[Hunble]

No tsunami is needed and your answer was implied with your original question.

hills of central KY

Hills are formed then the ground is uplifted by geological forces. What you see today as hills were once the floor of an ocean.

[TheLurkerX]

I never realized that area was under water. I just did some googling, and found that the crinoids came from the shallow ocean period about 310-350 million years ago.

That's cool by me, I like finding the surprise fossil. I found them all over N. Texas, but I guess I never realized KY might have been under water as well.