Tag Archive for: #kerrlake

The Local Skinny! Gavin’s Groupies 5K Run To Benefit CFF

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If you’re looking for a new spot to get your Saturday run in this weekend, Tanya Darrow invites you to come out to Henderson Point for a 5K Fun Run fundraiser. In addition to getting some exercise yourself, you’ll be helping a group called Gavin’s Groupies – Loping For Lungs at the same time.

Gavin is Darrow’s 13-year-old son, himself a cross country runner, who also lives with a chronic condition called cystic fibrosis.

This is the first time Darrow has organized a major event like a 5K Fun Run, and she said she’s excited to host it at such a pretty location. “It’s a really nice course, it’s paved – right along the lake,” she said on Tuesday’s segment of The Local Skinny!

Runners can sign up online at passion.cff.org, and she said she plans to be able to have same-day registration as well – cash and Venmo for sure, and payment by card, depending on internet reception. The run begins at 9 a.m., but participants should plan to arrive between 8 a.m. and 8:30, she said.

Darrow said she has a memory of doing a fun run with Gavin when he was younger than 5 years old. “He ran a lot of it, but I ended up carrying him on my shoulders the last mile or so.”

“Running is very important for maintaining lung function,” she added. With CF, a genetic mutation causes a malfunction of sodium and chloride levels, causing mucus to be thick and sticky instead of a smooth, lubricating fluid.

The fun run is a way for Darrow to help raise money for research to find treatments and one day, a cure for CF.

The CF Foundation supports research into the disease, and helps families with a wide range of programs and services, from scholarships and housing programs to helping to defray the costs of expensive medications.

Sign up for the run at

https://runsignup.com/Race/NC/Henderson/GavinsGroupies5k?fbclid=IwAR1iOp8GZq66m1hvkLBGrx2z71KgtuDJMb3wWBOQlA4zpYqZgbijarbM3K0.

Learn more about other programs and fundraisers at passion.cff.org and follow Darrow’s efforts with Gavin’s Groupies on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/933724317677068/?ref=newsfeed

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The Local Skinny! Camping, Hiking And More At Kerr Lake

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Bill Stanley says if you just want to throw a line in the water at Kerr Lake, Satterwhite Point and Nutbush are pretty good spots to head to. Now, if you’re headed out in a boat for a day of fishing, there are really too many good spots to count.

Stanley, superintendent of the Kerr Lake State Recreation Area, said that no matter what you choose to do lakeside – camping, fishing, hiking – there are plenty of opportunities awaiting. He spoke with Bill Harris on The Local Skinny!

The COVID-19 pandemic created a ripple effect among camping enthusiasts, which has resulted in a higher volume of campground reservations.

“It seemed like everybody got a camper and wanted to be outside” during the pandemic. As a result, “the campgrounds are staying a little fuller…it’s harder and harder to get a campsite during the week” and especially on weekends.

Reservations are made online through ReserveAmerica Inc.at

https://www.reserveamerica.com/

J.C. Cooper and Hibernia are probably the two most popular for campers. Cooper is located near Satterwhite Point, but Hibernia has more sandy beaches and upgraded campsites, he said.

Stanley said he expects there will be more building projects and upgrades begun in the near future – better campsites and renovated bath houses – that will give Kerr Lake campgrounds “a little facelift in the next few years.”

Maintenance crews manage the “to-do” list – from facilities upkeep to building new trails in different areas. The overall feel of the lake is a little slower pace than other lakes that either have more developed shorelines or are closer to big cities.

There’s a half-mile or so of new ADA-accessible paved trail, as well as hiking trails at Hibernia and J.C. Cooper that campers and locals alike enjoy

“It’s not as busy as Falls or Jordan or any of the other lakes closer to Raleigh,” Stanley said. “Things are not right on top of you (here)…we’re still a little bit of a hidden gem.”

He credits the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the quieter atmosphere. “The Corps has done a good job of protecting the shoreline as best they can,” he said. Fewer homes lakeside makes for quieter surroundings.

Things ramp up, however, when there’s a fishing tournament on the lake. Stanley said there already have been four so far this year, and summer will bring more fishers in search of striped bass and catfish, not to mention prize money and bragging rights.

However you enjoy fishing – whether from shore or in a boat, Stanley reminds everyone they need to make sure they pack one essential item in their tackle box: a current fishing license.

