(l-r) Bishop Lions Lefty Irwin, President George Johnson, Bruce Kingsbury, Ron Lewis and Don Buser.
At the start of trout season, it seemed like the right time to remind the communities of Inyo and Mono about the work done by Bishop Lions Club to create handicapped ramps in many places of the Eastern Sierra to open the sport of fishing, birdwatching and outdoor recreation to those who may have a physical Challenge. Lion Stan Smith wrote this:
The 5 Lions shown in the picture at the right and a whole bunch of other Lions and community volunteers recently completed Dock#1 at Rawson Pond #3, part of a planned group of 3 docks which will allow handicapped fishermen and -women to access warm-water fishing, bird-watching and general outdoor recreation/observation.
Largely a project brought to the Bishop Lions Club by community outdoor recreation activist, Dick Noles, the handicap ramp/dock plan brought together other Bishop Lions Ray Miklaucic, Neil Vedder, Larry Cox, Sam Dean and Ken Lloyd, along with community volunteers Steve Yeager, David Noles, Kirk Nance, Jerry Gabriel, Kenny Milici and Ryan Yeager, who performed the major work on this platform.
In addition, equipment and materials were donated by Boyd Fence, Brown’s Supply, Alpine Paint, County of Inyo, Sou Cal Edison, California Waterfowl Association (Bishop Chapter), Advocates for Access to Public Lands, Compton Hunting and Fishing Club, and others not named/submitted at deadline for this issue.
Financial support came from numerous private contributors, including food establishments, concrete and truck suppliers, and fuel dispensers. Several cash donations were made to support the ramp/dock work and a complete list is being prepared for recognition. One check from Bishop residents Jan Hambleton & Curt Schweizer was submitted to the Bishop Lions at lunch April 12th by club member Paul Bedell, co-chair with Lion Lefty Irwin. More are expected as the next 2 decks/docks are underway.
mucking –
You kinda’ had to be there, but first the Buckley Ponds/Rawson Ponds had to be drained and then mucked out by mechanical and hand means. Trucks, scoops, graders and Caterpillar equipment was made available through kind supporters including the City of Los Angeles’ Department of Water and Power, John Arcularius and his 10-wheeler, John Clair and his truck loader, and State of California’s CalFire operations near Bishop in Round Valley.
Concrete was made available by Steve Yeager, fencing by Boyd’s Fence, steel for the deck/dock framing and structure came from Brown’s Supply.
Framing and shape progress –
You can begin to see what Lions had in mind as Lefty Irwin (center) supervises volunteers placing and installing the concrete base and then the steel frame for the substructure of the ramp and dock. You can also see the effort remaining behind the workers which will be required to continue to clear, clean, dredge and refill the pond for access by the handicapped anglers. Not shown are other workers and the various structures intended to be placed in the pond when refilled/rewatered which will house the warm-water fish and serve as habitat and breeding locales.
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I went down there to check it out. I was truly amazed. The finished pond is awesome. Can’t wait until the fish start chasing my bait.