anyone know what happened on the fork 2day ?

[shorefisherman]

heard from someone that a canoe had fliped over below the the dam and a person has drowned..and also herd some people in a yak fliped and had to call 911 to rescue him/her. the water sure didnt rise when it was supposed to, anyone know what happened?

 

[bob]

Haven�t heard but I'd say a bunch of city folks, inexperienced in boating and current, got into a dangerous river. But hey,, the canoe rental company got a fat check today so it�s all good.

Or maybe Brian D and stealingscrubs finally got to fish together.

 

[madMax]

http://trophyfishingtn.com/smf/index.php?topic=3673.0

Very sad indeed

 

[shorefisherman]

just got back from river, talked to a twra officer and drowning is confirmed and the person was wearing a life vest.
people need to stay away below dam when they are sluicing

 

[trealtree]

Life vest was not being worn properly (not buckled). Prayers to family.

 

[spitndrum]

 

[Tubakka]

People should stay away from your mom too, when SHE'S sluicing...

 

[B.D.]

The sluice has a wicked back eddy when it is open. Get too close and it will yank you in before you realize what's happening.

bd

 

[shorefisherman]

heres a pic of sluice. what i dont understand is when they are about to open the gates, is there anybody monitoring security cameras to make sure nobody is there? i know theres posted signs everywhere about sluicing and horn warnings, but it dont take too much effort for someone to go outside and look before opening the sluice gates.

 

[Tubakka]

Amen shore...I mean the responsibility lies with the boater first and foremost, but if it is the difference between life and death...should it be that hard? There's one less place setting at Xmas this year because of scheduling. That kind irks me a bit.

 

[B.D.]

heres a pic of sluice. what i dont understand is when they are about to open the gates, is there anybody monitoring security cameras to make sure nobody is there? i know theres posted signs everywhere about sluicing and horn warnings, but it dont take too much effort for someone to go outside and look before opening the sluice gates.

I've been asking around about this. In defense of the Corps, it sounds like they did everything they could do.

Apparently the Corps employee who opened the sluice went out beforehand, spotted the boat, and actually warned them that he was going to open the sluice and that they should get out of the way. The guy operating the boat actually said "okay" and started to move. However, during the time while the Corps employee was going back to open the sluice, the guy evidently moved back near the sluice again to fish. I don't mean to speak ill of the man who was killed, but I have a hard time avoiding the conclusion that he may not have taken the Corps employee's warning seriously enough.

There's still an ongoing investigation, and obviously nobody from the Corps is going to say anything official about this "on the record." But my sources are pretty reliable on this one.

bd

 

[stillinscrubs]

Is this going to lead to greater boating or access restrictions? Have you heard anything else?

 

[B.D.]

I have not heard anything official - I should be clear on that.

I'm making some inferences here, but I think the general idea I'm hearing for the time being will be to send two people out to open the sluice gate instead of just one (the generators can be turned on remotely from Cordell Hull but the sluice must be opened on site). That way, instead of having one person check and then go back to open it, they can have one person watch constantly while the other person goes to open it. That hopefully will prevent future occurrences were a person gets warned but then decides to return back to the sluice area after the Corps employee leaves.

It doubles the manpower needed but I guess it's easier than trying to barricade the dam pool somehow.

bd