Andy Collins

"We test people that are, have been drinking so they can get some hands on experience with real drinkers," says TWRA Assistant Supervisor Andy Collins.

Volunteers with blood alcohol levels between .08 and .12 perform field sobriety tests by following a pen with their eyes, standing on one leg, and counting fingers.

"We have to do what we call float tasks and shore tasks and some of our float tasks are simple divided attention tasks that we have to do on the boat," Collins says.

Meanwhile, TWRA officer Andy Collins met Anderson's boat at the tournament weigh-in station at the Tellico boat ramp.After showing Collins their identification, Anderson and Martin took their fish to the scales.
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Boles said Collins couldn't arrest the men because only the officer who witnessed the act could take them in without a warrant.

"We are having a lot more people on the lakes and far fewer problems," said TWRA Wildlife Officer Andy Collins."I think this in part because we have a lot more officers on the water.We are checking the boats and we are enforcing the laws."

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Passengers Terry Dwayne Prater, 23, of Maryville and Adam McGill, 15, of Friendsville were able to swim 100 yards to shore near Foothills Point, according to Andy Collins, Loudon County Wildlife Officer for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).
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The men were fishing upstream at approximately 1:30 a.m. and became confused, were arguing about directions and got lost while trying to make their way back to the Moganton Boat Ramp at Baker's Creek, Collins said.
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The boat was in very bad condition with holes in the fiberglass hull, the bottom wooden covering had dry rotted out and the foam insulation was saturated with water, Collins said.Also, the boat was only rated for three people weighing 150 pounds each, Collins added.

TWRA is reportedly not filing charges because the operator died in the incident.Blood alcohol levels are not back from the lab but it appears that alcohol was a factor, Collins stated.

"If they had had their life jackets on they would have survived," Collins said."But they should never have been out on that boat to begin with."

Collins also said the water was very cold, about 60 degrees, the men were wearing boots, jeans and coats and they probably panicked when the boat capsized and they landed in the frigid water.Swimming 100 yards may not sound like a long distance, but under those circumstances it was just too much for the men who drowned, Collins said.

Loudon County Wildlife Officer Andy Collins said he anticipates a good deal of water traffic on the lakes, but added it will really depend on the weather.

"If it's cloudy there won't be as many boats out as there would if the weather was nice," Collins noted."A lot of our guys are going to be concentrated down in Loudon County around the dam.

"What that means is that we'll have maybe one officer come out of Blount County and one out of Monroe County and they'll just come down the lake.We'll have at least four boats down there each day" of the holiday weekend.

Usually, Collins added, there are a two patrol units on Tellico Lake and two or three on Fort Loudoun, all the way up into Blount County.The number one thing TWRA officers will be looking for is people operating boats under the influence.

"Alcohol is always a concern.Boating under the influence is something we really watch…A lot of boaters are getting good about having a designated driver, though," Collins said."It's legal to drink beer on a boat, and it's actually legal for the driver to have an open container, but the driver cannot be impaired.And that depends on the individual," he added.
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Although TWRA is putting extra officers on duty this weekend, Collins said he doesn't expect this to be the busiest weekend of the summer.

"It's probably not going to be as crowded as the Fourth of July because of the large fireworks show they'll have then.I'm not concerned about this weekend as much as I am about the Fourth of July weekend, but Memorial Day weekend is usually the big kickoff for boating, and it's generally where a lot of people get out," he said.

TWRA is the lead law enforcement agency on the water in Loudon County, Collins said.He added although the Coast Guard does not usually come to Tennessee, a Coast Guard Enforcement Unit might be on the lake during this holiday period.He said the Coast Guard Auxiliary will be on hand to assist.
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Last year at the Fourth of July show in Lenoir City Park, there were at least a thousand boats congregated for the fireworks display, Collins said.

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