Kayak Attack Marks Completion of Most Palmer Dam Improvements
The whitewater bypass course is open to the public, but state officials plan to start building a pedestrian bridge next month.
Saturday’s Kayak Attack perhaps marked the ceremonial end to an effort a group of residents started more than a decade ago. The Yorkville-based Improve the Dam committee formed in 1999 to discourage state officials from removing the dam entirely in light of several drownings there. Some had argued that removing the dam would improve safety and wildlife along the river, but Improve the Dam committee members feared it also would reduce the river to little more than a trickle. So, they gathered more than 5,400 signatures in about three weeks, committee member Tom Baumgartner said. Ultimately, state officials added “steps” to the six-foot dam that dissipate the water’s energy as it spills over the dam and prevent the rolling water that had …
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Amy Cesich
1:18 pm on Sunday, May 15, 2011
Fabulous pics! Was a great time, and great to see everyone who attended! more ›