More money is coming the way of the Lake Cumberland region from U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, who announced the release of $2.25 million from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for mitigation measures concerning the lowered water level of the lake.
Rogers “sought this funding as part of an ongoing approach of working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to repair Wolf Creek Dam and enable Lake Cumberland to continue to provide economic and environmental benefits to the area.”
The funding will go toward the extension of marina launching ramps, upkeep and enhancement of recreation and parking facilities, retrofitting current structures to accommodate Lake Cumberland staying at 680 feet above sea level for the rest of the year as the Corps of Engineers works to fix the precarious dam.
Cumberland Point, Fall Creek, Waitsboro, Lee's Ford, Conley Bottom, Alligator 2, Jamestown, Girdler Hill Dock, Burnside Island State Park and Lake Cumberland State Park are the ramp sites slated to undergo extension.
“This funding is an important step in the right direction,” said Rep. Rogers. “The Lake Cumberland community is open for business, and I am pleased the Corps is working with us to provide the resources to help ensure that is the case.”
Also, the Fifth District congressman announced that $1.4 million in PRIDE (Personal Responsibility In a Desirable Environment) funds would be coming to eastern Kentucky to advance the environmental organization’s infrastructure improvement program.
“With this funding, our ongoing campaign to eliminate straight pipes and failing septic systems and provide more of our citizens with safe, sanitary wastewater treatment services can continue,” Rogers said. “The Corps of Engineers has been a valued partner throughout the 10-year history of PRIDE, and I am pleased to see this relationship continue.”
Under the name of the Section 531 Program, the money is given to rural counties, cities and utilities for innovative wastewater treatment projects, sewer line extensions or treatment plant upgrades. The grants cover 75 percent of the project cost, with the remaining 25 percent contributed from the grantee.
All told, PRIDE has invested $116 million to provide sanitary wastewater treatment service to more than 27,000 homes in the region, with Rogers using his status as a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee to work for more funding.
“This funding is just one more step in our mission to restore our waterways to their pristine beauty,” said Rogers. “We're working hard to put a new face on the region, and we plan to share it with tourists from all over."
Local News
Corps releases mitigation funds
$2.25 million to provide relief from lowered levels of Lake Cumberland
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Somerset on verge of becoming natural gas hub
It sounds like a Buck Rogers fiction series, but it’s true. The city of Somerset is about to become the energy hub of Kentucky, maybe even regionally or nationally.
Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler, gas company manager Dan Henderson and city engineer Reggie Chaney discussed the grandiose energy network this week with a reporter for the Commonwealth Journal. It’s more than a vision. City officials say it’s about to become reality. -
Old districts are back ... for now
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Such is the legislative redistricting debacle in Frankfort.
Judge Phillip Shepherd in Franklin Circuit Court on Tuesday tossed out the General Assembly’s controversial redistricting plans and reverted everything back to where it was before. -
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Big Bang Theory
Pulaski County is not at war. The booming you may hear at dusk is mock cannon fire to scare away birds.
Stuart Spillman, environmental director for the Lake Cumberland Health Department, said at least three cannons are on loan from the department to residents who want to scare away swarms of starlings and blackbirds settling in to roost.
He said a cannon is being used by a resident on Laura Lane off Ky. 39; another is in the Oak Hill Road area and a third is on Ashurst Street in the eastern part of Somerset.
Spillman said a timer on each cannon allows it to “fire” at whatever frequency is desired. The cannons must be used as the birds circle before going to roost. “After they settle in, nothing will chase them out,” Spillman said.
The Health Department doesn’t operate the cannons unless there is a specific complaint in an area where there are lots of birds, Spillman noted. He said so far this year the birds are not as bad as in the past. -
Boil water advisory is lifted countywide
The water controversy that Pulaski County has been boiling over — so to speak — for the last week is finally over.
At 10 minutes after noon Wednesday, the “boil water” advisory for the Western Pulaski Water District was lifted — almost a full week after the problems began around 1 p.m. last Thursday.
Prior to that, the Somerset Water Service — along with the other water providers in its system, including Science Hill Water, Southeastern Water, and Eubank Water — lifted their advisories, with Somerset on Saturday afternoon and the last, Southeastern, by Monday morning. Western Pulaski was the last in the system to complete sample testing for potential contaminants, due to not being able to access its Pikeville-based testing lab until Monday.
Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler thanked the public for its patience and understanding during the duration of the boil water advisory — put in place to keep citizens from drinking water that could have been contaminated after an accident last Thursday at the water plant site — and also thanked all the city employees for their hard work during this time.
“The boil water advisory went about as well as would be expected,” said Girdler.
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SCS to host Medal of Honor recipient
The message is clear: There are heroes. Even here in our own hometowns.
That’s the idea organizers hope to get across Saturday night at Somerset Christian School, when Congressional Medal of Honor winner Sgt. Dakota Meter speaks to all who choose to attend.
For further questions, ticket purchases, and sponsorship opportunities please contact Susan Adams at (606) 875-0255. -
Newspaper veteran name Publisher of Commonwealth Journal
SOMERSET — A fourth generation newspaperman has been named publisher of the Commonwealth Journal.
Rob McCullough, 50, who started working in a newspaper mailroom when he was 15, officially assumes his duties today. He succeeds Jack McNeely who has accepted a position with the Daily Mountain Eagle in Jasper, Alabama.
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Blakley receives worldwide honor
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