Cleanup initiative at river canceled

Published 10:35 am Thursday, July 26, 2018

The annual River Sweep to clean the banks along the Kentucky River has been called off again for high water.

The event was originally scheduled in June, but heavy rainfall and rising water levels in the river forced its postponement to Saturday.

In the wake of a weekend of heavy rainfall, the event has been called off again.

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“The water’s higher than it was the first time,” Clark County Solid Waste Coordinator Gary Epperson said Wednesday. “It’s projected to go down but it will still be too rough to get out there.”

Epperson said volunteers pick up trash river currents push to the Clark County side of the river across from Fort Boonesborough State Park. Other volunteers in boats then pick up the bags of trash.

The event is always a joint effort with Madison County officials. Epperson said they may schedule a smaller event later this year, but plans have not been finalized.

The need for the event certainly has not abated.

“I’d say a lot of the trash on our side has been washed downstream and replaced with new trash,” he said.

The event has been canceled a couple times in the past for bad weather, but this is the first time it has been called off twice in the same year.

About Fred Petke

Fred Petke is a reporter for The Winchester Sun, the Jessamine Journal and the State Journal. His beats include cops, courts, fire, public records, city and county government and other news. To contact Fred, email fred.petke@bluegrassnewsmedia.com or call 859-759-0051.

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