 

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TownTalk: Stanley Takes On New Role At Kerr Lake

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In his previous role as Superintendent 1 at the Kerr Lake State Recreation Area, Bill Stanley said his main focus was on the rangers and their development and making sure the other staff also was properly trained to do the wide assortment of jobs that take place across the various campgrounds, public access points and shelters with the park.

In his new role as lead superintendent, Stanley chuckled when he said there’s a lot more paperwork involved.

But the ultimate mission remains the same: “making sure Kerr Lake is moving forward in a direction for the future,” Stanley told John C. Rose on Monday’s TownTalk.
He’s got his sights set on three broad areas: conservation, education and safe recreation.

Those umbrella categories cover a wide range of projects, from prescribed fires to making sure all visitors can have an enjoyable lake experience.

“Prescribed fires are a big thing in NC state parks,” Stanley said. “It’s a good thing for the environment and a really good things for visitors also.” Prescribed fires help reduce leaf litter and help clear out the understory of wooded areas, which helps campers have a better lake view and reduces the chance of a campfire getting out of control.

But there’s the little detail of when to conduct a prescribed fire. “When there’s tons and tons of campers here, you can’t smoke ‘em out,” Stanley said.

There are 13 rangers that serve the entire recreation area, he said. They are law enforcement officers in addition to all the other duties that go along with the job. Some will be joining other local law enforcement officers in the “Shop with a Cop” event happening this week, he said. And they also do programs at schools and at Perry Memorial Library.

In addition to the ranger staff, Stanley said there’s the 15-member maintenance team stays busy with various improvement projects throughout the recreation area. Add 60 or so seasonal employees to keep grass mowed and bathrooms cleaned during the peak season and suddenly the staff becomes a small army.

Maintenance recently completed a renovation of 13 campsites at Hibernia. By doing the job themselves, the team was able to make the money go further, he noted.

He said visitors who use the campsites love the fact that they’re so close to the water. “They say they love our campsites,” Stanley said, adding that many have been camping at Kerr Lake for many years.

Whether you just want to enjoy the natural beauty of the lake or whether you’d prefer to be in a bass boat on the water, Stanley said Kerr Lake is the perfect spot.

“Kerr Lake is a great fishing lake,” he said and 2023 is shaping up to be another good year for fishing competitions here.

 

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Bill Stanley Moves Into Lead Superintendent Role At Kerr Lake State Recreation Area

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Bill Stanley has been named lead superintendent at Kerr Lake State Recreation Area in Vance and Warren counties, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. He has served as a superintendent I at Kerr Lake since 2018.

A state park superintendent manages the operations and administration of a park and has responsibilities that include staffing, planning, environmental education, natural resources management, law enforcement and visitor services.

Originally from Ramseur, N.C., Stanley has a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Stanley’s years at Kerr Lake have inspired a number of goals for his first year as superintendent.

“I want to improve community engagement and complete projects that improve visitor experiences at the park,” he said. “I want Kerr Lake to embody our mission of conservation, recreation and education.”

Stanley began his career in state parks in 2010 as a seasonal employee at Raven Rock in Harnett County and then worked as an AmeriCorps educator at Carvers Creek in Cumberland County. He took a park ranger position at Dismal Swamp State Park in Camden County before moving to Kerr Lake State Recreation Area.

North District Superintendent Kristen Woodruff said she looks forward to Stanley’s leadership to direct the park through growth and change.

“Bill’s familiarity with both the challenges and opportunities at Kerr Lake provide a foundation for excellent leadership as the park continues to grow and change. He is setting a new standard for the visitor experience at Kerr Lake,” she said.

Kerr Lake State Recreation Area is a collective of eight access areas around the shoreline of the 50,000-acre reservoir built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Seven campgrounds with hundreds of campsites allow visitors lakeside camping, and numerous shelters and community buildings provide popular venues for local gatherings.

All eight recreation accesses provide boat access to one of the best fishing lakes in the eastern United States.
North Carolina State Parks manages more than 258,000 acres of iconic landscape within North Carolina’s state parks, state recreation areas and state natural areas. It administers the N.C Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, including its local grants program, as well as a state trails program, North Carolina Natural and Scenic Rivers and more, all with a mission dedicated to conservation, recreation and education. The state parks system welcomes more than 22.7 million visitors annually.

