New life jacket loaner station at Drakes Creek in Franklin

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FRANKLIN, Ky. – In Simpson County, a new way to help save lives is now available for the community.

A Life Jacket Loaner Station, the first of its kind at Drakes Creek, is able to provide kayakers with the proper equipment they need while on the water. All sizes are available from youth to adult.

State law requires a life jacket be on board for each person and that it properly fits.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife got the idea for the life jacket station when they noticed an increase in kayakers on the water.

“When COVID hit in 2019, there was an explosion for people to go outdoors, go on the water… kayaking became very big. The Department of Fish & Wildlife thought that it might be a good time to do some public safety for all the new people that go into the water,” Marcus Bowling, Boating Education Coordinator says.

Instructions on how to apply a life jacket are posted at the station, which is located on the west bank of Drakes Creek on Highway 73.