George, the L&D 3 Operator

Many of you that have locked through Lock and Dam 3 just North of Everts have met George. Maybe not by name, but by his friendly manner.

He’s the fella that will come lock side and chat with you asking about the fishing bite and telling about someone that had good luck the other day. Just an all around friendly guy.

Yesterday George had an accident while working with a barge locking through. He ended up in Red Wing Hospital with surgery on a compound leg fracture.

Get well soon George! We miss you blowing the horn!

Get well soon George

Only met him the one time locking through with BK…..heck of a friendly dude

Get well soon George

That sounds bad. I don’t know how the accident happened but I’ve heard when those barge lines get stuck and break, they snap with tremendous force. Hopefully he’s not in a lot of pain and will heal quickly.

Boone

Sounds like you hit the nail on the head Boone.

Quote:

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A Lock and Dam No. 3 worker was injured Monday after a cable snapped and struck his leg.

Lockmaster Dan Schmidt said workers were locking in a tow with cables – a common practice – when one snapped at about 9:30 a.m., striking the man, who was not identified. The man received a compound fracture in his left leg and was transported to Fairview Red Wing Medical Center, Red Wing firefighters said.

Schmidt said Monday’s high winds were a factor in the Welch accident.

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http://www.republican-eagle.com/event/article/id/61881/

At least he made it injury free thru bikini season.
Get well soon!

Get healed up soon,sorry to hear of this.

Sorry to hear this.Hope you heal up fast.

Glad to hear that is all that happened to him. Tangling with barge cant be a good thing. Get well soon.

No good, heal up quick George!

Jami

Thank you Brian for the link to this site! I’m calling myself Lockman here but I am actually George the lockman.
I sure appreciate all the nice things you all are saying. And yes, lockmen and women have very dangerous jobs. One little miscue can cost you a limb or your life. I am very lucky I did not lose my left foot. It was just holding on by the meat basically. The doctor thinks it may be 6 months or more before I can return to work. I’m working hard on PT now trying to stay in shape and praying I don’t have to go in for another round of surgeries. They think I may need a bone graft. Dang! I sure appreciate living in America and having a program like Workmen’s Comp. Without it, my wife and I would probably be wiped out with the bills. God Bless The USA!
Hopefully I’ll be back on the wall by April or May. Good fishing and happy trails! George

Welcome to the posting side of IDO George!

Jez I didn’t know it was that bad.

Quote:

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Hopefully I’ll be back on the wall by April or May.

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I’ll be knocking on your lower door in May!

Hang in there George just got done with PT finally 4 weeks early and still continue to work with it daily! It is not fun by any means but so rewarding when your done1 Hang in there and maybe BK will invite me back this summer and meet you again

Glad to see you on the site George

It is also good to hear you are on the mend with all your limbs

George, George, George…. You need to get back to work ASAP!! The place is a MESS!!

Welcome to the site, hope you heal quickly, and glad to hear you are still with the living. A lot of us have been waiting for this update. Thanks.

I am curious to see how they are getting along without me at the lock. I liked doing a lot of those “unsung songs” that would normally fly under the radar. I’ve got cabin fever pretty bad now and I’m just praying for a better exam on 12/8. My last x-ray didn’t show much progress. Crossing my fingers and working it hard.

Since they’re shutting her down today, they can clean up the mess!

My question is…Who’s going to wax the control room floor while your out!?

Your desk getting a little dusty?

Hello Brian K.’s cousin. I do want to get back to work but I think I have to be able to walk I’m a-workin’ on it!

I totally botched my wax job last year. They’re probably glad I’m not there to wreck it again

Rumor has it….Brian waxes too

Next year you’ll have to start waxing about 1 am. I’ll stand guard for you. I know how to step on towes.

Bret…never mind.

Hey, I’m back and I’m here to tell you I’m getting back in shape. I’m a little sore yet but I can do my job and that’s all that counts, right? I have a special request for Brian K., Brian, How about a photo of that 42 pounder you guys got a couple nights ago? Was it really a mermaid? I’d also like to know, have there been any reports of freshwater sharks up this far? I saw a dead fish below the lock that looked an awful lot like a nurse shark. I know, it sounds crazy. Maybe it was just trying to get away from the big oil spill? You are the expert, right?

Great news George

glad you are on the mend!

Glad to hear your friendly voice over the radio again George, it was missed. Calling the Favorite Cousin at lock 2 to bring breakfast over made me roll on the floor.

Here’s Rob with his 42 from Tuesday after the storm…

Rob caught caught an impressive number of fish over his four day stay. Fourteen with this 42 being the largest and a 40 pounder to back that one up.

Tonight was my first night off in 5 days, figured I would give the guys at L&D 3 the late night break and get caught up on the posts here!

BTW Tim said you didn’t leave him any donuts.

Come up to the house about 4:30 am. I’m sure Bob would be happy to share his Raisin Bran with you!

Nuts…just missed it this morning.