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Isle not fleeing high waters just yet
Published Tuesday, April 1, 2008
NATCHEZ — Despite the river rising daily, the Isle of Capri boat is going to stay put, for now.
Representatives of the casino and hotel and City Engineer David Gardner had a conference call Monday afternoon to make this decision.
Gardner said the Isle of Capri was requesting to stay where they were and Gardner gave them clearance.
He said the boat has between two and two and a half feet of wiggle room before it absolutely must move.
As of Monday afternoon, the river was at 50 feet and is projected to rise six inches each day, Gardner said.
When the river reaches between 52 and 52.5 feet, then the boat will have to move, he said.
“We’ve gone as far as we can go with the boat as far as moving up closer to high ground,” Gardner said. “It can’t move any further.”
For right now, it’s position is OK.
Gardner said the casino plans to lift the passenger ramp enough to place sandbags to keep water off of Silver Street.
The passenger ramp is on the brink of colliding with vehicle traffic, and that is one reason that Gardner doesn’t want to the boat to move anymore.
If the ramp moves any further, lines of people trying to get into the boat will start spilling on to the road, which is hazardous.
Gardner said they’ve placed barricades to maintain the flow of people and have also placed orange traffic cones to alert drivers.
Jack Sours, general manager and vice president of the Isle of Capri, said the casino is making safety a priority.
“As long as the forecast is what it is, we can stay put without jeopardizing public safety issues,” he said.
Gardner and Isle of Capri representatives plan to discuss the situation again on Wednesday, as the river is predicted to rise one foot over the next two days.
“It’s an ongoing communication,” Sours said.
Gardner said the boat will more than likely have to move.
“It’s going to be inevitable that the boat has got to move,” he said.
Comments
Posted by obamayamama (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 2:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Untie it and let it float out to sea.
Posted by jack (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 3:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
REALLY THE WATER LOOKS DANGEROUS A LOT OF BARGES HAVE GONE OFF COURSE BETWEEN NATCHEZ AND VICKSBURG I WAS DOWN TODAY ON SILVER STREET AND WAS TOLD THE RIVER IS CLOSED NOW TO TRAFFIC GOING UP OR DOWN THE RIVER ITS SURE LOOKS FAST AND DANGEROUS ALSO SAW TWO SHERIFF BOATS IN THE RIVER BE CAREFUL GUYS NO ACCIDENTS BUT DO YOUR JOB
Posted by lowrider (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 4:18 p.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by VillageIdiot (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 5:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
(Gardner said the boat will more than likely have to move.)
(“It’s going to be inevitable that the boat has got to move,” he said.)
Will the boat more than likely have to move? ... or is it inevitable that the boat will have to move?
Posted by VillageIdiot (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 6:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Why put off until tomorrow that which you can put off until the day after?$
Posted by supertrucker47 (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 6:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I WISH THE DAMN THING WOULD SINK TO THE BOTTOM OF THE RIVER!
Posted by VillageIdiot (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 7:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
How exactly does one "jeopardize public safety issues"?
Posted by avoylles (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 10:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The river is not closed to barge traffic at this point. It will have to come up more before that happens. In fact, a section near St. Louis reopened today after a lock repair was completed. There were about 13 tows with about 195 barges waiting when it reopened, so we may be seeing an increase in traffic the next day or so.
Posted by Crazynms (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 11:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
sounds like some people have lost their paycheck on the boat....
Posted by VillageIdiot (anonymous) on April 2, 2008 at 7:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I have never set foot on that boat and never will...
Posted by Crazynms (anonymous) on April 2, 2008 at 12:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Why is the boat the most important thing being worried about?
What about the people whose homes are being flooded?
I would rather read about the lives of families being affected by the rising river than if the casino is sitting on top of silver street.
What about the new center in Vidalia that will be part of the Mississippi River before long. These are the pictures and stories worth reading about.
Posted by rperez (anonymous) on April 2, 2008 at 3 p.m. (Suggest removal)
That is the truth Crazy my mother works at the new center in Vidalia.
Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on April 2, 2008 at 6:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Watching TV this evening, they have closed barge activity, from Memphis to Vicksburg, especially at night, the report said. With the water level being so high, it's the current that making things a mess.
Posted by elvisss (anonymous) on April 2, 2008 at 8:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I won a dollar. Don't let it float away.
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