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April 11, 2005 -- Vol. 5 Issue 15 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
"The First Amendment's establishment clause - 'Congress shall make no law respecting an established religion' government from establishing a national church...[James] Madison interpreted the 'free exercise' of religion, according to American Enterprise Institute scholar Vincent Phillip Munoz, 'to mean no privileges and no penalties on account of religion.'...The establishment clause was never intended to ban the invocation of God in public forums or the voluntary participation in 'ceremonies or rites that recognized God'." - Mark R. Levin, in his book "Men In Black." A Personal Note From Jack
 I was very much disturbed when I opened my Sunday “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” and learned that the American Civil Liberties Union had again reared its ugly head to interfere with the operations of Boy Scout Troops and Cub Scout Packs. Schools around the nation are being notified that they cannot sponsor Scouts because members of these groups must pledge to “do their duty to God.” When I was a Scout in 1947, the oath was the only mention that was ever made of God. I have to conclude that intrusion of anti-God people into my life is a far greater violation than the appearance of “God” in a Scout oath. I believe that stories that focus on ACLU success in taking God out of life in the U.S. are disturbing to a lot of people. I would like to say “disturbing to a majority,” but I doubt seriously if the majority of citizens are truly Christians. Many profess to be, but if push comes to shove, Christian teachings are frequently ignored during the rigors of everyday life. Treating one’s “brother” fairly certainly is not as common a practice as one might think. Readers must understand that the enemy of the ACLU is God; it is not the Scouts. They have no beef with the Scouts. So, in essence, it is a battle in which atheists are combating the very foundation upon which many citizens of the U.S. have grown up. When I was a Boy Scout in Stockton, Calif., we were sponsored by the school. We met in the basement of the school. We did not under any circumstances conclude that the school, as a subdivision of local government, was favoring God over anything other religion or ism. In fact, at that age, I did not even know that schools were a subdivision of local government. But they levy taxes, so they are. But the school was not a flag-waver for God. I am a Christian who prefers not to push my religion on anyone. Christ didn’t either. But I am a natural born citizen of this country. So I hereby claim my First Amendment rights. Since I get no government support, contracts or otherwise, I will, if I choose, expose my religious beliefs. Since this is my newsletter and I give it away free, I will use my right to explain the point of view I am making about the ACLU. Anyone who disagrees with that can shut me off just as quickly as they can turn the dial on their radio or TV. I do not wish for my sub list to decrease because of this, but I am willing to risk it. The issues are more important. It’s time to stand up and be counted. If we do not bring about a sudden turn-around, we will soon see the day when “In God We Trust” will be taken off of our currency. The ACLU and its clients will want every reference to GOD taken off of our courthouses and other public buildings. Without getting vulgar, I say that’s hog wash! WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING TO PUT AN END TO THIS FOOLISHNESS. One way would be for churches themselves to step up to the plate and sponsor more Scout groups. The war that is going on is directly concerned with GOD and the church. So they should get into it. A major way is to remold court membership. Since I have delved into this matter earlier when I described the book “Men In Black”, I will not get too detailed now. But the separation of church and state does not mean that we cannot make reference to God. All it means is that the state is not to sponsor a particular religion, establish a religion, or favor a particular religion over another. It is that simple. According to the ACLU, it is not “verboten” for Parent Teacher Organizations to sponsor Scouts. They are not subdivisions of local government. But this means that thousands of Scout organizations in Missouri, Illinois and elsewhere, are going to have to find new sponsors. That’s a whole lot of trouble to cause a worthwhile organization just because you don’t like “do my duty to God.” Anti-God (or is it anti-Christian God?) people say it is an affront for their non-Christian children to have to recite the oath. Well, believe it or not folks, it is also an affront to the others to remove “God” from the oath just to favor a handful of people who cannot simply stand quietly and not recite the oath. That is a choice they have, but they prefer to make waves. They prefer (at least their parents prefer) to take “God” literally off the map. This battle is going on worldwide. I never got deeply involved in Scouting. For 42 years I have been involved in supporting a Boys’ Club. But I believe the Boys Scouts to be a very sound organization that does a great deal of good for young people, and I am supportive of their program. (Girl Scout leadership has acquiesced to ACLU demands by changing the "Promise" so as to avoid saying “God.” To that, I say, “Too bad!” In case there are those who don’t know it, there are lots of religions out there that refer to “a god” and they may not all refer to the same god. The difference between denominations is a big issue in many cases. They are not the same. I do not believe in attending church because someone thinks it may make a good impression. For those who do attend only for that purpose I have few kind words. But I think churches could and should come to the aid of Scouts and also, at the same time, be fighting the battle against the ACLU and its clients. I do not disagree with everything that the ACLU does, but I do disagree with much of it. Too often it is busy soliciting court rulings that distort the original intention of the Constitution. Atheism is a religion just as Christianity is. Atheism promotes the “absence” of God. And atheists promote it whole hog. If you are a Christian, they do not want you to be able to utilize “God” in any way. But they do promote removing “God” from public sight, which obviously promotes atheism. President Bush is trying very hard to breath some common sense back into the court system, where liberal judges are doing their best to rewrite the Constitution by way of their interpretations in court rulings. The First Amendment free speech rights have been misinterpreted in so many instances, which open the door to every Tom, Dick and Harry who wants to tell you how to live your life. They are not content to live their own lives and leave the rest of us alone. They are akin to those who live in areas where they want to tell you that you have to paint your house green, or brown to live there. These people, as I said, are not content unless they are involved in telling us how to live our lives. Jesus Christ suggested “how” to live life and said everyone’s life would be better for it. But He then moved on and it was up to the reader or listener to make up his own mind. He certainly never began a long campaign to impose on the lives of individuals who disagreed with Him. Like everything else in life, we have to live or die by our choice. I feel pretty much the same way. I don’t try to tell people how to live. But I DON’T WANT THE ACLU TELLING ME HOW TO EITHER. So I will support every effort I can to see that sensible judges are sworn in to get us back to a common-sense level of operation. - 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. Advertising
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(Editor’s note: There is little that is more important to the Midwest and river transportation than the introduction and passage of a Water Resources Development Act and progress on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ proposals to modernize and maintain the Upper Mississippi/Illinois River System. The following story is taken directly from the pages of “The Waterways Journal” because it says exactly what needs to be said to keep us updated. I have the same information from other organizations.) Upper Miss System Legislation Introduced From “The Waterways Journal” of April 11, 2005 Legislation to build new 1,200-foot locks and improve the environment for the Upper Mississippi River basin was introduced April 6 as part of a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). The bipartisan effort included leadership from Sens. Kit Bond and Jim Talent (R-Mo.), Barack Obama (D-Ill.), Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), David Vitter (R-La.), John Warner (R-Va.), George Voinovich (R-Ohio), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) John Thune (R-S.D.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) Pete Dominici (R-N.M.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) The introduction of the bill was applauded by the Midwest Area River Coalition (MARC 2000). [Keep in mind that numerous organizations have assisted in promoting the introduction of this bill in myriad ways.]  “MARC 2000 hails this as a major step, a regional consensus to support economic growth and environmental sustainability”, said Rick Tohnan, chief executive officer of the National Corn Growers Association and chairman of MARC 2000. “Finally, after 13 years of study, we are moving forward to ensure economic growth and environmental sustainability in our region. We have always stated that both can be achieved.
“After decades of inaction, the Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway are finally a step closer to being more environmentally and transportation friendly.” The legislation follows a two-phased approach unveiled by the Corps late last year, where seven key lock and dams locations (Nos. 20-25 on the Mississippi River and Peoria and LaGrange on the Illinois Waterway) were pegged for immediate attention in a 15-year phase of a 50-year approach. The bill includes infrastructure improvements totaling $1.75 billion for the 15-year phase, half of which will be paid by shippers through the Inland Waterways Trust Fund. Total ecosystem restoration measures of $5.5 billion are broken down to $1.58 billion for the initial phase, funded primarily through federal dollars. “Construction of these new locks would provide over 48 million man-hours for the men and women who build the structures”, said Terry Nelson, executive secretary-treasurer for the Carpenters District Council for Greater St. Louis and Vicinity. “This is exactly the job stimulus our region needs.” “.…This is a win-win for everyone. We need to keep America working, moving products that help our economy, positioning ourselves for building an economic future we want to hand over to our kids and taking care of our environment by using the efficient river transportation envisioned eighty years ago when the locks were originally built. It’s time to be good economic and environmental stewards of our river system, an infrastructure that predates just about all of us.” Markup of the bill is tentatively slated for April 13. B&B wants to add to the above “Journal” story a notice from the National Waterways Conference that advises us that the “puritan preservation community is pushing HARD for the Corps reform amendment to be brought up during the committee mark-up. That amendment must be defeated or else we will not see a WRDA this year.” If you, as a reader, are able to contact your congressmen to ask that he help defeat the reform amendment, it would help the river industry’s cause. A major goal of those who want reform is to take the entire river program out of Corps hands and divide it among other agencies - none of which, by the way, has the experience and 200-year plus history of dealing with water resource development. Their aim is to divide and conquer. Destroying the river industry would be much easier for them if they can accomplish this goal of reform. (Editor’s final word: Readers will note that the WJ solicited comments from Midwestern entities regarding the introduction of this bill. That is natural. However, we all  know that the Waterways Council, the National Waterways Conference, DINAMO, Upper Mississippi Waterways Association, and numerous other organizations have been working diligently to help bring this bill to the point of introduction. B&B applauds the efforts of those men and women who have put their names to the legislation and hope that the WRDA fares well during markup. If you find time, perhaps you could send a thank you note to one or more of these legislators.)
