Dear Editor,

Vicksburg is a great city with wonderful people and almost endless opportunities for enjoyment.

Built on the Mississippi River, the river has long been the anchor of Vicksburg, and the “Key to the south.” A large part of Vicksburg’s economy revolves around the river with the harbor project and associated industry. In the last several years the tour boat industry has been booming with multiple boats docking at the Vicksburg waterfront on almost a daily basis bringing tourists to town to experience the hospitality that the South, and moreover Mississippi,  is known for.

However, there is one problem evermore present with every passing season: the county’s lack of maintenance on the LeTourneau boat ramp. While the city does a great job of maintaining the waterfront to allow access for recreational boaters and fishermen along with commercial fishermen, the county on the other hand, has failed miserably at its maintenance program of the boat ramp at LeTourneau. This is not a new problem, the county has been forgoing any maintenance activity for years at the boat ramp. 

Not only does this boat ramp provide valuable access to the river for recreational and commercial fishermen and boaters, but it also serves as an access point for the hundreds of towboats that navigate the river to allow for crew change and re-supply needs of these towboats. Emergency personnel also need reliable access to the river, as we unfortunately all too often are reminded when tragedy strikes on the river.

Back in 2020 when the two duck hunters went missing and a search and rescue operation was launched, it began out of the LeTourneau boat ramp; however, the river quickly dropped to a level that made it impossible to launch a boat at the ramp and the county was unable to use its own ramp (approximately 22’ on the  Vicksburg Gauge).

Fortunately, just downstream of the public ramp is a private ramp where the landowner was gracious enough to allow the emergency personnel to use his ramp to continue search and rescue efforts. This lack of maintenance has been brought to the Board of Supervisors’ attention numerous times by myself and others over the years, but the problem seems to be ignored.

The county did seek permission and was granted permission from the U.S. Army Corps of  Engineers in 2021 to perform dredging operations at the ramp to restore the ramp to its original design. However, it seems these actions were merely a façade meant to placate the citizens of Warren County, as nothing has been done to date. 

Year after year we find ourselves at this point, when the river drops below 22’ on the  Vicksburg Gauge, the ramp at LeTourneau becomes unusable and all boaters, both commercial and recreational must use the City Waterfront. Again, I commend the city on its maintenance of the waterfront, but it creates a host of issues for the downtown area.

Any given Saturday the waterfront is jam-packed with trucks and trailers that fill the waterfront and overflow onto Levee Street to find parking, families are enjoying the day at Catfish Row and the tour boats that are coming in with their buses and droves of tourists. All of this creates a huge traffic issue and possible safety concerns, both on land and water.

You have all the boaters crammed into the Yazoo Diversion Canal with tour boats and maritime vessels pushing barges into and out of the harbor project. This is setting up an inevitable disaster that fortunately we have yet to experience.  

In closing, I again want to thank the city for its attention to the waterfront and for keeping it maintained; I give you an A-plus. On the contrary, the county receives a great big F for its attention to the LeTourneau boat ramp and lack of maintenance. I urge all citizens of  Warren County, especially those that utilize the river and the boat ramps, to contact the Board of Supervisors and demand some action. If they won’t do it, next time elect someone different who will. 

Sincerely,

Jeremy Stokes

Warren County Resident