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href="http://www.jessamineonline.com/public_html/images-demo/JJAnniversary.pdf" class="style3">Anniversary</a><br> </td> <!-- current poll (if any) --> <td width="100" valign="top"> <!-- END HEADER.INC --> <table width="780" border="0" cellpadding="15" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td valign="top" width="600"> <br /> <div align="right"><a class="smalltext" href="http://www.jessamineonline.com/public_html/?module=displaystory&amp;story_id=4999&amp;format=print">PRINTER FRIENDLY <img src="images-demo/printer_friendly.gif" border="0"></a></div><br /> <div align="right"><a class="smalltext" href="http://www.jessamineonline.com/public_html/?module=displaystory&amp;story_id=4999&amp;format=html&amp;op=emailtofriend">EMAIL TO A FRIEND <img src="images-demo/email_to_friend.gif" border="0"></a></div><br /> <table width="240" align="right" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="4"><tr><td bgcolor="#cccccc" align="left"><a href="/?module=photos&photo_id=1059"><img src="http://www.jessamineonline.com/public_html/photos/00001059-constrain-240x2336.jpeg" border="0" alt="<b>Photo by Abigail Laub</b><br> Once-sunk branches and debris now litter the Kentucky River, as they are pulled up from the bottom due to much-lower water levels. The water is unusually low for this early in the summer."></a><br /><p align="left" class="photo_caption"><b>Photo by Abigail Laub</b><br> Once-sunk branches and debris now litter the Kentucky River, as they are pulled up from the bottom due to much-lower water levels. The water is unusually low for this early in the summer.</p></td><!-- right gutter --><td rowspan="2" class="photo_caption">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td class="photo_caption">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#cccccc" align="left"><a href="/?module=photos&photo_id=1060"><img src="http://www.jessamineonline.com/public_html/photos/00001060-constrain-240x2336.jpeg" border="0" alt="<b>Photo by Abigail Laub</b><br> Trent Ellsworth enjoyed Hickman Creek when it was swollen in late February."></a><br /><p align="left" class="photo_caption"><b>Photo by Abigail Laub</b><br> Trent Ellsworth enjoyed Hickman Creek when it was swollen in late February.</p></td><!-- right gutter --><td rowspan="2" class="photo_caption">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td class="photo_caption">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="#cccccc" align="left"><a href="/?module=photos&photo_id=1061"><img src="http://www.jessamineonline.com/public_html/photos/00001061-constrain-240x2336.jpeg" border="0" alt="<b>Photo by Abigail Laub</b><br> Now, in the same spot the kayakers used to put their boats in, the creek is frequently and easily driven through."></a><br /><p align="left" class="photo_caption"><b>Photo by Abigail Laub</b><br> Now, in the same spot the kayakers used to put their boats in, the creek is frequently and easily driven through.</p></td><!-- right gutter --><td rowspan="2" class="photo_caption">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td class="photo_caption">&nbsp;</td></tr></table> <p align="left">Wednesday June 27, 2007</p> <p align="left"><b><font size="+2">Outdoor enthusiasts get mixed bag with drought</font> </b></p> <p><b>By Abigail Laub <br>sports@jessaminejournal.com</b></p> <p>With summer barely beginning and rainfall totals well below normal local sporting outlets are worried about what lies ahead for them this summer. </p><p> </p><p> If we don t get a substantial amount of rain in the next week to 10 days we might have to start trucking water in,  said Arlie Mullins, Manager Superintendent at Planter s Row Golf Links in Nicholasville. I ve had to cut out watering tee boxes and stuff because we re about to run out of water.  </p><p> </p><p>According to the National Weather Service, Jessamine County is on the brink of a severe drought, having received approximately seven inches of rainfall below normal (22.37 inches) since January. </p><p> </p><p>With many of Jessamine County s sports  boating, fishing, hunting, golfing  relying on water and water s nourishing effects, the summer might be difficult. </p><p> </p><p>Hunters may not see the drought s effects until later this summer when hunting season rolls around. </p><p> </p><p> It will have a great effect come fall and winter. Right now there s a squirrel season that just finished up, but there s really not a lot of hunting going on until August,  said Greg Delabar, president of Wilmore s Bluegrass Sportsmens League. But what it s doing is it s causing there to be very little food for the critters.  </p><p> </p><p>Those critters will be competing for food with the area s thousands of deer for vegetation, which will be scarce by then without substantial rainfall now. The drought combined with the hard freeze in April has hindered the natural mast crops, leaving deer to feast on bark and leaves. He said the squirrel season will be hurting this fall  and archery season for deer may also be more difficult. </p><p> </p><p> It could turn around and change that, but it s getting late,  Delabar said with concern. We plant sunflowers every year to attract doves, but they aren t going to make it.  </p><p> </p><p>For the year-round shooting sports the league hosts, like sporting clays, Delabar said the only problem there is heat making members less likely to come out. </p><p> </p><p> We ve been through a few droughts down there before, and I can t think of any fires we ve started (because of gunshots),  he said. </p><p> </p><p>At Planter s Row, golfers also don t play as much when the heat comes. </p><p> </p><p> It s been more of an aesthetic thing, not as much that it s super hot,  Mullins said. </p><p>Even during a normal summer the course is irrigated, but now more hand watering is necessary since the normal system can t be solely relied on. </p><p> </p><p> We generally do our tee boxes and greens and our fairways are not irrigated,  Mullins said. But I m worried about it since we never get this close to being this low on water until August. If we can make it through July we ll be in good shape.  </p><p> </p><p><b>Fish are easy to catch</b><br> </p><p> </p><p>But for fishermen like A.J. McWhorter the drought is helpful. </p><p> </p><p> Personally I wish it would rain, but at least the fish are biting,  said McWhorter. The fish are staying in the deeper pools. Where there are fish, there are more fish.  </p><p> I ve found that the fishing has actually been very good this year on the creeks,  he added. Sometimes it s harder to fish when the water is up and running which favors the kayakers and boaters.  </p><p> </p><p>On the Kentucky River, Bonnie Phelps with Kentucky River Otter Outpost, said the lack of rainfall is drawing people to the river more than ever. </p><p> </p><p> There s been more people on the river and more people wanting to canoe and kayak,  she said. I guess they re down there cooling off. We re having a lot more tubing.  </p><p> </p><p><b>Debris bobs in the river</b><br> </p><p> </p><p>Laid-back kayakers and canoers like to slowly make their way down the river. But they may have unwelcome intrusions that didn t exist before. </p><p> </p><p> The bad thing, the river has dropped so much that I m starting to pick up debris in the middle of the river,  Phelps explained. It s just pulling it up from the bottom.  </p><p>On a river cleanup last weekend, Phelps and her friends picked up tires, pill bottles, cans, basketballs and much more. And trees that lined the sides are falling in more than ever due to dried up banks. </p><p> </p><p>At this point Phelps, who lives and runs her business in Jessamine County and docks her boats on the Garrard County line, said the river, on average, is about 9 feet 4 inches deep. She said it never gets that shallow this early in the year. There are deeper pools that reach around 14 feet deep. Normally, though, the river ranges from 14 to 22 feet. She said she has never seen the river get dangerously low in her lifetime spent on it, but knows the possibility is there. </p><p> </p><p> We monitor that all the time,  she said about the water s levels. There s more good than bad at this point.  </p><p> </p><p><b>Kayaking fun is killed</b><br> </p><p> </p><p>But for outdoor enthusiasts traveling in kayaks and canoes who enjoy taking the smaller tributaries into the Kentucky River, the drought has put their activities to a screeching halt. </p><p> </p><p> The creeks are dry, you can only go so far now,  Phelps said. </p><p> </p><p>And that is no fun for people like Trent Ellsworth, an avid kayaker who craves the fast-moving white water that the creeks offer when water runs abundantly. </p><p> </p><p> There s been no paddling since April,  said Ellsworth, who is also the Adventure Programs coordinator at Asbury College. The creeks that we paddle in Jessamine County, the creeks that are fun for white water paddling, there is not even water on them now.  </p><p> </p><p>Ellsworth said the creeks do dry up most years, but it rarely ever happens this early. May was when the kayaking started to diminish. </p><p> </p><p> We got some real good boating in, it was late April when we got some storms and there was just a ton of water,  he said. I won t even check the creeks until the fall. If we got a storm we could get a surge. But right now with any downed trees it s going to take a lot of water to move them out of the way.  </p><p> </p><p>A kayak requires at least six inches of water to float, but you need feet to do anything fun,  Ellsworth said. You can t get through those creeks when it s this low.  </p><p> </p><p>For now he sticks to floating and fishing on the bigger rivers in the area.</p> <i>Copyright:The Jessamine-Journal 2007</i> <!-- BEGIN FOOTER.INC --> </td> <!-- right column --> <td valign="top" align="center" width="160" class="sidebar"> <h5>Search our Archives</h5> <span class="smallertext">(October 2005 to Present)</span> <form action="http://www.jessamineonline.com/public_html/" method="get"> <input name="module" type="hidden" value="archives" /> <input name="op" type="hidden" value="search" /> <input type="text" name="search_string" /><br /> <input type="submit" value="Search" class="button" /> <br /> <br /> <span class="smallertext"> <a href="http://www.jessamineonline.com/public_html/?module=archives&amp;format=html">Advanced Search</a><br /> <span class="smallertext"><a href="http://65.164.231.113/archives/index.cfm" target="_blank">Search 2002 to October 2005</a></span><br /> </span> </form> <p><a href="http://jessaminejournal.mycapture.com/mycapture/index.asp"><img src="http://www.jessamineonline.com/public_html/images-demo/BuyPhotoButton.gif" width="160" height="160" alt="Buy Photos"></a> <p><A href="http://www.americanprofile.com/?af=ap180048" TARGET=_blank"><img src="http://www.jessamineonline.com/public_html/images-demo/Amprolink.gif" width="160" height="600" border= "1" /"></a> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><br /></td> </tr> </table> </body> </html>