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March 28, 2005 -- Vol. 5 Issue 13 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:
Quote of the Week
"Not all things are what they seem to be but sometimes more." A Personal Note From Jack
 A sticky situation has developed on the upper East Coast, where Fall River, Mass., Mayor Edward M. Lambert, Jr., is critical of a Coast Guard security plan that he believes will leave LNG tankers vulnerable to terrorists with shoulder-fire rocket launchers or rocket-propelled grenades [rifle-propelled?]. Not unexpectedly, the Coast Guard's plan is classified. It is said, however, not to contain plans for "cleaning people out of the shoreline neighborhoods where terrorists could get close enough to an inbound tanker to launch an attack."
(Editor's note: I suspect there is very little that we will hear about this unless newspapers stir it up. And perhaps we should not know more. Since the newspapers on the upper East Coast already have announced to the world (and the terrorists) that the vulnerability exists, our brief note is not out of line. It also occurs to us that perhaps Mayor Lambert is making a valid point and that such an oversight could occur at other U.S. ports as well. So making it public could encourage positive action by the Coast Guard, if they did, indeed, leave out some important security measures.) For those interested in the political aspects of the water transportation scenario, we are happy to report that, according to "Capitol Currents", newsletter of the Waterways Council, Inc., Sen. Christopher S. "Kit" Bond (R-Mo.) has gained clout during a Senate realignment. Importantly for us, he wound up as chairman of the expanded Transportation, Treasury, Judiciary and Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee. This, says "Currents", "doubles his clout over transportation policy, since he remains chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee of the Environment and Public Works Committee with jurisdiction over highway and water legislation." This is particularly good news for water transportation supporters involved in the Missouri River water management issues. Sen. Bond has been supportive for years of the efforts to keep navigation open on the lower Missouri River (from Sioux City, Iowa, to the river's mouth near St. Louis). A concerned reader has made us aware of an issue that involves a legislative proposal that might ultimately take water from the Tennessee River for Birmingham, Ala. We checked on the matter and found that the issue is more of a water rights issue than one affecting navigation. An Alabama county that abuts the Tennessee River wants to divert water from the Tennessee for M&I [municipal and industrial?] water supply. Don Waldon, of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Authority, informs us that the county between the [water seeking] county and the river opposes the diversion. The initial proposal was for 50 million gals/day. The opposing county has introduced state legislation to prohibit the withdrawal since it will involve an interbasin transfer. The opposing county also fears that as much as 200 million gals/day could be diverted eventually, with some of it being sold to the city of Birmingham. The insatiable appetite of Atlanta, Ga., for water has already triggered a lawsuit by Alabama and Florida on its proposals to divert water from the Chattoochee and Coosa-Alabama rivers, Waldon said. It has been in federal court since the 1990s. (Editor's note: The significance of these actions tie directly to our nation's dwindling fresh water supplies. With the Missouri River basin now in its seventh year of drought, we are seeing the water wars heat up in that region. Rocky Mountain snow pack is expected to deliver only about 66 percent of the normal run-off this year. But water shortages are occurring in many regions. Waldon believes that state and/or individual water rights will become the most controversial issue facing water resource development in the South for the coming years. We have to keep in mind, rights or no rights, that if the water isn't there, we can't manufacture it, and we have to use what we do have wisely.) Hope you all had a nice Easter! - Jack
 For Those Inclined To Pray
Join our Prayer Circle so that you can tap into the prayerful support of the circle members. Membership and prayer requests are open to everyone. The activity of the Prayer Circle is confined totally outside of our weekly newsletter. With the exception of this segment, all contact is made, ultimately, through jacksimpson@littleriverbooks.com. To learn about the prayer circle click here. On The Waterfront
