By Amy Sienicki
 
August 13, 2009
 
WHITE CITY, Ore. - Marine law enforcement officials from across the state are in Southern Oregon for river emergency training this week held on the Rogue River.
 
Every year the Jackson County Sheriff's Office hosts a week-long drift boat and raft training course, attended by 16 different sheriff's departments and 3 regions of the Oregon State Police. The 5-day course gets progressively harder as students and instructors move from calm to swifter water.
 
"It allows us to navigate the swift current that we have in the Clackamas River, where I'm from, and there's a lot of boat traffic and fishermen, and it allows us to safely interact with those people and make sure they're safe," Student Morgan Guthner said.
 
So far this year there have been six boating fatalities in the state. The majority of those have been in a non-motorized or river environment.