[01/25/01] The ferry that provides the only year-round access to Kings Point is temporarily out of service because of heavy rains north of Warren County.

Operations were shut down Friday after driftwood in the Yazoo River became tangled in the ferry cable, pinning the ferry to the bank, said Rhea Fuller, county road manager.

On Saturday, the cable that guides the tug boat and its barge across the river had to be cut because of the current and entangled debris, Fuller said.

“With all the rain we had north of us the currents have gotten pretty severe,” he said.

Kings Point is bordered by the Mississippi River, the Yazoo River, Paw Paw Chute and Taylor Lake. The ferry provides the only access to the island when the Mississippi River rises above 18 feet and costs about $250,000 per year to operate.

As of Thursday morning, the river was at 9.5 feet.

“We’re evaluating it every day,” Fuller said. “We’re going to try to get our service back up as soon as we can.”

Fuller said it would be too dangerous to try to reconnect the ferry cable as long as the current in the Yazoo continues to be strong.

The only access to the island for many years has been by court-ordered ferry or by a low-water land route when available. It is the permanent home of at least two families and used for crop land and is popular for hunting and fishing.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is studying the feasibility of building a 10.7-mile levee along an access road. The levee road would connect with the existing Mississippi River levee near Eagle Lake Road and provide a passage to the area during high-water times.

The levee is estimated to cost between $5.2 million and $8 million in county and federal funds.