Water Transport Benefits May Have Been Underestimated (Editor's preface: Remember how Dr. Donald Sweeney took issue with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' criticism of the computer model he had created and was using to calculate benefits for the Corps' proposed Upper Mississippi and Illinois River maintenance and modernization project?--He has been become almost idolized by river-industry critics who think the whistleblower has done us all a favor. Actually, it was his own faulty model that was the root of the problem.--The problem was, as many industry leaders (and evidently the Corps hierarchy) that the model underestimated river transportation benefits. Fast forward to another arena, where other river leaders argued that the value of river cargo transportation should not be calculated only on quantity but on quality. In other words, a barge load of coal is worth much less than a rocket booster! Having said that, it will be easy for readers to see the parallels when they read the following story, which I have PLAGERIZED from an October issue of "Capitol Currents", official newsletter of the Waterways Council, Inc.) New Model Suggests Navigation Benefits Under-Estimated What started out as a response to criticism that the "tow-cost model" might be overestimating navigation benefits has led to development of a far more sophisticated model which indicates that navigation benefits are often under-estimated. The Ohio River Navigation Investment Model (ORENIM), now being utilized in the Ohio River Mainstem Study, was built by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in collaboration with the Navigation Planning Center at the Corps of Engineers' Huntington District. T. Randell Curlee, navigation economist at Oak Ridge, described the new model in a presentation at the recent Maritime Summit in Huntington. ORNIM allows use of additional and more refined "real world" data, in combination with state-of-the-art computer programs, to move "to a new frontier of navigation modeling," he said. Previous models assumed that river traffic would be diverted to other modes as lock congestion forced costly delays, without considering congestion on overland modes. Because of what's happening on alternative modes, evidence now suggests many shippers are willing to stay on the river at costs higher than previously assumed. Other models estimated the cost of lock delays as the same for both scheduled and unscheduled closures, thereby under-estimating system reliability benefits. And another frequently under-estimated benefit: new types of waterways traffic, such as container movements, not considered in the older models. (Editor's final note: Now that you have read the "Currents" story, you can easily see that the same conditions could be prevalent on the Upper Mississippi, where those who do not support river transportation say frequently that delays are not important at the locks and regurgitate the inaccurate conclusion that all river traffic would divert to over modes. Readers might also recall several reports from the Minnesota Department of Transportation that said such "diversions", if they did take place, would really create a mess for the entire transportation corridor in that region. If the new findings are true, then river critics have for years been using faulty statistics to help bring down the river industry and re-direct civil works funding to environmental endeavors.) Mv. Magnolia Is First Boat To Reach St. Paul This Season By Mike Murphy St. Paul, Minn.  St. Paul, Minnesota, March 28, 2005-The first northbound tows of the 2005 navigation season arrived in the St. Paul area in the afternoon of March 28. The first boat through Lock 2, at Hastings, Minn., was the Magnolia, of Vicksburg-based Magnolia Marine Transport Co., with three tank barges for the refinery at Pine Bend, about 15 miles downstream from St. Paul. The next two boats had dry cargo tows-the Theresa L. Wood with 15 barges, and the Joseph Patrick Eckstein with eight barges. Both boats are operated by Marquette transportation Co. of Paducah, Ky.
As usual, the ice in Lake Pepin was the last major obstacle to northbound boats in the spring, but the first three arrivals last week were all "oil boats" with tank barges, which are not suitable for ice breaking. The Magnolia and the Mark Shurden, without their tows, tried to do some ice breaking (see photo), while the Kelly Lee stood by with all three tank tows. Finally, with the arrival of warmer weather and the Theresa L. Wood, they were all able to get through the ice, which was as thick as 25 inches in some places. (Editor’s note: I have known Mike Murphy, a truck driver, for more than 20 years. He has a great interest in the river. Many times during those two decades or more, when Mike’s delivery schedule will allow it, he has gone to the river to shoot pictures of the first arrivals and to make sure that I got the report as soon as possible. I just want to thank him for that and to let readers know of his dedication to that effort.) Senate Wants More Coast Guard Aircraft and Ships Faster A 2002 plan to provide Coast Guard with the aircraft and ships it needs is faltering, according to a report in "The Washington Times", and key senators believe the 22-year timetable is not acceptable under operating conditions the CG faces today. They are urging the Bush Administration to cut the timetable in half. At present, the Coast Guard is protecting American shores with a World War II-era fleet of aircraft and cutters. The current time required to provide replacements under the 2002 plan is estimated to be 27 years. The "Times" reported that as a component of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Coast Guard has secured and escorted more than 200 military sea-lift departures from 10 U.S. seaports. In 2004 it interdicted 11,000 illegal aliens arriving by sea and rescued 5,500 distressed mariners. The senators informed the director of the Office of Management and Budget that "daily demands upon operational Coast Guard assets are unrelenting in the post 9/11 