\nLake Springfield, brought it home, hosed it off, and used it for
\nyears.<\/em><\/p>\n
It’s probably too late for your clip-on sunglasses, but if anything I have no affiliation with these people, but here’s their information:<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n SUSART (Non-Emergency) If it’s lost in the lake, call SUSART \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0529-5191 who knew?\u00a0 who is susart???? why do they look for things?\u00a0 do they charge?\u00a0 would they really be able to find my clip-0ns?\u00a0 i mean, of course they wouldn’t be able to find them now because i’m sure they’ve been buried under all the mud and gunk, but it would be hard to find them.<\/p>\n ok, i decided to spend the three seconds necessary for looking up susart online.\u00a0 it’s the SPRINGFIELD UNDERWATER SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM, of course, and they do it for free, but ask for donations.\u00a0 you should read this article, because it’s fascinating.\u00a0 they’ve found many things including an engagement ring and a bowling ball.<\/p>\n this is good, because sometimes when i’m swimming in the lake i get an irrational fear that somehow my wedding rings are going to slip off my fingers and sink to the bottom.\u00a0 i can put that fear to rest knowing that somebody could find them!<\/p>\n SUSART has searched area waters for 50 years<\/strong><\/p>\n By JOHN REYNOLDS (john.reynolds@sj-r.com)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER<\/p>\n Posted Nov 09, 2010 @ 11:30 PM<\/p>\n They\u2019ve searched for drowning victims, criminal evidence and everything from jewelry to sunken boats and trains that have been lost underwater.<\/p>\n For 50 years, the divers of the Springfield Underwater Search and Rescue Team have been answering the call for help.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it\u2019s worth something to you, we\u2019ll look for it,\u201d said Chatham resident John Kopatz, who was on the team during most of the 1970s.<\/p>\n Perfect safety record<\/strong><\/p>\n SUSART was organized in 1960 by a group of local diving enthusiasts. It was, and still is, a nonprofit community service group dedicated to providing underwater search and recovery service. Even when looking for lost items, the team doesn\u2019t charge for its services.<\/p>\n They do, however, ask for donations.<\/p>\n From the beginning, the team has specialized in black-water diving. That means relying on their sense of touch in pitch-black conditions. They\u2019ve searched in everything from flooded drainage ditches to Lake Springfield to rivers. Most of their calls come during the summer, but they have also dived in the winter.<\/p>\n Jim Kopec of Springfield, current commander of the group, said the team has maintained a perfect safety record.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s dangerous work,\u201d Kopec said. \u201cI will say this with pride: We have no accidents or injuries in the 50 years we have been doing this because of our training.\u201d<\/p>\n Zero visibility<\/strong><\/p>\n Jim Hoover, 70, a Springfield resident and member of the team since 1965, explained that if a person in a lighted room were to close his or her eyes, the brownish-black is similar to what a SUSART diver sees.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce you get to the bottom and start searching, you stir up the silt. It\u2019s almost like a mushroom cloud. Then, it turns totally black, depending on where you are and how deep you are,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Flashlights are useless, and lighted gauges are unreadable. Team members tested an illuminated air-tank gauge once, but all they could see was a pale glow when they put the gauge right up to their face masks. One search method involves a diver sitting at the bottom of a body of water, holding a rope. Another diver has the other end of the rope and swims in a circle. After each complete revolution, the stationary diver lets out a little more rope, which allows the other diver to widen the search area and cover new ground.<\/p>\n The divers also tug on the ropes to send messages to each other.<\/p>\n Gender barrier broken<\/strong><\/p>\n Nadine Hayward, 51, of Sherman remembers the rope signals well.<\/p>\n She was a member of the team from around 1989 to 2003. She was the first, and so far only, female SUSART diver.<\/p>\n Hayward said she was invited to join the team by one of the members, but when she showed up for her first meeting, the man hadn\u2019t told everyone that he\u2019d recruited a woman.<\/p>\n \u201cI think a lot of them were stunned when I walked in. It was kind of quiet,\u201d Hayward said. \u201cBut, after the first dive or two, they saw that I carried my own gear and pulled my weight. They realized I wasn\u2019t going to ask for any special treatment and was going to do the job just like them.\u201d<\/p>\n Hayward left the group when she became a mother. She said it was a hard decision, but being on call 24 hours a day was difficult when she was home alone with the baby.<\/p>\n Last month, Hayward attended a reunion of current and former SUSART divers. She realized then the bond she\u2019d formed with the other team members was still very strong.