Ohio
Crews work overnight to recover 26 barges that broke loose on Ohio River
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Twenty-six barges that broke loose from a towboat on the Ohio River Friday night are accounted for, according to the Pittsburgh District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Now, crews are recovering them after they damaged local marinas and rest at a local lock and dam.
Wayne Jones was sick to stomach Saturday morning, looking at what was left of the marina he’s owned for more than 40 years.
“I could cry,” Jones said. “It’s my whole life.”
After breaking free on Friday night on the Ohio River, 26 barges now accounted for
The Branchport Boat Club in Pittsburgh’s Chateau neighborhood was torn apart after runaway barges smashed the docks to pieces, just two weeks before it was set to open for the season.
“I built this place. It’s my baby,” Jones said. “I can’t make no money.”
Pittsburgh police said 26 barges got loose around 11:30 p.m. Friday, and started floating down the Ohio River.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard and Colonel Nicholas Melin with the Pittsburgh District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told KDKA that they broke away from a towboat by the West End Bridge.
Twenty-three barges were carrying dry cargo like coal, but no hazardous materials. The three others were empty.
At this time, they said there were no contamination or pollution reports, and no one was hurt.
Eleven of the barges got pinned against the riverbank by Brunot Island. Col. Melin said nine stopped at the Emsworth Dam. The last six went through the dam and were accounted for downstream. Officials believe one barge sunk between the Emsworth Dam and the Dashields Dam.
In the process, the barges took out Jones’ club and a part of Peggy’s Marina in Chateau.
“It’s a nightmare, total absolute nightmare,” Melin said. “What am I going to do?”
Col. Melin said the Emsworth Dam is functioning normally.
“There’s no concerns with respect to passing water and the safety of the waterway at this time,” Col. Melin said.
While a cause is unclear, he believes the high water levels played a factor.
Campbell Transportation Company owns and operates the barges, located just downstream from the West End Bridge.
In a statement to KDKA, a spokesperson for the company reiterated this happened under “strong currents due to flooding in the area.” He also said their “immediate priority is ensuring public safety and minimizing any potential environmental impact.”
“Those docks give me about $200,000 a year,” Jones said.
As for Jones, he’s said it will cost him just under $1 million to replace the marina. He’s trying to figure out what to do for the 85 boats that planned to dock at Branchport on May 1, hoping he’ll still get to take some of them in, in some way.
“Property is property, it’ll get fixed,” Jones said.
The incident remains under investigation as crews work to recover the barges.
GIRARD, Ohio (WKBN) – Over 100 athletes came together for the 5th Annual Trumbull County Special Olympics Invitational Saturday morning in Girard.
These athletes represent five different schools across Trumbull County to compete and spread the message of inclusion, achievement, and sportsmanship.
The Invitational continued its long-standing tradition of honoring the legacy of Randy Suchanek while celebrating the dedication and accomplishments of Special Olympics athletes throughout the region.
“You can hear all the excitement for this, for the athletes that are here today,” said superintendent Bryan O’Hara. “They work hard all year long to participate. We’ve always worked hand in hand with the rotary to get this accomplished is a lot of work behind the scenes.”
Participating schools included Ashtabula, Geauga, Columbiana, Kent-Portage and Trumbull Fairhaven
“There’s a lot of nice participation from girard students as you see behind us, and a lot of participation from the community helping out,” Girard-Liberty Rotary co-president Andy Kish added.
O’Hara added that the event keeps everything in perspective, seeing the athletes compete in the spirit of fun, along with the courage and determination that they show.
Alex Sorrells contributed to this report.
Out of prison, Indiana’s caviar king back on Ohio River to find fishing holes taken
David Cox, of English, Indiana, says once he began setting his nets again after a two-year prison sentence and a three-year ban on commercial fishing, all of his once-secret spots were taken.
Can you eat fish from the Ohio River?
In 1975, future presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, then governor of Massachusetts, bet 20 pounds of New England cod that the Red Sox would defeat the Reds in the World Series. If things went south for Boston, Ohio governor James Rhodes promised to send Dukakis 10 pounds of Lake Erie perch and 10 pounds of Ohio River catfish. The Reds ended up winning and the cod was sent to the Convalescent Home for Children, in Cincinnati.
At the time, people were still eating catfish from the Ohio without too much concern. The fish were also served at several restaurants along the river.
There were warnings in 1977
But two years later, in 1977, The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission released the results of a study of contaminants found in the tissues of Ohio River fish. They warned anglers in cities such as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, Wheeling and Gallipolis that man-made chemicals known as PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, had been discovered in the river fish. Later, high concentrations of mercury were discovered in the fish, too.