environment." Newport News, Va., Terminal May Be Shut Down Over Security Issues The U.S. Coast Guard recently notified Jerry O. Talton, Inc., a 47-acre terminal operation at Newport News, Va., that it might be closed down if it did not correct flaws the Coast found when inspecting the facility. The terminal serves as the entry point for hundreds of containers from abroad each month as well as a docking point for up to five Military Sealift Command vessels at any one time. (Editor's note: The deadline for facilitating a "fix" was actually March 25, so B&B is searching for additional information on this one.) Fuel Barge Removed From Rock Bluff (an update) The Associated Press reports that with the help of high tide, a heavy-duty salvage vessel and three tugboats, the fuel barge Millicoma was floated free on March 23 from the narrow, rocky cove near the mouth of the Columbia River where it had run aground. (See B&B March 21). The barge was being towed by the tug Howard Olsen, owned by Foss Maritime, when the grounding occurred. Cape Girardeau, Mo., Plans New River Museum To House Golden Eagle Material, et al. Word from a friend reveals that Southeast Missouri University at Cape Girardeau, Mo., is busy planning a "nice, new, river museum" at its riverfront campus just north of the new bridge at Cape. In the meantime, they are creating a smaller exhibit, temporary in nature, at the University's Memorial building on the main campus. This museum acquired many of the artifacts from the Golden Eagle River Museum that previously operated in the Nims Mansion in Bee Tree Park in South St. Louis County." The temporary exhibit is expected to be in place in a couple months, but the opening date is yet unknown. As an aside, Glenn Hensley of Kirkwood, Mo., has loaned to them indefinitely his model of the Admiral (now a gambling casino) as she appeared in the 1940s. We'll report more details as they become available. Crossing The Bar
 Robert J. Huffman, 70, St. Louis, Mo., former CEO of Huffman Towing Company, Phoenix Towing and Inland Waterways, Inc., died March 22 of cancer. Mr. Huffman operated these companies for 43 years prior to selling them to Memco Barge Line in 2002, then worked for Memco until 2005, when he experienced complications from the cancer. In 45 years, he had missed only five days of work due to illness. A funeral mass was celebrated today (March 28) at the Pillar Catholic Church in Creve Coeur, Mo., with burial in Bellerive Cemetery.
Capt. Robert Eugene "Gene" Pully, 74, of Symsonia, Ky., a retired Vulcan Materials Company towboat captain, died March 7 at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah, Ky., of complications from cancer. He had worked previously for Igert Towing. Our Readers Write
(Published by Permission) Dan, Enjoyed your photo of the Pamela D in Bitts & Bytes - brought back lots of memories. Cavalier Towing still owned her when I started messing around on the river at Merdie Boggs & Sons, and Cavalier's owner Capt. Dutch Clark was on her most of the time. Later on Bob Bosworth operated her and Capt. Sherman Bonecutter & others ran her out of Catlettsburg. As you very well know, Drake Towing rebuilt her later, widening the hull (for fuel capacity), removing the kort nozzles (placed at Dravo in 1946 during a rebuilding program that included the placement of GM 16-278A war surplus diesels) repowering her with GM 16-645 diesels, raising the pilothouse and naming her Warren. Capt. Bosworth's G&C Towing wound up with her later, and as you said in Bitts & Bytes she was dismantled about 1991. Now, as Paul Harvey would say, "Here's the rest of the story" - after languishing many years, first at Kanauga, Ohio, and later at R&D Associates, Catlettsburg her owner, marine broker Michael Marshall donated her to the Marshall University Inland Waterways Academy at Huntington. In a joint industry effort Marathon Ashland gas-freed the bilges and fuel tanks, R&D cut off the upper cabin and pilothouse and loaded it into a Crounse barge, Madison Coal & Supply off-loaded this and moved it into position on the Inland Waterways Academy grounds adjacent to the Ohio River at Guyandotte, W.VA. The pilothouse and upper cabin now serve as a fire simulator. The remainder of the boat - hull and a portion of the lower cabin were still at R&D a few months ago. This old boat always had a reputation as a fine handler, good shover and a particularly good backer - ALWAYS important to a pilot! Thanks for stimulating my mind and bringing back such good memories! Thanks! Capt. David Smith Ashland, Ky. Boat Photo Center
This week we have 12 new pictures to add to the Photo Center. One of them is a model, however, and we will explain that below. Our list this week includes: the David L. Fields, New Dawn and two shots of the Tom Frazier from John Miller; the Elaine G, R. H. Huffman and Tipperary from Dan Owen; the Lillie Gail from Jesse Lybarger; and the Ray A. Eckstein (model), Pamela D, and two shots of the Warren from Jeff L. Yates.  As Jeff explains, the Ray A. Eckstein picture is one taken of a model at the River Heritage Museum in Paducah on March 24, 2005. It is a model of one of two triple-screw boats and several other twin-screw boats that have been named after the founder of Wisconsin Barge Line and Marquette Transportation over the past 30 years or so. (More detail is presented under the picture in the Center.)