The Local Skinny! Timberlake Keeps An Eye On The Lake

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For more than 10 years now, Frank Timberlake has been keeping an eye on Kerr Lake parks and camping areas. And he says there are some spots that haven’t changed since he was a kid.

For some, that may seem like good news. But Timberlake said he and others in Kerr Lake Park Watch don’t see it that way.

Timberlake and others formed Kerr Lake Park Watch in 2010 as a way to monitor and support improvements in the park facilities on Kerr Lake. Their online presence includes a webpage and a Facebook page where campers and other park users can read reviews or reactions to what’s happening – or not happening – at the various campsites around the lake.

From the online booking surcharges that campers pay when they reserve a campsite to the physical layout of the sites, Timberlake and the group have opinions.

He spoke with John C. Rose on Thursday’s The Local Skinny! segment and acknowledged that some would consider him a “feather ruffler” when it comes to the lake’s camping areas.

“We want to protect, promote and improve the parks,” Timberlake said. Although there are still some tent campers who visit, more visitors bring their RVs. Those vehicles require a relatively flat surface for parking, so when you have campsites, with as much as a 20-degree slant, it’s a challenge for RVers.

When COVID-19 was in full swing, all the trashcans were removed from the camp areas, which Timberlake said created significant cost savings. But none of that came back to the campgrounds, he said.

And there are several openings for rangers across the system of camp areas, which Timberlake said makes it difficult for campers to get information they need when they’re out at the lake.

“We need to get staffed up here,” Timberlake said of the ranger positions. “Rangers should be sitting at that entrance station, focused on customer service. They need to be there in the parks, not riding the roads.

He said he’s personally shown first-time visitors to their campsite because there was no one else around to help.

Help is all he and his group want to do, he said. Help others enjoy the lake and its recreational opportunities, while “improving a place that is wonderful…to protect it and improve it.”

Visit http://kerrlakeparkwatch.org/home/ or find the group on Facebook.

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TownTalk: History of Kerr Lake, Part 2

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(Photo courtesy R.F. Timberlake – Kerr Lake Park Watch on Facebook and Shutter Art Gallery)

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Kerr Lake covers about 50,000 acres when it’s at normal elevation, but if the lake level were to reach its maximum elevation of 320 feet above sea level, the lake would more than double in size. In short, Kerr Lake is a BIG topic. So big, in fact, that Kerr Lake, Part 2, was the subject of Thursday’s tri-weekly history program on Town Talk.

Bill Harris and Mark Pace talked about what’s around – and under – the lake, which has 850 miles of shoreline and touches six counties in North Carolina and Virginia.

A plane that crashed into the lake in Clarksville was eventually removed, but there’s still a train submerged in Nutbush Creek, Pace said.

The plane crashed in 1962 and it took almost a month to find the right equipment to extricate it. The lake is between 90 feet and 100 feet deep in the deepest channels, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers didn’t cut down all the trees in the area that soon would be submerged. The plane, as it turned out, had gotten tangled up in that submerged forest. A barge equipped with a crane had to be transported from the coast to retrieve the wreckage.

As for the train, Pace said a forest fire scorched a wooden bridge over Nutbush Creek in the early 1900’s. A group of Townsville residents went together to start up a short railroad line that ran from Manson to Townsville. “It was a barebones affair,” Pace said, with two engines, a coal car and a couple of passenger cars.

When the train pulled into Townsville, there was nowhere for it to turn around, he said, so it had to go backwards on the return trip to Manson. The bridge was about 70 or 75 feet above the water, and it held up for the passenger cars and the coal car to cross. But the engine was too heavy, and the train plunged into the water “and basically impaled itself into the mud of Nutbush Creek,” Pace said. The engineer and the fireman were killed.

There are stories of picnics and church gathering being held near the wreck site years later and whoever could swim down to the wreckage and ring the train’s bell would get a prize.

The lake has a long history of providing recreational activities like picnics and church gatherings, as well as boating and camping, but there remain residual bad feeling toward the Corps, Pace said. “Most of what they bought was farmland, and not particularly good farmland,” he said. But it was still family land and the average price was only about $75 per acre. That amount would only be between $400 and $500 an acre today.