Ingram Now Has Virtually All Former Riverway Company Boats Our special river follower and “Inland River Record” editor Dan Owen advises us that “All towboats formerly owned by Riverway Company, with the exception of the Bootsie B, now appear on the Ingram Barge Company daily position report on the Internet.” Kathy Flippo, author of our weekly feature “Tow Talkin’”, also mentions that Ingram has bought Riverway. Hearing on Sanitary & Ship Canal Explosion Reveals Little So Far (An Update) A report about a Coast Guard hearing into the January 19 barge explosion on the Sanitary & Ship Canal near Chicago is indicated to have come from the “Daily Southtown” and reveals that virtually nothing has been learned thus far that would explain the mishap that killed one barge worker. The Coast Guard learned from Dennis Egan, owner of Egen Marine Corporation, only that he assumes the company must have an operations manual. He says he thinks it must be required reading for employees. The firm hired an outside company to conduct training and safety drills. He (Egan) knows the safety manual exists but he is not familiar with it. He says he does not know the name of the company that drafts the company’s safety guidelines. As for drafting company safety procedures, Egan said he is sure the hired firm put a safety manual together “or we wouldn’t pay them.” The Egan company’s barge was moving 14,000 barrels of clarified slurry oil when it exploded. Alex Oliva, 29, of Oak Lawn, Ill., was killed, his body being discovered in the canal a week later. The cargo was being taken from the Exxon Mobile refinery in Lemont, Ill., to the American Oil Co. in Chicago at the time or the explosion. Earlier speculation that a boiler used to heat the oil (to make it pump out easier) had exploded was disproved when the boiler was found intact. An oil-recovery effort, estimated to cost up to $2 million, is underway, and thus far 6,000 of the 14,000 barrels of oil have been removed. The barge was reportedly about half way out of the water as of April 8. Lock at Smithland Dam Closed Temporarily After Barges Strike Approach Wall According to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ responses, and reports in “The Waterways Journal” and “Paducah Sun”, two barges in the tow of the Capt. Bill struck a lock approach wall after one engine of the downbound vessel failed. The boat, owned by Western Rivers Boat Management, Ashflat, Ark., was approaching the landside lock at 4:42 a.m. on April 5 when the incident occurred. The riverside chamber was closed only temporarily. The landside lock was able to keep traffic moving. There was no damage to Smithland Locks and Dam. The Capt. Bill was moving 15 barges when the power failure occurred. While two of the barges were drawn downstream, seven others drifted into the upbound tow of the F. M. Baker, which was locking up through the landside lock. The Baker’s tow, moving coal, suffered minor damage but was able to continue upriver. The Baker is owned by MEMCO, a subsidiary of American Electric Power, based in Chesterfield, Mo. Of the two barges that broke loose, one hit a pier in front of Dam gate 5, then sank. The second got wedged partially in gate 2, preventing the gate from closing. Lock personnel said they are looking for the owner of the two barges to remove them from the dam. The accident is under investigation by the Coast Guard. With No Relief In Sight From Ongoing Drought, Plans Are Being Made (An Update) Interestingly, the continuation of the drought in the Missouri basin is stirring effort to plan for an elongated dry spell. From Sioux Falls, S.D., we learn that the state is preparing a $1 million plan to extend a dozen boat ramps to chase receding Missouri River water into Lake Oahe. Our thanks to Terry Woster at the “Sioux Falls Argus Leader” for that tidbit. (Later in this article, we introduce the proposition that some climatologists do not believe that the threat of drought exists.) The South Dakota State Game, Fish & Parks Department spokesman outlined a plan on Tuesday of last week (April 5) and, according to Woster, he gave no indication that the reservoir would refill soon. But hearken down river to Yankton, S.D., where storms last Tuesday dumped the most rainfall on Yankton since 1947. A climatologist at South Dakota State University said, after surveying 110 years of weather data, he is not worried about a long-term drought in his area. The longest dry periods last four to five years, he said. “We have come to the end of that”, he said. It was reported that the longest drought to hit the area came during the