Event, hosted by the Texas PVA Chapter. What is impressive with these numbers are the nine Boat Partners who traveled the long distances to be a part of this event coming from California, Kansas, Ohio, Georgia, Florida and Alabama; this shows the strength, growth and support of the PVA Bass Tour.
While months and weeks prior to the tournament a couple of people were cutting down Lake Conroe as not being a good bass fishery, the Open Competition anglers put all those rumor's to "bed", as four records were broken. The biggest Bass caught by an Open competition angler, the largest five bass fish limit caught by an Open competition angler, the most bass weighing over eight pounds weighed in by Open Competition Anglers, and the largest bass caught this year on Lake Conroe. Many anglers caught their largest bass of their life to date!
You Cannot Catch These Lunkers In Alaska!!!
Left to Right: Doug Moore from Arkansas and the Mid-South Chapter of PVA, looks mighty pleased about his 9-pound; 4-ounce lunker catch of the day!
While Jon Duncan of Tyler, Texas grins almost as big as the BIG Fish weighing in at 11-pounds, 11-ounces.
And Shorty Powers manages to open his mouth nearly as big as the huge 8-pound, 8-ounce big boy.
Greg Joyce, The Woodlands, Texas, provides a little more humor with an angler (or is that Aggie?) handshake while handing out awards to particpants of the Bank Division. The biggest gain is the commaraderie among many anglers who attended this event.
Reeling It In ~ Clarksville, TN
Awareness programs from Wheel Me On... produce education and activities by using their own members who have a variety of experience in different fields. Had it not been for this small awareness program, it could have been months before someone finally said, "Hey, there's something wrong with this picture!" The end-result is the City of Clarksville has a fishing pier that is truly accessible for people using wheelchairs through a member's willingness to contribute. Anthony Becker allowed his insight to help many other people using wheelchairs enjoy the advantage of an accessible fishing pier.
On the 26th of July 2002, a small group of members from Wheel Me On… went on a short caravan to visit a recently built accessible fishing pier located in Clarksville, Tennessee. There were four people in wheelchairs, three adults who walked, and a five-year old grandson related to Julia Hollenbeck, founder and President of the organization.
Anthony Becker, a person with quadriplegia from Champaign, Illinois, was interested in visiting this accessible pier because he enjoyed fishing. Hollenbeck was interested in the project, simply for accessibility of their membership in Clarksville, where the headquartering office is located. The Directors of Wheel Me On… decided to include the visit to the pier during their weekend celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act, (ADA), scheduled for the following day at another local park.
Hollenbeck seldom without a camera, videotaped an interview with Becker and his father, Mike Becker, who had traveled down from Gurnee, Illinois, (to attend the ADA event), while at the pier. The result of the interview showed the Clarksville Fishing Pier located near the fairgrounds accessible but not for fishermen using wheelchairs who had legs.
After Steve Traylor, Director of Operations, for the Wheel Me On… Headquartering office, saw the film during a meeting, he decided to track down the responsible party for building the pier. Mark Tummons, Assistant Director, Parks and Recreation, Buildings and Roads, made immediate arrangements to see the film.
Hollenbeck and Traylor arrived with the videotape and met with James Crotty, Projects Supervisor, Clyde Karnes, Lead Crew Chief, and Tummons on August 28th. After watching the film, the officials realized the arm board set in place to hold the fishing rods was set too high, and the stop board was set too close for someone in a wheelchair with feet. Additionally, there was a board preventing a wheelchair user to get close enough to see over the top of the arm board.
After a short round of questions, the officials at the City Building Department took immediate steps to correct the problem, and suggested the following day for adjustments to the pier. The official's quickness to react and follow up with a hammer on the next day, stunned Hollenbeck and Traylor by their response, and they had to scramble to work out their schedules. The bet was Hollenbeck would be out there with her camera to document the new face-lift of the pier.
Intuition drove Julia Hollenbeck to the Clarksville Accessible Fishing Pier before receiving a telephone call from Steve Traylor announcing an appointed time. As it worked out, her intuition was correct. Clyde Karnes had arrived only moments before and was in the process of unloading equipment to modify the accessible areas of the pier. Hollenbeck quickly dialed the telephone number for Steve Traylor and said, "They're already here!"
Traylor's quick response, "I'm on my way," put Hollenbeck at ease. She wanted Traylor there because he used a wheelchair, was the Director of Operations for the organization, and was a fisherman. After the phone call, she got out of her van, grabbed her cameras, and headed for the pier to meet Karnes.
