SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- Oregon is having one of its worst years for boating deaths in recent memory.
The main recreational boating season has ended, and the Statesman Journal reports that there have been 17 deaths in boating accidents.
Boating fatalities have reached 20 twice in the past 15 years -- in 1998 and 2006.
Ashley Massey, a spokeswoman for the Oregon State Marine Board, says that although most fatalities occur during spring and summer, boating deaths in the winter months are not unheard of. She says fall and winter boating is dangerous because water levels are always changing.
