The Livingston Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (LOHSEP) has decided to keep the Parish waterways closed through the weekend due to rising water, heavy currents, and continued bad weather. We have decided to close local navigable waterways to all non-emergency traffic, said Mark Harrell, Director of LOHSEP. This decision was made due to the prolonged heavy rains and rising water levels in an effort to preserve life, property and safety. In response, Leesha Gleber, advertising director at the Livingston Parish News and coordinator of the Redneck Regatta, has decided to postpone the home-made boat race, scheduled for May 31, until the waterways are deemed safe for recreation. The tentative new date is June 7th. Its tough, Gleber said, the event gained a lot of popularity last year and we have people coming in from out of town and even out of state. Its hard to re-schedule large trips like that, especially if youre hauling a boat. Gleber is trying to stay positive, however. This will give people more time to test their boats, or build new ones, Gleber said. There are three categories, and you can participate in all of them if you want. Gleber will be participating with as many outlets as possible to get the word out regarding the event. She urges individuals to look to Facebook, Twitter, and local media including the News and WAFB Channel 9 for updates as they are available. The Regatta, which is in its second year, features home-made boats racing 100 yards down the Tickfaw River. There are three categories- cardboard and duct-tape, pirogues and canoes, and anything goes. Gleber separated the event into three categories, after the pirogues swept last years event. We wanted to keep it fair, she said. We also wanted to extend the event to give people traveling a great distance more reason to spend the day with us. According to Gleber, the number of entries had doubled from last year and continue to grow every day. She hopes that number wont drop off too much between now and next weekend. We know that some people will drop out all together, and some will still show up Saturday and get upset about the postponement, Gleber said. But well do our best to inform everyone and keep the event going for next weekend. The Waterway Cleanup is next Saturday, so were hoping that will draw even more people to the event.
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 16:29:53 +0000
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