“Now there’s a strip of land that you’re not allowed to develop around Kerr Lake,” Pace said, to adhere to Corps restrictions. Fifty years ago, however, the shoreline would not have looked at all like it does today because it had been farmland and would have taken some years to become wooded.

 

 

TownTalk: History of Kerr Lake

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(Photo courtesy R.F. Timberlake – Kerr Lake Park Watch on Facebook and Shutter Art Gallery)

It was the flood of 1940 that finally set in motion the creation of the reservoir and dam that we here in North Carolina call Kerr Lake, but our neighbors to the north in Virginia insist on calling Buggs Island Lake.

The Roanoke River has had 17 major floods since Europeans first arrived in this part of the world, said Mark Pace, local historian and North Carolina Room specialist at the Richard Thornton Library in Oxford. The 1940 flood put the Roanoke River a full 42 feet above its regular level, Pace said. If that type of flooding had occurred in downtown Henderson, for example, the only building that would not have been completely and utterly inundated would be the Vance Furniture Company building.

There had been a lot of talk about establishing some sort of flood control along the Roanoke River system for many years leading up to that devastating flood eight decades ago, but the talk turned to action after that event.

Pace and Bill Harris discussed the story behind the lake with two names, its economic impact and its future on the tri-weekly history segment of Town Talk Thursday.

Money to create the reservoir and dam was appropriated in the 1944 Federal Flood Act. Pace said the period between 1935 and 1975 saw the construction of many massive dams in the U.S. During that time, there was “a certain mentality that humans could control nature and use it to our own benefit,” Pace said.

Construction of the lake and dam began in 1947. Albert S. Bugg sold the land where the dam was to be built, a strategic location where the Roanoke River was quite narrow. It took 2,100 workers four and a half years of around-the-clock work to complete the project, Pace noted. That’s three shifts, day and night, 365 days of the year. The $5 million price tag then would be about $975 million in today’s dollars.

Workers excavated all the way to bedrock, placed concrete pillars and created what amounts to an earthen dam. There’s very little concrete in the dam, save the area around the hydroelectric plant, he added.

Longtime U.S. Congressman John H. Kerr from Warren County flipped the switch on Oct. 3, 1952 to officially open the dam and reservoir.

In an upset, Kerr lost his seat to newcomer politician L.H. Fountain in 1952. In a nod to his tireless efforts on the dam and reservoir project, Congress decided to name the reservoir and dam after Kerr.

Folks in Virginia had no problem naming the dam for the North Carolina politician, but they did have a problem naming the reservoir for him, considering three-quarters of the lake lies in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In fact, Pace said, 95 percent of the water in the lake comes from Virginia. “It’s their water,” he said.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers claims the land under the water, the land around the lake shoreline and the flood plain, which totals about 110,000 acres. The Corps owns to the 320 mark – that’s 320 feet above sea level – all around the lake, and lake property owners must refrain from disturbing any Corps-owned property.

“It’s one of the truly significant things that’s happened in our area – the creation of the lake,” Pace said. The lake and dam provide flood control, its original purpose, as well as hydroelectric power. Dominion Energy buys about 58 percent of the electricity the dam generates for its Virginia customers; Progress Energy gets the balance for its North Carolina customers.

And recreation is what Pace called an unintended consequence of the lake. Boating, fishing and camping are popular activities all around Kerr Lake, which boosts the local economy.

But not everyone was initially in favor of building the lake, Pace said. Henderson officials originally were on record in opposition of the lake. Agriculture was king in Vance County back in those days and it was not appealing to think that 10,000 acres of good farmland would become a lake bottom.

“People did not envision what the lake could be,” Pace said. “They didn’t want to lose their homes and their land.”

Almost 400 families lost their homes to the lake. And more than 1,000 graves had to be removed and re-interred in nearby cemeteries.

The lake also took Occoneechee Island, which was located near Clarksville, Va. Pace said the Smithsonian Institution conducted an archaeological survey there before the land was swallowed up by the lake. “That island was probably the most significant Native American archaeological site from Richmond to Raleigh,” he said. In addition to a Native American fort that figured prominently in Bacon’s Rebellion, the trading path passed through that area, too.