Since the Pamela D was featured among the boats last week, Jeff sent along pictures of the boat when she was the Warren.  By the way, the Lillie Gail is a new name not yet listed in the "Inland River Record." Dan Owen tells us that she is the former Beverly Ann (which is in the IRR), owned by Tennessee Valley Towing, Inc., Paducah, Ky.
Get More Visitors To Your Web Site - Join The U.S. Inland Waterways Site Ring!
This web ring, owned by Little River Books, is dedicated to those who work, rest, or play on the inland waterways of the United States. Owners of commercial and private sites can apply to join, bringing together as many waterways related sites as possible. Sign up (FREE), put the code and graphic on your site, 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! Check out the sites currently in the ring and their hit statistics as a direct result of being in the site ring. Book Beat
Great History Book!  A week ago we featured two really great history books, "Father Mississippi" (a history of the 1927 flood and much more); and "Road to the Sea" The Story of James B. Eads and the story of the Mississippi River. The latter sold out immediately. We still have two copies on hand of "Father Mississippi, which we originally reduced to $25 plus S&H, down from $30. This book can still be ordered on our web site or by Visa or MasterCard by calling 314/921-4419.
 We will still handle "Road to the Sea", but only by special order and when requests are made by phone. The book sells for $33, which represents a $7 discount off the retail price, plus S&H.
 In either case, I will include a free DVD of "At The Water's Edge."
Restocked Popular Upper Miss VHS During the first week of March we featured a VHS video "Between Locks 14 & 2 on the UMR Aboard the M/v. Elizabeth Ann." This item, produced by author Kathy Flippo, proved so popular that we sold out in just a day or two. We have now acquired another limited stock of the tapes, for which we take orders (at present) only via phone (314/921-4419) and Visa or MasterCard.  One former riverman got to view his friend's tape and immediately called to buy the last one we had on hand. He uses it to help teach school children about the river. This tape is lengthy and runs $15 plus $5 S&H. We include free the DVD "At The Water's Edge" and a copy of a neat little Missouri River book called "Grab a Bush" (tales and myths and facts about the river).
Read a detailed description of Kathy Flippo's "Between Locks 14 & 2 on the UMR Aboard The M/v Elizabeth Ann." ---------- Conquest of the Missouri Also Restocked  This popular book is one of the finest ever written about the Missouri River, covering steamboat activities around just before the Civil War up until the steamboat trade collapsed after the railroads expanded out into the area. Then eventually, in the last Century, the big Main Stem reservoirs were constructed and the head of navigation became Sioux City, Iowa. Price is $14.95 for a serious, serious history book with lots of enjoyment between its pages. It's available on our site.
(Related books include the trilogy written by the late Dorothy Heckmann Shrader: "Steamboat Kid", "Steamboat Treasures", and "Steamboat Legacy", each available in soft cover for $11.50 each plus S&H.) Tow Talkin'
March 28, 2005 By Kathy Flippo Running spell check on these columns cracks me up. The computer doesn't know all these good river terms, and the suggestions to change things sometimes are hilarious. Last week I typed in Minn/Wis, and as everyone knows, that is Minnesota/Wisconsin and the U.M.R. runs between them. Spell check didn't like Minn/Wis at all! It wanted me to change it to "minnow!" Hoo boy! St. Mary's University of Minnesota at Winona publishes the Mississippi Monitor quarterly. It is newsprint format and hard core conservation. They have a website you might want to check out so your blood pressure can rise too. www.umbsn.org Not sure where they get their information but they say that 600-foot locks "force two operators to push barges through locks in two steps." Two operators? And then, "Extending…to continue reading this column, click here. See you on the Web, Jack Little River Books jacksimpson@littleriverbooks.com Don't forget to visit our website!  |
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