HANCOCK COUNTY, Ohio — On Monday, News9 aired a story about handicap fishing access problems at Tomlinson Run State Park in Hancock County.
State officials saw the story and are reacting to the issue, wanting to help.
Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Peter Cuffaro said he wasn’t surprised to hear that the Tomlinson Run State Park does not have handicap accessible areas because most areas that are not handicap accessible are never reported.
“If you come into a hurdle, report it to somebody,” he said.
Cuffaro said that’s what he was most proud to see Kenneth Tingler, the subject in Monday’s story, do.
Cuffaro wants to help Tingler and others who want to fish at the park.
“People are getting older; people need assistance,” Cuffaro said. “We don’t want people to stay at home. We want you to stay active. If these gentleman want to fish, we should be able to have the accommodations so they can.”
Tomlinson Run State Park Officials said they are working on those accommodations. On Tuesday, they released a statement.
“The Division of Natural Resources has been reviewing ways to improve fishing access at Tomlinson Run State Park lake and expects to make recommendations as early as next week for appropriate improvements to serve our constituents. Fishing is an extremely popular outdoor recreation activity for our guests and visitors and, whenever it is practical, we are always willing to discuss possible improvements.”
If you live in the state of West Virginia and need to know what fishing areas are handicap accessible, go to www.dot.mapwv.gov/huntfish
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