A permanent fix for Burnside Island

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The Kentucky Department of Parks said construction will begin next week on a permanent extension of the ramp at General Burnside Island State Park to accommodate both pleasure and houseboats. The aerial photograph by John Tuttle shows the parking area and ramp at the state park. Aerial Photo by John Tuttle

March 28, 2007

By BILL MARDIS Editor Emeritus The Commonwealth Journal Wed Mar 28, 2007, 09:04 AM EDT

Construction is expected to begin next week on a permanent extension to the boat-launching ramp at General Burnside Island State Park. The ramp was temporarily extended earlier this year.

John Drake, director of Facilities Management for the Kentucky Department of Parks, said a contract was let Friday to extend the existing 90-foot-wide ramp an additional 120 feet to the 674.5 level for pleasure boats. A 16-foot-wide lane will extend another 45 feet to the 670-foot level for houseboat launching.

Drake did not reveal the name of the contractor. He said negotiations are still in progress.

The ramp extension to about the 682 foot level will be poured concrete. Below that the extension will be done with panels of Armorflex, a product Drake described as “flexible concrete tied together with steel.”

The contract for the ramp extension has a May 19 completion date. Drake noted, however, that lake fluctuations due to rain can delay the work “ ... but we fully intend to have it done by Memorial Day.”

Boat launching will continue during the construction period. Pleasure boats may launch anytime and the contractor will make provisions for houseboats to launch on Mondays and Tuesdays, Drake said.

The level of Lake Cumberland is being kept much lower than normal because of seepage problems at Wolf Creek Dam. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced in January that the lake would be kept at 680 feet above sea level, more than 40 feet below normal, throughout the remainder of this year. The lower water level reduces pressure on the dam that has been classified at “high risk” for failure.

The ramp extension at General Burnside Island State Park is one of two major ramp-extension projects being done by the Kentucky Department of Parks. The other project is at Lake Cumberland State Resort Park near Jamestown. The ramp at Lake Cumberland State Park will remain closed until the extension project is completed.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources designed the ramp extensions, the Department of Parks reviewed and approved the design and the Transportation Cabinet will let the contracts and supervise construction, Drake said.

The Kentucky Depart-ment of Fish and Wildlife Resources is also extending three boat ramps, including the recently constructed ramp at the end of Slate Branch Road in southwestern Pulaski County. The other two are Ono in the Caney Creek embayment and Lilly Creek. Total cost of the three ramp extensions is $120,000 -- $30,000 for Slate Branch, $70,000 for Lilly Creek and $20,000 for Ono.

“By extending these ramps, the state is providing access for recreational boaters and fishermen to enjoy Kentucky’s third-largest lake, Lake Cumberland,” said Gov. Ernie Fletcher. “There is plenty of water and opportunities for recreation at Lake Cumberland this boating season.”

John Drake, director of Facilities Management for the Department of Parks, is a native of Somerset. He is the son of Eloise and the late Bob Drake.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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