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March 20, 2006 -- Vol. 6 Issue 12 Written by Jack R. Simpson (unless otherwise noted), owner of J.R. Simpson & Associates, Inc. and contributing editor to The Waterways Journal.
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 In This Newsletter:
Thought For The Week
“The no-bid contract can be the devil we find in the details.” A Personal Note From Jack
 Last week we were informed by the Government Accounting Office (GAO) in Washington that their auditors had found waste in the awarding of Hurricane-Katrina recovery contracts, many of them with limited or no competition. To show the potential for problems, GAO said more than 700 contracts valued at $500,000 or more were awarded without full competition or with vague or open-ended terms. Many went to politically connected companies. As such bids relate to Katrina recovery, we were told that “waste and mismanagement were widespread because of poor planning and miscommunication.” We’ve all been privy to the story about trailers never reaching their destination (the sites hadn’t been approved or locating them there hadn’t been approved yet) and the truckloads of ice being shipped hither and yon. Another example uncovered by congressional auditors relates to 4,000 beds that were never used. Many cases exist where money was paid for services not used. The list of what we could call abuses is virtually endless. The GAO tells us outright that the Federal Emergency Management Agency simply “did not adequately anticipate needs.” We can justifiably ask “Why?” since hurricane response has been common in the U.S. for decades. Too often the impression we get when such abusive practices are revealed is that “big daddy” knows best. Each government person responsible for awarding bids should have a copper plate riveted to his/her butt that says “Our first obligation is to the public — to try to get the best bang for the taxpayers’ buck.” For Those Inclined To Pray
 We have modified the steps for joining our Prayer Circle. If you visit the Prayer Circle link on at www.littleriverbooks.com, you will find that those who sign up are completely anonymous. We do not ask for first names nor states of residence. Joining is as simple as providing an email address to which we can send future prayer requests. Each prayer request list includes a link for including requests.
By joining our Prayer Circle, you can tap into the prayerful support of circle members wherever they are. Membership and prayer requests are open to everyone. Newsletter News
Stuff That’s Overlooked You’d think that when I wrote about the upcoming Great Rivers Towboat Festival in Grafton, Ill., I’d have included the dates. Well, what better way to raise interest than to tell someone that there’s a big surprise coming on XXX and then not give the dates? Then with all the interest at a peak, I can come up with the dates! Well, if you believe that, I have some land in Florida to sell you. Anyway, I merely overlooked the dates. What the heck, it was just the first five words that Debbie Wedding put in her news release: On June 24th and 25th, …etc. so there you have it. The 4th weekend in June. The 24th and 25th. Did I mention when? Sorry about that. It will be on the riverfront just west of the Historic Grafton Boat Works. By the way, you can thank Joy Manthey for asking. Web Site News
Start looking this week for a few great book discounts that will continue to grow in coming weeks. Huge reductions will be offered on books we have in limited quantities. When the books are gone, they will be gone. We need to reduce our inventory.
On The Waterfront
Efforts In Wind To Save Piece Of Steamboat Montana We have reported previously that when the Missouri River level is down, the skeleton of the 280-foot-long paddlewheeler Montana becomes visible. The vessel, built in 1879, sank in 1884 when it struck a railroad bridge over the Missouri between St. Charles and Bridgeton, Mo. Retired McDonnell Douglas mechanical engineer Nelson O. Weber wants to save a piece of the old boat, according to the March 20, “St. Louis Post-Dispatch.” He has undertaken a survey and concludes that the remains represent a cultural treasure that should be moved to a museum. 1,500 Tons Of Salt Sink In GIWW Some 1,500 tons of salt sank in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway On March 17 after the barge in which it was loaded collided with an offshore barge in 18-19 feet of water. The mishap resulted in channel restrictions The salt barge was the lead unit in a tow being moved by the Mv. Jesus Saves. According to the “Inland River Record”, the boat is owned by Dufrene Boats, Inc., Harvey, La. The Marmac 15, the other vessel in the accident, was being towed by the Megan E. Dupre and the E. H. Demouy, Gulf Coast newspapers reported. The barge suffered damage above the water and was able to move to a nearby shipyard for repairs. Work to unload the salt barge is pending. CSX Refuses To Paint Rusty Railroad Bridge Folks at Henderson, Ky., are “displeasured” to say the least over a rusty railroad bridge owned by CSX Transportation, Inc. Efforts to eliminate the eyesore with a new paint job have failed, since CSX has said it has no plans to paint the span, which is one of 16,000 bridges the company owns on its 21,000 miles of track in 23 states. Apparently CSC doesn’t want to get something started. Retired Marine Personnel Gift Museum With DVDs  Paducah’s River Heritage Museum Gift shop will kick off the new season with a stock of DVDs depicting Cincinnati’s popular “Tall Stacks” event, compliments of the Association of Retired Marine Personnel. The