FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — Fun on the water is what Rockin Thunder River Tours customers get on the Ohio and Kentucky Rivers.
For several months, there has been little activity in three of the Kentucky River’s reservoirs.
“You cannot get a boat from the Ohio River to Frankfort,” Captain Paul Nicholson, owner of the Madison, Indiana-based small business, said.
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April’s flooding left damage for many Kentuckians. This rang true for valuable equipment needed to open the river lock gates.
“The river forecast every day was predicting that flood,” Nicholson said. “Why did they not move that equipment out of the floodplain, move it to high ground? Put it on trucks? If they needed help, I would’ve had volunteers to help them.”
He said the months-long closure has cost him thousands of dollars, so he even offered to pay for repairs out of his own pocket, which he said the Kentucky River Authority rejected.
“Every trip was booked full and, without having to do that, I’ve had to refund all of that, about $70,000 in refunds that I’m having to deal with as a small business,” Nicholson said.
It is not just him feeling the impact. He said the tour boat stops at several businesses, including Ace’s Grocery & Hardware in Lockport.
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“All 200 of those customers will not come there this year because I can’t get there,” Nicholson said.
He said his main concern is the uncertain timetable of when repairs will be done.
“Own the mistake, we made a mistake, we did not move that equipment, here’s how we are going to correct this mistake, step one, two, three, four, and this is what we’re going to do,” Nicholson said.
FOX 56 News reached out to the Kentucky River Authority for comment but has not received a response.
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