January 20, 2004
The January meeting of the BGG was held at the Lexington Living Arts and Sciences Center courtesy of BGG member Roberta Burns. Roberta and a host of volunteers have put together an impressive exhibit called “Caves in My Backyard”. Eighteen grotto members and guests were present.
Randy began the meeting by thanking Jim and Teresa Currens for hosting the grotto’s holiday party in their new home.
Randy provided a recap of the current status of Crystal Cave and the planned development of the area surrounding it. Currently, the city planning commission is waiting to hear a final proposal for development of the property. The planning commission is looking for “expert evaluation” before bringing any issues to city council.
Randy pointed out that the development company has, in the past, been sensitive to environmental concerns and green space preservation. He sees no reason to think this particular situation will be different. In addition to the BGG, several other organizations have expressed varying levels of interest in the property, including the Parks Commission, the Kentucky Nature Commission, and the Southeast Cave Conservancy.
Randy also provided a handout to the group the included a map, some history of the cave, and a cursory review of the scientific potential of the cave systems.
New survey equipment should be on the way.
Randy, Hilary, and John Cole have been working to compile a current member list. When this is done, John Hagee will post to the members-only area of the website.
Roberta Burns, Hilary Lambert (and others) visited Preston Springs cave. They reported that the cave was clean and relatively free of trash. They also reported that the cave does not appear to flood in the upper level where the second entrance is located. The other entrance is at the creek level. The small, second entrance was uncovered during a recent clean-up effort. The possibility of the BGG gating the upper entrance has been discussed. The goals of gating this particular entrance are (1) protect the cave, and (2) protect young kids who might use the area. Roberta and Hilary will work with the parks commission to determine next steps.
John Cole reported that the Grotto began the month with $382.89 and paid $38.40 out for postage for the newsletter. The current balance is $344.49.
The combination to the gate at GSP will change on March 1, 2004.
The question was asked, “Do we need to sign a new GSP waiver each year?” The answer, per Pat Hutson, was “no”. The waivers are kept on file.
The OVR will meet at the Hamilton, OH firehouse on Feb. 28th to determine this years project. Ohio is slated for this year but the exact site will not be determined until the meeting.
The Carter Caves 23rd Annual Crawlathon is January 23 – 25, 2004. KSS will hold its winter meeting on Sunday morning (10:00 A.M.) during the Crawlathon. he inaugural meeting for the new Kentucky Karst Conservancy will also be held at Carter Caver on Sunday the 25th at 10:00 A.M.
The Greater Cincinnati Grotto’s annual Karst-o-Rama is scheduled for June 25-27. at Great Saltpetre Cave Preserve
Roberta Burns and Hilary Lambert are sponsoring at trip to GSP in conjunction with the Living Arts and Science Center for 9:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. on Feb. 21.
Roberta also wanted to let the grotto know that she will be conducting a “cave building” class for anyone interested in working on educational projects like the one at the LASC.
Ezra and Audrey will be attending the SERA meeting (and caving) on Feb. 7th.
Next month, Jim Currens will talk about dye tracing - "Bugs, Gumdrops, Decoys, and Alcohol: Tools of the Trade"
Randy is excited about the possibility of new caves in Wayne County and was able to come up with some interesting “discoveries” during a December ridge walk. Randy would like to schedule another ridge walk and involve other grotto members for some time in March.
Ezra reported that his former outing club at Syracuse University had several old style Petzl helmets for sale at $20 each. Let him know if you want one.
The NSS Convention will be held in Marquette, MI July 12 – 16, 2004.