retirees recently purchased a hundred copies of “At the Water’s Edge” from Little River Books for presentation to the museum’s executive director, Julie Harris and new chairman, Glen Anderson, at their March 9th meeting. The twenty-eight minute video is narrated by popular Cincinnati area radio and TV personality Nick Clooney and features historical footage of early sternwheelers and vibrant, colorful scenes from a recent Tall Stack steamboat race and festival. Although the organization consists of retired river workers, some continue to work part time and as a result, its president, Capt. Robert “Bob” Nally, was unable to attend the meeting to make the presentation because he was committed to a four-day trip on the Issaquena for Excell Marine. Past president Capt. Leonard Wadlington and club historian Don Salsbury stepped in and made the presentation in his absence. The organization has been a steady contributor to the museum and several of its members have given or loaned many artifacts or personal memorabilia to the expanding facility. (Editor’s note: Anyone interested in purchasing DVDs in quantity at a fire-sale price can contact us at jacksimpson@littleriverbooks.com. The supply is nearing its end.) Tidewater Agrees To Repower Tugs Vancouver-based Tidewater Barge Lines has a fleet of 15 tugs, some built in the 1960s with inefficient engines that pollute the air. A recently released study reveals that tugs and ships on the Columbia River are “significant contributors” to haze in the Columbia River Gorge. When Tidewater was approached with the idea of putting scrubbers on the vessels’ stacks, the conversation quickly turned to engine replacement. A Department of Environmental Quality official told Tidewater that it soon would be able to compete for federal grant money to help defray the cost of replacing aging engines. If Tidewater is successful, the company could get as much as $500,000 toward the $1.8 million cost of replacing two engines in one of its oldest and most power tugs. Tidewater could have rebuilt the engines for $400,000, but it was decided replacement was the thing to do. The new clean-diesel engines are expected to cut emissions by 85 percent. If the company gets the grant, it could also be eligible for Oregon tax credits valued at $280,000. But there would be another bonus. The new engines would save $234,000 annually in fuel costs. Go Tidewater! You can contact the editor directly at jacksimpson@littleriverbooks.com. advertisement
The River School - Deck and engineer licenses, radar observer, tankerman, fire and water safety courses, video programs. Travel classes in convenient locations. (800) 238-7113 www.riverschool.com Crossing The Bar
James E. “Gator” Jackson, Sr., 75, retired tugboat captain who retired from A. J. Bertucci Construction Co. in 1992, died Friday, March 17, 2006, at the Heart Hospital in Lacombe, La. He was a native of Mt. Pleasant, S.C., and resided in Lacombe for the past 35 years. According to his son, Jimmy, “Capt. Jackson was known on the river as “Gator Jackson,” and to a great many people he was known as ‘The Living Legend,’ because watching him operate a towboat was like watching a true artist at work.” Relatives and friends of the family are invited to attend the funeral mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Lacombe, La., on Tuesday, March 21, 2006, at 11 A.M. Interment in Forest Lawn Cemetery. Visitation on Tuesday after 9:30 A.M. until funeral time. Arrangements by Honaker Funeral Home, Inc., Slidell, La. From Our Readers
Re: Great Rivers Towboat Festival What are the dates for the Towboat Festival? I wanted to put it on my calendar and thought it was the 3rd weekend of June but was not sure. Thanks for this great newsletter you put out. I thoroughly enjoy it. Joy Manthey (Editor’s note: Once again — June 24th and 25th.) Re: New Photographer On The Block Just had to drop a note to compliment new photo contributor Jerry Milam on his excellent photos of the Mallard and Becky Ann in the March 13th edition of Bitts & Bytes. I especially like the stern view of the Becky Ann. Not only are Jerry’s shots very well composed, the color and clarity are excellent. Am looking forward to seeing more of his work. Jeff L. Yates (Editor’s note: Jerry, to get a compliment like that from an old geezer who has been shooting wonderful, high quality boat pictures for decades is something to cherish.) Re: In Our Guest Book James L. Laster, Jr., of Union City, Tenn., wrote last week: “I’m an active duty Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force stationed in Colorado. My father is a Captain for the Choctaw Towing Company out of Dyersburg, Tennessee. I enjoy looking at the pictures and it brings back a lot of memories as I got to ride with dad a few times in my youth.” Welcome to Our Site Ring
Site Name: Indiana Waterways URL: http://indianawaterways.com Owner: Jerry Hay Description: More than just Indiana stuff here. Lots of entertaining river pages and many river photos. Riverlorian Jerry Hay will take you on a cyber trip on many rivers and share interesting information. Boat Photo Center
 We’re going to stretch this out a little this week and give you 15 photos. They include: a DVD presentation picture for the River Heritage Museum in Paducah, Ky., by Jeff Yates; two pictures of the Roberta Tabor and three of the Debra Ann by Jerry Milam; the Mon River Towing terminal at Speers, Pa., Edward L. Ryerson (a laker), and the Jesse B. Guttman from Eric M. Johnson; the Lemont Trader from Ed Rahe; two of Marquette’s Badger and one of the Samuel B. Richmond from John Miller; and two of the Lachlan Macleay from Mike Murphy.
