COAST GUARD PULLS DISASTER TEAM FROM OHIO RIVER AREA

At least for the time being, the Paducah-based unit of the Coast Guard has stopped emergency operations along the Ohio River.

From March 6 to March 21, five Coast Guard Disaster Response Units worked 12- to 18-hour days, performing relief missions during the worst flooding on the Ohio River in 60 years.

With the river receding and the emergency over, regular Coast Guard personnel have gone back to normal duties and normal hours and reserve officers have demobilized, said Clifford Boldan, chief warrant officer for the Marine Public Safety Office of the Coast Guard in Paducah.

In normal times, the Coast Guard responds to oil spills and other water accidents, monitors the transfers of hazardous cargo and inspects boats.