Kentucky: Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet

Friends of Lake Cumberland –

Sections of a recent KY Post article:
Stanley and Menth were persuaded to come back this summer. They were more wowed by the changed sights of the lowered lake than put off by them. And they saw plenty of water.

"Yeah. We'll come back," said Menth, who lives in Green Township.

"Oh, yeah. It's too much fun," said her friend Stanley.

And private owners are trying to get the message out: We're open. At State Dock in Russell Springs on the western and deeper end of the lake, Bill Jasper, president of the 400-slip marina with its 100-vessel fleet of the houseboats, pontoon boats, johnboats and ski boats all available for rent, says the perceptions are worse than the reality. The impressions people have gotten from some of the news stories is that there will be "$1 million boats sitting in the mud, that you can't get to the marinas and that the dam is going to fail right away," Jasper said. Once they hear or better yet, see, what the lake is actually like, their concerns are allayed, he said. He estimates he's had 1,000 calls but only five cancellations.

Becky Hines, advertising and customer service specialist at Burnside Marina, has had the same kinds of calls from customers.

"We've had calls and concerns but no cancellations," Hines said. "We haven't lost any boat rentals, and they're still calling looking for houseboats. We just have to make sure the public understands that we're going to be at a different level

Don’t forget the Corps will hold a public hearing on the Lake Cumberland/Wolf Creek Dam situation on TONIGHT Feb. 12, 6:30 p to 8:00 pm, Hendersonville First Baptist Church in TENNESSEE.

CONTACT INFO:

If you have any questions, please e-mail them back to me at this address: chris.gilligan@ky.gov and we will try and get you an answer.

If interested in learning about the KY Tourism Development Loan Program – contact Todd at 502-564-8067 or todd.cassidy@ky.gov.

Past newsletters are available at www.commerce.ky.gov. Click on the “News” icon on the left side or scroll down to the bottom of the page to view the.

ITEMS OF INTEREST

http://lakecumberland.com/

Army Corps of Engineers Lake Cumberland/Wolf Creek Dam web page. http://www.lrn.usace.army.mil/pao/issues/WOLcommo/

If you want to monitor the level here is the website: http://www.lrn.usace.army.mil/hh/resplots/wol_a.html

The Corps’ Manager's office home page:

http://www.orn.usace.army.mil/pao/lakeinfo/WOL.htm

On the Net: Corps Nashville District:

http://www.lrn.usace.army.mil/

DEVELOPMENTS

Corps of Engineers Public Meeting Schedule

_ Thursday, Feb. 15, 6:30 p.m., Gallatin City Hall, 132 W. Main St., Gallatin. ___

RECENT NEWS ARTICLES

http://news.kypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070210/NEWS02/702100314/1014

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070210/NEWS02/702100319
Marina owners scramble in wake of Corps' decision

http://news.kypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070212/NEWS01/702120356/1014

Guide confident fishing in lake won't be hurt

An AP article picked up by several media outlets talked about the dam repairs taking place on top of karst topography. (Brief article appears below. Some publications ran much longer versions that elaborated more, but said nothing different. )

Leaky limestone challenges repairs at dam threatening Nashville

JAMESTOWN, Ky. A dam on Kentucky's Lake Cumberland undergoing repairs has been plagued by leaky underground caverns for decades.

Federal officials leading the 300 (M) million-dollar project say the limestone caverns -- known as karst - present unique problems for engineers.

The plan is to pour concrete into the underground gaps and build a long underground wall to seal of the seeping passages at Wolf Creek Dam. Officials say the dam is in danger of failure if the work isn't done.

But experts say the underground karst could be problematic.

Western Kentucky University geology professor Nick Crawford says it's doubtful workers will be able to seal off all the leaking water underground.

Officials with the U-S Corps of Engineers say technology has improved since the last repair project at the dam in the 1970s. They say the new work will ensure the dam is safe for another 50 years.