Click here to see the latest pictures. 
Recipe Box
Do you have a good recipe you’d like to share? Submit your recipes here! The Book Beat
This week will begin our “big bargain” move to put good river books on sale at close to our cost and reduce inventory. We will begin with only two books and increase the number next week. They can be seen on the web site.  “Views on the Mississippi” will be our first. This great old, soft cover picture book contains pictures that were actually lost for more than a hundred years. The photographer did his work over a period of some 50 years. (The hard cover version leaped to $85 from about $40 a couple years ago, and we quit carrying it.) We now have three copies of the soft cover version, regularly priced at $29.95. The book is exactly the same quality as the more expensive hard-cover version; only the cover has changed. The first three people to check our web site and buy it will get one of the three books for $20 plus S&H. I’ll even include a free 28-minute DVD called “At The Water’s Edge”, a presentation of the 1999 Tall Stacks celebration at Cincinnati. You can buy this book on our web site, but to guarantee that you’ll get one, why not call Jack at 314/921-4419 and use your Visa or MasterCard. Remember, when they are gone, they are gone.
List Price: $29.95 Our Price: $20.00 You Save: $9.95 (33.2%) (only 3 in stock!)  Next we are offering “Father Mississippi,” a huge and greatly detailed account of the Mississippi River flood of 1927. We have but two of these in stock. The price is $20 plus S&H for a book that normally sells for $30. Again, the credit card route is quickest. I will throw in a free DVD with this one too.
List Price: $30.00 Our Price: $20.00 (only 2 in stock!) You Save: $10.00 (33.3%) advertisement
Those interested in learning how you can self-publish your book can find details listed at www.littleriverbooks.com where they appear in the index under other services. Get More Visitors To Your Web Site - Join The U.S. Inland Waterways Site Ring!
This is a web ring owned by Little River Books. It is dedicated to those who work, rest, or play on the inland waterways of the United States. Owners of river-related commercial or private sites can apply to join, bringing together as many waterways related sites as possible. Sign up (FREE), put the code on your page, and watch your hits skyrocket! Let’s see if we can make this one of the biggest and best river site rings on the web. Benefit from other river sites’ traffic and gain new visitors. If you sell a river-related product on your site, this is the ring for you! (You must copy and past the site ring graphic onto your web site as soon as your site is approved.) Check out the sites currently in the ring and their hit statistics as a direct result of being in the site ring. Tow Talkin'
March 20, 2006 By Kathy Flippo  Spring has sprung, and I don’t care what the thermometer says! On the 14th I took a ride up to Lock and Dam 13 to see the sights. And sights there were to see. The Coast Guard boat Wyaconda was up by the cell in the pool, sounding to be sure the buoys are on station. And, sitting on the upper lock wall were the ARTCO harbor tugs, side by side with one barge each, the Mvs. White Angel and Julian Dubuque. Most definitely spring has sprung.
The backwaters up there were filled to the brim with birds of all kinds and sizes. There were huge rafts of ducks—bluebills, canvasbacks, mallards, buffle heads, and mud hens that are technically called coot. There were also some Canada geese. The grassy areas were…to continue reading, click here. See you on the Web, Jack Little River Books jacksimpson@littleriverbooks.com Don't forget to visit our web site! |
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