Thanks to the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the environmental regulations that followed, the river is now cleaner than it was in the seventies. And it’s still teeming with a variety of fish, including catfish, striped bass, drum and black bass, among other species.
But even though PCBs were banned by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1979, they are still found in fish, since they remain in the sediment in the bottom of the river. “Organisms live in the sediment and fish feed on them,” Rich Cogen, the executive director of the Ohio River Foundation told The Enquirer. Mercury is also a big problem, according to Cogen.
So the question is: Can you eat fish caught in the Ohio River?
The short answer is yes. But it depends on what species you are eating and where along the river you caught it.
There are also very strict limitations on how frequently you should eat them, according to the web site for the Ohio Sport Fish Consumption Advisory, part of the Ohio Department of Health.
In areas of the river between the Belleville Lock, located 204 miles downstream from the river’s origins in Pittsburgh, to the Indiana border, the advisory agency currently recommends consuming Ohio River fish no more than once a month max. That area includes Adams, Brown, Clermont, Gallia, Hamilton, Lawrence, Meigs and Scioto counties.
Here’s where to check
Recommendations change throughout the year, but you can keep up by visiting the Ohio Department of Health’s Sport Fish Consumption Advisory page, which provides updated information on when certain fish, usually bottom feeders such as carp, are deemed too dangerous to eat at all.
Here’s who should take a pass on Ohio River fish
The agency also warns that people who are more likely to have health effects from eating contaminated fish, includingchildren younger than 15 years old, pregnant women and women who are planning to become pregnant to avoid Ohio River fish altogether.
Just because you have to limit the amount of fish you eat, doesn’t mean the river is a bad place for fishing, as long as you limit your intake or do catch-and-release fishing. Just make sure you have a proper fishing license before casting your line.
Have a question for Just Askin’? Email us.
The Just Askin’ series aims to answer the questions that no one seems to have an answer for, except maybe Google.
Do you have a question you want answered? Send it to us at justaskin@enquirer.com, ideally with Just Askin’ in the subject line.
It isn’t over until it’s over. That’s the case for both the UCLA Bruins football program recruiting and for quarterback Brady Edmunds. Edmunds is currently committed to head to Ohio State but he took a visit from UCLA offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy earlier this week.
Kennedy met Edmunds on Thursday despite the fact that the quarterback has been committed to the Buckeyes since December of 2024 but could the UCLA Bruins be making a run at flipping the quarterback?
Edmunds has only had an official visit with Ohio State but could UCLA heave a heat check on the 6’5” quarterback? New UCLA head coach Bob Chesney is off to an unbelievable start to his recruiting with the Bruins and flipping a recruit of Edmunds’ caliber would be his most impressive move yet.
247 Sports has Edmunds as the No. 16 quarterback in the class, which would give UCLA a clear predecessor for Nico Iamaleava whenever the Bruins current starting quarterback decides to head to the professional level.
It’d be a full circle moment for the Bruins, as Edmunds was originally recruited to Ohio State by former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly, who bailed on UCLA to go run the Buckeyes offense. Ohio State is a great spot for a developing quarterback, as the Buckeyes produce tons of NFL talent, especially at the wide receiver position, which would help Edmunds put up some gaudy numbers in Columbus.
Chesney and the Bruins have geography on their side, Edmunds attends Huntington Beach High School in Southern California, which could potentially become a factor if Edmunds views UCLA as a program on the rise that’d be much closer to his friends and family than out in Ohio.
Time will tell if Kennedy’s visit will make a difference but UCLA’s recruiting has made waves in the first offseason under Chesney and the new regime.
-
Arkansas4 minutes agoOklahoma Responds Well But Collapses Late to Drop Series With Arkansas
-
California10 minutes agoTwo GOP candidates for California governor participate in Bakersfield forum
-
Colorado16 minutes agoColorado man sentenced to over 40 years in prison for murder of ex-girlfriend
-
Connecticut21 minutes agoBody recovered from Connecticut River near Chester-Lyme Ferry, DEEP says
-
Delaware28 minutes agoFormer Delaware police officer accused of raping woman he met on dating app
-
Florida34 minutes agoFlorida man taken into custody related to call threatening business
-
Georgia40 minutes ago
Leschber Named to 2026 ACC All-Tournament Team
-
Hawaii46 minutes agoFlames engulf van on H-1 Freeway near Punchbowl