infamous Dust Bowl days of the 1930s, which lasted five years. [Your editor lived right in the middle of the Dust Bowl, and every day we stuffed torn sheeting into the cracks around our windows to keep out the dust.] The climatologist said he believes the threat of drought is nonexistent because last year’s precipitation totals were near average. This leads us at B&B to believe that the water shortage is due primarily from the lack of snowfall in the mountains and lack of runoff in the spring. Drought may not really be the villain, at least not in South Dakota. Golding Barge Orders Two More Boats “The Waterways Journal” reports that Golding Barge Line, Inc., Vicksburg, Miss., has ordered two more boats from Quality Shipyards LLC, Houma, La. The firm has ordered two 2,600 hp. towboats. One is scheduled to be delivered in December 2005 and the other March 2006. The first vessel will measure 94 by 28 feet and have a retractable pilothouse. The second will measure 94 by 30 and have a conventional pilothouse. Both will be powered by Caterpillar 3512 engines with Reintjes reduction gears. Crossing The Bar
An Update We reported last week that a crewman was lost when the David C. Devall sank in the Houston Shop Channel. We did not know the name of the victim. According to “The Waterways Journal”, the crewman is believed to be Carlton Guidry. Two other crewmen were rescued. Guidry was missing after the Devall overturned. Our Readers Write
Reader Is Trying To Locate Classic Old Cabin Cruiser We may not be in the cruise boat business, but our readers may have spotted the boat our reader is looking for. He writes: Can you help me in finding an old boat? It is a classic, steel hull 32-foot cabin cruiser that we reconditioned in Illinois and launched in Clinton, Iowa. We sold it in 1988 and it was resold a few years later. I have been told that it was moved to Louisiana. I have tried to locate it there, but no luck. Can you help? We think the name of the boat was Second Chance. Jack Ano (Editor’s note: Talk about a needle in a haystack! Okay, all you spies, get with it!) Reader Needs Pictures of the President Jeff at hacksaw@qconline.com is looking for pictures of the steamboat President. He already has plans for the boat but needs pictorial help to know what he is looking at. He has been searching but so far has found only a few images. Can anyone help Hacksaw? Boat Photo Center
I’m glad someone is on his toes. Thanks to Hugh Ware, News and Book Review Editor for “TugBitts” Magazine based in Manchester, MA, we know that a towboat picture in our Photo Center was described incorrectly. At least in one case it was. We mistakenly ran two pictures of the boat. We described the extra picture as Nelson Island on the Upper Mississippi and said it was an aerial. Never fear, a picture of Nelson Island by John Miller has made its way into the Center. It was not John’s fault but ours. Anyway, we have included it as one of the new pictures this week. Otherwise who would be looking for an island? In addition to the picture of Nelson Island, we have in our Photo Center the following: the Edwin L. Kennedy and Larry Turner by Barry Griffith; the Harmar, Humphrey, Kimberley, R. L. Ireland, Sarah S, Titan and Wanda B from Brent Maletic; and two of the Karla Bludworth by Hugh Davis. Referring to last week’s mystery boat: After looking at the photos on W.Va. towboats and the Ingram site, I would have to guess it is Lee Synnott. I looked at most of the Ingram boats and compared the name plates for size and location. I worked on all of them when they were OBL boats in the late 60s [and] early 70s when they were new. It is definitely a Dravo boat because of the ramp, not steps at the rudder room door and the shape of the stacks. The others I could find with the name plate that high is the Michael Grainger ,Tom Vorholt and Robert Loedding but the plates appear to be too long. The Porter Anderson and Smith have the plate along the bottom within the red stripe. It will be interesting to see what others think, but this is my vote. I hope I win!!!! Bob Williams, Pittsburgh We are happy to learn from Dan Owen that Robert P. Hill, designer of most of the tug/barge integrated units in use in the world today, has found our web site and is spreading the word. Mr. Hill is leading his friends right to us. Dan tells us to get ready for lots of hits from around the world. We hope so. We are now averaging more than 400,000 a month, based on nearly 13,000 visits a month to our site. Thanks, Dan. Book Beat
Introducing a New Book
