Gina Kinslow
Glasgow Daily Times
CAVE CITY, Ky. — The Cave City Council has started a new recognition award to honor those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty; hence the name of the award — The Above and Beyond Award.
On Monday night, the city council presented its first Above and Beyond Award to Cave City residents Jamie Karnes and Jason Martin, who helped rescue Murrell Watts of the Finney community from a boat crash on Barren River Lake in late November.
Councilman Steve Pedigo read an account during the meeting of what happened on Nov. 28 that lead to the city council recognizing the men. He learned of their heroic acts from his son, who is friends with them.
Karnes and Martin were fishing on Barren River Lake when they witnessed Watts’ fishing boat crashing into a pontoon boat he said he didn’t see due to the bright sun being in his eyes.
They were fishing about 600 yards away from where the crash occurred.
“We heard the screams of the woman when she saw that boat coming toward them,” Karnes said. “By the time we turned, they had already hit and we saw Mr. Watts’ boat going out of control.”
As Karnes and Martin were en route to the crash scene, Martin called 911 on his cell phone.
Once they got to the crash site, they tossed Watts a life preserver. The people in the pontoon boat were trying to hold onto him, but they told Karnes and Martin they were having difficulty.
“They were just barely holding on to his finger tips,” Karnes said.
Attempts to get Watts out of the water and into Karnes and Martin’s boat at first were difficult due to Watts’ boat spinning out of control.
“With that other boat going crazy and trying to get our boat manipulated there behind it and the pontoon, ... that was pretty tough,” Martin said.
Karnes made a wave with his boat to knock Watt’s boat out of the way so they could pull Watts to safety. They only had seconds to get Watts into their boat before his boat began coming toward them again.
The temperature of the water that day was in the high 40s, but hypothermia starts at 55 degrees, Karnes said, adding that Watts’ lips were starting to turn blue. He also had a large gash on the back of his head.
“He was just about a gonner,” Karnes said.
Karnes and Martin made their way to the marina with Watts where an ambulance was waiting. They then returned to the location on the lake were Watts’ boat was still spinning out of control. They waited until it ran out of gas and Martin jumped in and was able to tie it to Karnes boat so it could be towed to the marina.
Watts was present Monday night for the award presention, but said he doesn’t remember a lot about what happened that day.
“I remember being in their boat. How it got onto the ramp I don’t know, but I remember getting out of there and I remember seeing them later on,” he said.
Karnes and Martin visited Watts in the hospital.
“The nice thing about it is I did see them right afterwards at the hospital,” Watts said. “I got to meet them then, but it’s just hard to say how much it means to me. It really is.”
Karnes and Martin said they were glad to see Watts on Monday night.
“It’s great to see him up on his own power,” Karnes said.
“It was just a good feeling knowing he was fine and sitting there,” Martin said.
Bill Kidd with the Marine Corps League and the Marine Corps Reserves presented a certificate of appreciation to the city council and the Cave City Police Department for their help in collecting items for Toys for Tots.
Mayor Dwayne Hatcher recognized city employees who were out working during the frigid temperatures. He also recognized Bi-Rite Grocery, who cooked and served a free meal on Christmas Day at the Cave City Community Center.
In other business, the city council agreed to sell analog radios used by the city’s police department as surplus property; approved on second reading an ordinance changing the time for the city council meeting to 5 p.m. beginning with the February meeting; and discussed offering the city’s community development position to Seaborn Ellzey at a rate of $10 per hour, working 20 hours per week.
Copyright 2018 Glasgow Daily Times