Lake Cumberland will be “in good shape” during the Fourth of July holiday and, despite a slight chance of showers each day, the weekend will not be a washout for thousands of water lovers converging upon Pulaski County and around the lake.
Come on in, the water’s fine is recipe for a good time, but there are many things to do for landlubbers among us.
The holiday celebration begins at 6 p.m. today (Thursday) and kicks off with a fireworks display at 27 Twin Drive-In when darkness gathers. SomerBlast, the Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce independence weekend extravaganza, starts at 2 p.m. Friday with music by six area bands topped off by a magnificent pyrotechnics show about 10 p.m.
If that’s not enough, there’s even more. Another fireworks display will dazzle the Saturday night sky at Lee’s Ford Marina Resort; SomerSplash, the city’s fabulous water park, will have extended hours; and hundreds of yard sales and shopping sprees will help bide time until drawn to the supper table by tantalizing smells of Momma’s cooking.
The lake is the biggest draw on any summer weekend, and safety is always top priority for water enthusiasts. Marshall Jennings, the lake’s environmental protection specialist, said boaters should be aware of floating debris in certain areas because of recent heavy rains.
Generators at Wolf Creek Dam are operating 24 hours a day and the lake level is slowly falling. It should be near the target of 680 feet above sea level during the upcoming weekend, Jennings said.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the past couple of years has not made a visitation estimate prior to summer holiday periods.
“We don’t give numbers anymore,” Jennings noted. “Visitation at the lake is down somewhat this summer,” he conceded. Corps officials attribute lesser numbers of tourists more to a sluggish economy than a lower lake level while Wolf Creek Dam is undergoing major rehabilitation. Lake Cumberland still has 30,000 acres of water and plenty of space for water sports, tourism promoters insist.
During the good old days, prior to problems at Wolf Creek Dam, more than 400,000 visitors would crowd into the 10-county lake area for the Independence Day weekend. Now, Lake Cumberland joins tourist Meccas across the country feeling the pinch of a worldwide recession. Visitation is slowed by holidayers who travel less because of concerns about their economic futures. However, tourism promoters expect a favorable weekend boosted by July 4 falling on a Saturday this year.
“If you remember, the 4th was on a weekday last year,” said Carolyn Mounce, executive director of Somerset-Pulaski Convention and Visitors Bureau. She said a spot check of local motels early in the week indicated plenty of rooms still available for the holiday weekend.
“It’s sort of a mixed bag,” said Mounce. “Some of the motels are sold out Friday night; about 85 percent of the rooms are taken Saturday night and there are vacancies Sunday night.
“We will have extended hours at the visitors’ center during the holiday,” Mounce said. “We’ll get phone calls ... we know where to send people ... we expect more rooms to be taken by the weekend.” There are 1,145 overnight lodging places in Pulaski County.
Marina operators in the area are expressing optimism.
“Every boat we have is rented ... it looks like we’re going to do really well this weekend,” said Jennifer Nicholas, cashier at Burnside Marina.
“I would think we will be rocking,” laughed J.D. Hamilton, owner of Lee’s Ford Marina Resort. He said most of his cabins are rented and July 4th on Saturday should draw a good crowd to the lake.
Pulaski County Park is high and dry since the lake has been low, but the park near Nancy is still a popular place for camping and homecomings.
“Quiet a few of our campsites with water and electricity are already taken and all our shelters are rented,” said manager Vickie McQueary.
All campsites at General Burnside Island State Park are taken and the recently renovated golf course will be heavily used. “We don’t have a tee time until 1 p.m. Friday, and Saturday is filling up,” said Jim Reid, assistant manager at the pro shop.
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July 1, 2009
Go `Fourth’ and Have Fun
Lakegoers and landlubbers alike have much to do this holiday
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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.” - Local Democrats diss Obama
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