14 News, The Tri-State's News and Weather Leader-KY counties clean clogged creek

KY counties clean clogged creek

By Jasmin Embers - bio | email
Posted by Noah Stubbs - email

HANCOCK CO., KY (WFIE) - Two western Kentucky counties are working together to clean up a clogged creek that's threatening to damage a major industry, farming.

"They did make an attempt seven or eight years ago and it really did help for several years until limbs fell back in from Hurricane Ike, which we experienced in Kentucky and then from last year's ice storm," Hancock County farmer Wayne Boswell said.

Forty-four dams have clogged one section of Blackford Creek, which Hancock County Judge Executive Jack McCaslin says hurts the farming industry.

"When the creek gets out, it does a lot of damage to their crops so they have a lot of losses they have to incur, our farmers are having a bad enough time surviving anyways," McCaslin said.

Boswell has farmed in Hancock County for 15 years.

"It has gone under water a time or two after it's been planted if it rains really hard late in the season," Boswell said. "Let it dry out and replant the crop after it drys up if it's too late you let it go for the season."

Blackford Creek sits on the Daviess and Hancock County line so the two governments will work together to clean up the mess.

"We've come to an agreement that we would provide some machinery," McCaslin said. "We would share the labor costs and hopefully we can turn all that money in to get a reimbursement from FEMA."

Daviess and Hancock County are working with the natural resource conservation service to make sure the creek gets cleaned out safely.

"The state won't let us go in there and clean it out due to wetlands and Indiana bats and environmentalists," McCaslin said.

Boswell just hopes the problem gets fixed before growing season starts.

"It would be really nice if they would clean the creek, clean all the debris out of the creek," Boswell said.

McCaslin says the creek also causes roads to close for up to four days.

He says Daviess and Hancock County should reach an interlocal agreement for Blackford Creek in week or so.

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