It appears the hiring process for a ranger and seasonal positions at Council Grove Lake may take some time.
Late last week, US Senator Jerry Moran announced Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll had signed an exemption to the ongoing federal hiring freeze, thus setting the stage for the Army Corps of Engineers to hire a full-time ranger and several seasonal positions — and then fully opening several areas of the lake that are currently closed or with drastically limited access as a result. A statement from the Army Corps of Engineers Tulsa District, which manages the reservoir, says the Corps “is aware of legislative efforts to resolve the personnel shortage at Council Grove Lake. When we receive official notice from our Chain of Command of any developments with this issue, we will move forward with our human resources department to execute any hiring actions.”
Hiring also does not automatically reopen affected lake areas. The new staffers will have to be trained first.
Concerns have been prevalent for weeks in and around Council Grove because of the hiring freeze and its impact on the area economy, which has been estimated at $9 million if the lake had to be closed for the full summer season. Moran has been working with the Corps, Department of Defense, Office of Management and Budget and the White House to get an exemption for Council Grove Lake. Over 500 Council Grove-area residents also signed a petition letter asking President Trump to step in.
Certain areas of the lake have been either closed or open with severely limited access for a week, and some areas didn’t open at all for the summer season. We have that list online at KVOE.com.
While the situation at Council Grove Lake is in the process of resolving, Council Grove City Lake, two miles west of the federal reservoir, was removed from a blue-green algae watch after heavy rainfall early last week. City Lake had been under an algae watch for two weeks.
Affected areas at Council Grove Lake
*Canning Creek entire park area closed
*Santa Fe Trail boat ramp open. Rest of park area closed
*Outlet East entire park area closed
*Kanza View camping area closed with day-use open
*Neosho Park boat ramp open. Rest of park area closed
*Kit Carson Cove entire park area closed
*North Richey Cove boat ramp open. Rest of park area closed
*Richey Cove entire park area closed