The United States doesn’t build dams any more – they’re too expensive. The $100 million price tag for Kerr Lake in the early ‘50s would easily be $1.2 billion today. The life span of a hydroelectric dam like the Kerr Dam is between 100 and 150 years, Pace said. After that, equipment fails, cracks form in the dam, and then it becomes a question of whether it’s cost-effective to repair and replace.

Kerr Dam will celebrate its 69th anniversary next month.

TownTalk: History of Kerr Lake – Click Play 

Vance County Tourism

July 4th Fireworks at Kerr Lake Will Move to Sept 4, 2021

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The fireworks display and gathering that typically takes place on Kerr Lake July 4th weekend has been moved to Labor Day weekend, specifically Saturday, Sept 4th at Satterwhite Point.

Vance County Tourism Director Pam Hester said, “It was not practical to have it. … The Board voted to move it.”

The reason is a deadline that needed to be met, which included deposits for the fireworks, came before CDC guidance changed concerning covid and before Governor Roy Cooper relaxed state mandates.

In addition, the North Carolina Parks Service is short staffed, which was going to make it very difficult to have the necessary manpower in place to host a large event at Satterwhite Point.

As of the time of this publication, Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks is planning fireworks on July 3rd, and Cokesbury is planning fireworks for July 10th.  More details as we get closer.

Trump Boat Parade

Town Talk 09/08/20: Trump Boat Parade Draws a Crowd; Repeat Scheduled for Oct.

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100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

Jimmy Barrier, coordinator for the Vance County Republican Party, appeared on WIZS’ Town Talk Tuesday at 11 a.m.

Barrier discussed the Trump Boat Parade held on Kerr Lake over Labor Day weekend. Following a national trend of boat parades in support of President Donald Trump, Barrier said it was a one-of-a-kind experience.

“I have never in my entire life seen as many boats on Kerr Lake at one time; it was just flooded,” said Barrier. “There were also helicopters and drones. Flares were shot off from the Bullocksville area to let you know it was starting. There were boats there from as far away as Maryland. It was a great day to be a Republican on the lake.”

In a separate discussion with WIZS, parade organizer Austin Link of Creedmoor, NC said the event was “a bunch of Trump supporters getting together and showing support for our great president.”

Link, who grew up camping at Kerr Lake and was down for Labor Day weekend, said parade participants followed his boat from Satterwhite Point to Clarksville, VA with American and Trump flags flying.

“We didn’t know what to expect for a turnout. We heard people say it was at least 1,000 boats there,” Link said.

The majority of participants, according to Link, learned of the event through social media sites and word-of-mouth. One such site is the Kerr Lake for Trump Facebook page which includes parade pictures and videos posted by organizers and participants.

Link is already in the process of organizing and promoting another Trump Boat Parade at Kerr Lake on Saturday, October 3, 2020, at 1 p.m. The parade will start at Satterwhite Point and head to Clarksville.

Barrier said the parade also brought heavier traffic to the Vance County GOP headquarters. Located at 1700 Parham Street off Dabney Drive in Henderson, supporters can pick up Trump memorabilia, receive information on Republican candidates, register to vote in Vance County and change their voter registration. The headquarters is currently opened daily from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.

To hear the interview in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.

Featured image photo courtesy the Kerr Lake for Trump Facebook page.

American Flag

Kerr Lake Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration Moved to Labor Day Weekend

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100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

-Information courtesy Vance County Tourism Development Authority

Due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns, the Independence Day fireworks event was postponed from July 4 and has tentatively been rescheduled for Sunday, September 6, 2020. The ability to hold the event will depend entirely on local and state mandates and guidelines in place at that time.

The Labor Day Weekend Celebration will include fireworks over the water at Satterwhite Point at Kerr Lake in Henderson, NC. Events will be held from 3 until 10 p.m.

This family-friendly event will feature a DJ providing a wide variety of music, Boho the Clown, bounce houses and other activities for kids.

The NC State Parks 2020 interpretive theme is “The Year of the Fire.” Kids can learn about fire safety from Smokey the Bear.

Food vendors will be on-site, and t-shirts and glow sticks will be sold. Bring a lawn chair or a blanket and a flashlight.

Enjoy music, food and fireworks under the stars! Come by boat or by car.

$7 per car gate fee charged by NC State Parks. Use of bounce house included in gate fee.

NO ALCOHOL ALLOWED!