A representative from Gov. Ernie Fletcher’s office said state government wants information as early as possible about the level of Lake Cumberland next year.
Hilda Legg, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Interagency Services in the Lake Cumberland Region, said if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “... can give us something firm early in the fall ...” marinas can make plans and the area can be marketed for next summer. Legg made the remarks Wednesday while accompanying top Corps officials on a tour of Lake Cumberland.
Legg said state government “... would like to have assurance” from the Corps that the level of the lake won’t be lowered another 30 feet. She emphasized, however, that safety is top priority.
The Corps earlier this year directed municipalities and other water users to lower intakes to the 650-foot level in case the lake has to be dropped lower to facilitate repairs at Wolf Creek Dam. The level currently is being maintained at 680 feet above sea level, about 40 feet lower than normal during the vacation season.
Corps officials have insisted there are no plans to lower the lake another 30 feet unless there is a new crisis at Wolf Creek Dam. The dam has been classified by an outside panel of experts as in high risk of failure.
Bill Peoples, public information officer for the Corps’ Nashville District, said Wednesday that rumors making the round that the lake will be raised to 700 feet next year are “purely rumors.” He said the rumors are being fired by people wearing buttons proclaiming a 700-foot level for the lake.
An intense grouting program is under way at the dam and an assessment of the grouting’s effect will be made in the fall. Peoples said a determination will be made late this fall about what level the lake will be next year.
The $309 million rehabilitation of the unstable Wolf Creek Dam is under way and the project is scheduled to take seven years. However, Gen. Bruce Berwick, commander of the Great Lakes and Ohio River District of the Corps, said this week that if a way can be found to expedite the project, additional money will be requested to complete the dam work sooner.
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Hilda Legg, executive director of the Governor’s office of Interagency Services in the Lake Cumberland Region, says state government wants to know as quickly as possible the level of Lake Cumberland next year. She emphasized that safety is top priority. File photo
Legg: Frankfort wants early assessment of 2008 lake levels
Corps should be able to make projection in fall
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Hal Rogers defends Somerset’s Streetscape project
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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
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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.
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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. -
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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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