A new book called “Minneapolis to Mobile Via the Mississippi & Tennessee” by Timothy Remus will grace our web site this week. The author traveled 1,500 miles through the heartland of small river towns and historic cities. The book has 144 pages and many, many pictures. The b/w and color photos are of such high quality that they appear to have been taken by a professional photographer. There are dozens that will be pleasing to even towboat enthusiasts. The author and his group traveled on an old Carver twin-engine cruiser named Horace Bixby. His company included a dog and a select group of friends. This really is a guide to anyone who wants to cruise the river. Normally it sells for $24.95 plus S&H, but we are offering it for $20, first come first served. The book is Remus’s first-person account and it documents the 30-day from just outside Minneapolis, Minn., to Mobile. The book is so colorful and interesting, it looks a bit like “Heartland Boating” magazine, published by “The Waterways Journal.” And that is intended to be a compliment. The book is on hand and readily available immediately by calling 314-921-4419 and ordering via Visa or MasterCard from Jack. It will be up on the web site momentarily. Minneapolis to Mobile Via the Mississippi & Tennessee - by Timothy Remus ($20 plus S&H) Dear readers, I am trying to convince Dean Gabbert, author of the really great book “The Log of the Jessie Bill” and later “Let The Lower Lights Be Burning” to publish his latest work, a nonfiction book about boats. To encourage your participation in this sale, I am charging a flat price of $10 which includes S&H. If you buy the book on our web site, it will be listed at $5 plus S&H of $5, but the end price will remain the same - $10 in either case. To order by Visa or Mastercard, call 314-921-4419 and ask for Jack. A third option is send a check or money order payable to Little River Books to 2175 Huntington Drive, Florissant, MO 63033-1227.  I have boasted about Dean’s writing for years, believing full well that in some ways he is as good as Mark Twain. When he writes about Sparky Point (actually Warsaw, Ill.), he is presenting river history (gleaned from newspapers of old) about how life actually was in those days. While his story line is fiction, it is historic fiction and the lifestyle is as he presents it. As an added bonus, he has a great plot that keeps you turning pages till you get to the end. I really want to see Dean put out some more work. We don’t want to let him get stopped before his good work is done.
Dean has ridden many a boat in his day, and with the skill gained from years of being a publisher and editor of a small-town newspaper, and in his new work, he captures the essentials and records vital statistics about new boats over the years and their maiden voyages . He rode on most of those he writes about. In addition, he updates us on the latest status when he can. Did you ever wonder what maiden voyages were all about? Often the boats were crewed by dozens of unpaid friends, each expected to carry out a task during the voyage in exchange for the chance to ride the boat. Learning about such voyages is an interesting experience in itself. Back to “Lower Lights.” It is a great read. Let’s deplete Dean’s remaining supply of this book and encourage him to finish his next one.  Let The Lower Lights Be Burning - by Dean Gabbert ($5 plus S&H)
Tow Talkin'
April 11, 2005 By Kathy Flippo Spring has sprung! There was no working into spring this year. Everything popped overnight. Grass is green and is starting to look shaggy already. I HATE mowing grass! The forsythia, magnolias, redbuds, fruit trees, daffodils and tulips are all in bloom and the trees are leafing out. This was always my favorite time to be going from St. Louis to St. Paul. Not only do you get to see a river full of migrating ducks, geese, pelicans and everything else that flies, you get to have a progression of spring on a daily basis. Starting out from St. Louis everything will be in full bloom on either shore. Then as you work your way north, you realize that the pink magnolia trees aren't in bloom. Farther up you'll see daffodils in people's yards but you won't see tulips any more. Then as you get even farther north, the forsythia is beautiful, but by the time you get to St. Paul you can have your barges dusted with snow. On one memorable trip during the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday the sun never broke through the clouds. It rained, it sleeted, it hailed, it snowed, and to top it off... if you wish 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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