Kentucky: Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet

Friends of Lake Cumberland –

On Monday night, KET aired a documentary called “The Story of Lake Cumberland”. It is a 60 minute history of the dam and what the Lake means to the area.

A previous e-mail gave air dates for 2006. We are checking to see if there are any future air dates for 2007 – if so, they will be included in Wednesday’s update. The show is available for purchase through KET, for those interested.

A brief description is below:

Take a scenic journey through the history of southern Kentucky’s water wonderland in this documentary, which examines the history of the area before and after the construction of Wolf Creek Dam created the 50,000-acre Lake Cumberland. Along the way, you’ll also gain an appreciation for the economic and cultural benefits the lake provides to the surrounding community and its visitors.

Once upon a time, the Cumberland River flowed through a rural landscape dotted with low-lying farms, offering travelers a westward route via steamboat from Burnside, KY to Nashville. But its floods periodically created problems for the surrounding farms. So in the late 1930s and early ’40s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers devised a plan to construct a new dam to provide both flood relief and hydroelectric power to the region. In The Story of Lake Cumberland, local eyewitnesses and archival footage chronicle the success of the project. In addition to accomplishing the original practical goals, the formation of the lake jump-started the local tourism economy, creating an immense new recreational area. Today, around 7 million visitors come to Lake Cumberland each year to enjoy fishing, water sports, and the chance to escape into the natural beauty of this manmade waterscape.

The Story of Lake Cumberland is a Kentucky production, produced by Sentimental Productions.

RAMP CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO THE CORPS:

Usable
The following Corps operated and Commercial Marina boat ramps are usable at or near the target elevation 680” (* these ramps are monitored closely; conditions are subject to change)

	General Burnside Island State Park
	Cave Creek (approx. 15' of concrete left, then mud)
	Conley Bottom Marina (campground ramp, boats less 20'approx.)
	Halcomb's Landing (small boats less 20'approx.)
	Jamestown Marina
	Lee's Ford Marina
	Waitsboro (small boats less 20'approx.)

PHOTOS WANTED

We are looking for photos of Lake Cumberland at the 680’ level. We want photos taken since the lake settled at 680’ on 2/12 or after. When sending your photo please acknowledge you are letting us use the photos free of charge and we have your permission to do so.

CONTACT INFO:

If you have any questions, please e-mail them to me at: chris.gilligan@ky.gov.

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

WEB SITES OF INTEREST

LIVE WEBCAMS OF LAKE CUMBERLAND –

http://duo-county.com/cam_lake01.html

Jamestown Resort Marina, from the motel island looking ESE out to the main lake.

http://www.instacam.com/showcam.asp?id=GRGTN&size=L

State Dock harbor, from the dock office looking NW out to Greasy Creek.

KY Dept. of Tourism features Lake Cumberland on their “spotlight” page

http://www.kentuckytourism.com/spotlight.htm

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

Lake level:

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

Corps Nashville District:

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

DEVELOPMENTS

Public Hearings SCHEDULE

	8 March, - Russell Springs, Ky., Russell County High School, gym, 2166 S Hwy 127, 6:30-8 p.m., maps available at 3 p.m.
	15 March,-Burkesville, Ky., Cumberland County High School, gym, 912 North Main, 6:30-8 p.m., maps available at 5:00 p.m. (School has open house until 6:00 p.m.)
	22 March,-Celina, TN., Clay County High School, gym, 1102 Clay County Highway, 6:30-8 p.m., maps available at 4:30(NOTE: Gym holds 800 people unless we provide additional chairs on the gym floor)
	27 March,-Gainesboro, TN., Jackson County High School High School Gym, 190 Blue Devil Lane, 6:30-8p.m., maps available at 3 p.m.
	2 April,-Carthage, TN., Smith County High School, Auditorium, 312 Fite Avenue, 6:30-8p.m., maps available at 3:30 p.m.
	12-April, - Hartsville, TN., Trousdale County High School, gym, off HWY 25 on McMurray Blvd, 6:30-8p.m., maps available at 3:30 p.m.
	19-April, - Mt. Juliet, TN., Mt. Juliet High School, gym, 3565 N. Mount Juliet Road, 6:30-8p.m., maps available at 4 p.m.

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