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like a family. You literally put your life in somebody else\u2019s hands. You learn to trust each other. You know that guy on the top will come down and get you if there\u2019s a problem,\u201d Hayward said.<\/p>\n Three dive teams now<\/strong><\/p>\n When it started, the Springfield Underwater Search and Rescue Team was the only dive team in the area. Kopatz remembers looking for the body of a young boy in Arthur, which is east of Decatur, back in the \u201970s. He said the whole town turned out and made sure the rescuers had everything they needed.<\/p>\n \u201cI had never seen so much food in all my life,\u201d he said. \u201cThe town was overwhelmed that people would come from such a distance to help in that kind of situation, for someone they didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n Later in the year, SUSART and other rescue teams were invited back to Arthur. The town wanted to thank them for their hard work.<\/p>\n \u201cThey took up a collection and tried to give us a bucket of money. We told them we couldn\u2019t accept the money and ask them to give it to the family or wherever to best help the town,\u201d Kopatz said.<\/p>\n Since the creation of SUSART 50 years ago, the Sangamon County Rescue Squad and the Springfield Fire Department have started their own dive teams. The rescue squad\u2019s team dates to the 1980s, and the fire department\u2019s became operational around 2001.<\/p>\n Nowadays, the rescue squad handles most of the calls involving drowning victims in Sangamon County. But if the need arises, SUSART is available to help.<\/p>\n Volunteers needed<\/strong><\/p>\n On average, SUSART is called out about two or three times a month during the summer. In addition to searching for lost items, they inspect areas to make sure they are safe for swimming or boat traffic. Hoover is still diving, but said he is trying to \u201cphase himself out\u201d due to his age.<\/p>\n \u201cI really enjoy the team, Hoover said. \u201cThe team has given a lot to me, and I want to give back. By working with the team. I\u2019m doing something for someone else that they can\u2019t do for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n John Reynolds can be reached at 788-1524.<\/p>\n Some SUSART searches<\/strong><\/p>\n The Springfield Underwater Search and Rescue Team has looked for a lot of lost items over its 50-year history. The basic philosophy of the group is that if it has value to someone, they\u2019ll look for it.<\/p>\n John Kopatz, a former member, recalled that one of the more unusual items they searched for was a lost bowling ball in Lake Springfield.<\/p>\n \u201cThis guy had been in a bowling tournament in St. Louis and had done bad,\u201d Hoover said. \u201cAs he was crossing the bridge, he decided it was the ball that caused him the grief, so he heaved it over the bridge. After a while, he decided it wasn\u2019t the ball\u2019s fault, so we went out and looked for it.\u201d<\/p>\n The SUSART divers were able to find the ball, but the cold water had caused it to crack.<\/p>\n Other items recovered by the team have included engagement rings, hearing aids and a set of false teeth lost by a skier in Lake Springfield.<\/p>\n The team also searched for a prosthetic eye, but they weren\u2019t able to find it.<\/p>\n \u201cThe success of any dive is based on several factors. Number one, it\u2019s based on the person who loses an item. If they don\u2019t know where they were at when they lost it, we aren\u2019t going to find it. It\u2019s just that simple,\u2019 Hoover said.<\/p>\n \u2014 John Reynolds The Springfield Underwater Search and Rescue Team would like to get a new building to house its equipment, which includes a truck and boats.<\/p>\n Team members have been looking at possible sites, including on Lake Springfield.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be nice if we had some property on the lake where we could put our boat in the water there and not have to worry about a lot of things,\u201d said Jim Kopec, a Springfield resident and current commander of the group. \u201cThat would be better for us equipment-wise.\u201d<\/p>\n Kopec added that the team appreciates all the people who have helped with donations and fundraisers through the years.<\/p>\n Anyone who wants to help SUSART can send donations to: Springfield Underwater Search and Rescue Team; 3155 Fox Bridge Road; Springfield, IL 62703.<\/p>\n For more information on fundraisers, call 529-5191.<\/p>\n
\nlike that ever happens again, you might want to call SUSART. \u00a0My
\ndaughter lost her glasses in the lake this summer, called SUSART, and
\nthey went out the next day and found them. \u00a0Amazing.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/em>
\n<\/a>LAKE SPRINGFIELD IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION WEBSITE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n
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\nWhen working in pitch-black conditions, the divers navigate by touch, using ropes to help them search.<\/p>\n
\nThey searched for local drowning victims and were often called to other communities.<\/p>\n
\nThere are eight members on the team, and senior members are hoping to recruit more volunteers.<\/p>\n
\nWant to help?<\/strong><\/p>\n
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