Karnes started to immediately remove the boards blocking access for people seated in wheelchairs wanting to use the pier. The two of them visited while both worked: Karnes with construction modifications, and Hollenbeck with her cameras. After a few minutes passed, someone stopped for a couple of minutes along the roadway, and watched them from a short distance. "Looks like we're attracting an audience," Hollenbeck said.
"Yep, guess they're wondering why we're sawing up the pier," Kearns joked back at her. The fishing pier was built for the intention of accommodating people who could stand as well as people who required wheelchair seating. The man slowly drove off.
Kearns made a call to James Crotty for a couple of pieces of lumber and more nails to be brought over to the pier, shortly after Traylor showed up to check the new positioning of the first stop board being set in place.
About the same time, concerned citizen, Don Clark, walked across the pier and approached them. "What are you guys doing?' He wanted to know. 'You just got this thing built, and now it looks like you're tearing it down." Clark was the person who had earlier stopped along the road, and told the group he was debating if he should call the police.
The wide board, containing holes at left and right-handed positions for fishing poles, was moved to 29-inches above the pier deck, maintaining an approximate 30 or 33-degree angle for arm resting comfort. Two by four lumber used for the stop board, was turned to lower the height of the lumber, and moved to the edge of the platform. This allowed feet on wheelchair footrests to clear, while still blocking wheels from going over the end of the pier. Additionally, a middle board blocking knees of people in wheelchairs from reaching the arm board was removed. The center fishing area of the pier received an upgrade when the original safety rail was raised, and an additional rail was placed below as a footrest for people who could stand while fishing. The pier modifications took less than a couple of hours.
Clarksville's Accessible Fishing Pier is located next to the Fairgrounds off of Hwy 48. There is an attractive fountain near the middle of the stocked fishing pond. The fishing pier will accommodate at least two wheelchairs and three or more people standing to fish at the same time. Additionally, there are two benches along the opposite width of the pier. Traylor stated, "It's a great way to benefit a lot of people who live in the city of Clarksville, use wheelchairs, and want to fish."
Our sincere appreciation is extended to The City of Clarksville's Department of Roads, Buildings, and Grounds: Mark Tummons, Assistant Director; James Crotty, Projects Supervisor; and Clyde Karnes, Lead Crew Chief for "Making it Right". Our gratitude to Wheel Me On... Members: Anthony Becker, Champaign, Illinois; his assistant Lupe; Mike and Gabi Becker, Rosie "The Beauty", Gurnee, Illinois; Craig Shera, New York; and Duncan Musgraves, son of BM1 Musgraves, for attending the Caravan to Clarksville's Fishing Pier; and Steve Traylor, Director of Operations, Wheel Me On Headquartering Office, Clarksville, Tennessee, for bringing it all together.
"On September 3, 2002, the Access Board published new guidelines that address access for persons with disabilities to a variety of recreation facilities...As issued by the Board, the final guidelines are not mandatory on the public. Instead, they set the minimum baseline for enforceable standards maintained by the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the ADA and other agencies under the ABA. In the interim, the public may use the new guidelines as a resource in addressing access to the types of facilities covered until they are made part of the standards used to enforce the ADA and ABA."
Please see Board Issues New Accessibility Guideline for Recreation Facilities
Fishing Piers and Platforms (15.3)
This section addresses railings and edge protection on fishing piers and platforms. Railings, guardrails, and handrails are not required by the guidelines. However, where they are provided, a portion (at least 25%) cannot be more than 34 inches high so that the railings do not obstruct fishing for people using wheelchairs. An eception permits the use of a guard complying with the International Building Code where required by other authorities. Lowered railings are required to be dispersed throughout a fishing facility. Edge protection at east 2 inches high is also addressed to prevent the wheels of mobility aids from slipping over the edge.
Please see Accessibility Guidelines for Recreation Facilities: An Overview
Update: On October 16th, 2002, Steve Traylor accompanied Julia Hollenbeck to present a Certificate of Appreciation from Wheel Me On... To Mark Tummons, Assistant Director, Parks and Recreation, Buildings and Roads Department of the City of Clarksville in Tennessee.
Additionally, they presented an enlarged photo of the completed pier, and presented Clyde Karnes, Lead Crew Chief, with a variety of photographs taken during the renovation of Clarksville's Accessible Fishing Pier. But in truth, all Hollenbeck really wanted to know was whether or not they were going to stock a few BIG fish in the pond before her son returned to Clarksville.
Note: During early 2008, the Clarksville Accessible Fishing Pier was severally damaged during a storm. It is presently unknown when or if the pier will be replaced.
Note: Wheel Me On... does not warrant Google Sponsor ads will be in ADA compliance or support web page content.
