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April 17, 2006 -- Vol. 6 Issue 16 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
A friend sent this, and I don’t know if it was hers or came from somewhere else, but it’s one we can all relate to: Sometimes, we just need to remember what the rules of life really are: You only need two tools: WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn’t move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn’t move and does, use the duct tape. Editorial Comment From Jack
 Inflating Traffic Figures? (Note: The following tracks all over the place. However, a worker with too much to do may not do well with any of it. I think the U.S. Government has a plate that is heaped full. Because of that, it is struggling with numerous problems, some that have been ignored for a long time. Now they have caught up with us. I mention only a few here.) Out of Columbus, Ohio, comes an Associated Press report that says conservationists have accused the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of inflating barge traffic figures to justify expansion of locks at two Ohio River dams. The Ohio River Foundation and the National Wildlife Federation have produced a report saying that the Corps’ plant would harm wildlife and waste taxpayer money. Bah Humbug! A big problem in America is that conservation and environmental groups can make bold statements to obstruct river construction without putting the issue in context. Much of the press and some members of Congress give credence to those statements. Another big problem in the U.S. is that we have lost our vision. The very things that made America great are being eroded through the actions of people who want no progress and hardly hold still even for sustained growth. Congress seems to have difficulty figuring out whether the U.S. should be proactive or reactive in its efforts to fulfill the needs of millions of citizens who have been impacted negatively by exported jobs and an invasion of illegal immigrants who have taken over jobs. As for water transportation, U.S. Government figures indicate that the U.S. Transportation system carries 17 billion tons of freight annually — that freight being valued at $11 trillion. Domestic cargo is projected to increase by 70 percent by the year 2025, while international trade is expected to double. Several agencies of the U.S. Government, including the Maritime Administration and Department of transportation, in addition to the marine transportation industry are building a case for federal support for short sea shipping in order to reduce the burgeoning number of trucks and trains moving in highly congested areas. This detracts the feds even more from the importance of fixing existing waterways. If the government stands by its projections, then one wonders why we don’t just go about the business of modernizing our waterways so that we will be ready when the crush comes. History shows that river projects take time to complete, some upwards of 15-20 years. If we sit on our duffs too long, we will be facing the same kind of brain-dead response we now face along the Gulf Coast as a result of Katrina. If the U.S. ever were to experience a blitzkrieg like the one Germany laid on England in World War II, the feds, indications are, wouldn’t have the slightest idea how to handle it. We face a problem with mass immigration on the Mexican border and the politicos really aren’t up to fixing it. We are fighting a tough battle in Iraq and so many people haven’t the stamina to stick by their president. The chicken is out of the coop, the water is under the bridge, we are in a long, dragged out battle against terrorism! Whether we like Bush or hate him, for the good of the country, we must stand behind the position our leaders have taken. As with taxpayer revolts, it is okay to disagree with war; it is okay to demonstrate against war. It is not legal to refuse to pay taxes. Those who refuse to pay taxes are breaking the law. Having made their point illegally, they should be prepared to pay the price, and that price is whatever the government decides to do with lawbreakers of this type. In the meantime, in another area of concern, the rubble produced by Katrina has stymied us. So far, according to a new federal report, billions have been wasted in ill-planned responses that cost, critics say, far more than alternative solutions. If there were a pile of dirt in one corner of a barnyard and a wheelbarrow and shovel within plain sight, the federal agencies wouldn’t be able to figure out how to move that dirt to a different location. Is it those in office who have never experienced common labor before that are at the heart of the problem? The average U.S. citizen who works with his/her hands for a living could probably figure out better and quicker solutions for the Gulf. This is not a diatribe against the working man, whom, we can assume, has more common sense than some of those in government who seem to have plenty of money to throw at problems but no common sense solutions. (What common man would jockey truckloads of ice around several states for weeks with no success in getting it to sites where it was needed?) But back to our main point: river construction. Either we are going to experience growth in transportation needs or we are not. Growth in world population would support the contention that we need to gird our loins and get ready to handle the crush of freight coming down the pike (or the river system). It is one of those things that must be sorted out early on and not allowed to be obstructed by people who whimper at each drought and going on a crying jag while trying to defend wildlife. This nation has a few natural river gems, the Ohio River being one of them. Due to activity made possible along the Ohio, we are able to support industries, provide jobs, help sustain the lifeblood of the heartland. Wildlife is a commodity. Unless everyone has forgotten, we sell licenses to kill wildlife so we can pump up our tax coffers. Some organizations donate money to help replenish wildlife and to help increase the amount of land utilized for wildlife support. In the end, we hope the level of wildlife is sustained at a level that can provide hunters their fun and continued income. The truth is, we harvest wildlife just as we harvest grain. We in America have got to make up our minds what we expect in our future. The Ohio River needs to be maintained properly in order to prepare it for the onslaught of traffic to come, just as the Upper Mississippi needs to be maintained, and just as the Illinois river needs to be maintained. It begs the question as to whether our government is going to continue pampering environmentalists and continue allowing our inland waterway infrastructure deteriorate, or whether it will stand up and be counted. We are not going to compete in this global economy that President Bush is so dedicated to developing if we won’t even maintain our transportation system. I do not support the global approach to everything, but like the Iraq war and Gulf Coast hurricane rubble, it is here and we must learn to live with it and, hopefully, get off our duffs and solve it. There seems to be, in my way of thinking, too much money being spent on finding out what went wrong with hurricane response and too little time and money being spent on actual solutions that work. As for the Ohio, the Corps estimates steady traffic increases at the Portsmouth area dam, rising from 70.8 million tons in 1996 to 90.5 in 2010. The conservationists say the traffic has actually dropped by 2.8 million tons. That loss figure, if true, represents only about 124 15-barge tows. It is preposterous to use such a pittance of a figure as an excuse to obstruct river construction and reap more problems on the towing industry. Ohio River maintenance and modernization is needed to decrease the delays for barges waiting to use the old lock system. Baling wire might have held Model Ts together, but concrete structures need attention, and what they need is perhaps better design and enlargement so they can accommodate modern traffic flow. To keep them in their own venue, I’d say the conservationists are all wet on this one. Government and the public need to realize what a marvelous treasure our waterways are and see that they are modernized and maintained properly. The Europeans do. Editor’s Notebook
J. P. Corbin, who resides at Mile 270 on the right descending bank of the Tennessee River, tells us that 110 by 600-foot Wilson Lock at Florence, Ala., will be closing from May 2 to May 25. Having a maximum lift of 100 feet, it is the highest single-lift lock east of the Rocky Mountains, he tells us. During the closure, the auxiliary lock will be used, but it takes one hour to lock a single barge. After every three barges are locked through, recreational vessels will be allowed. Jim says they expect the river to be jammed with waiting tows. Many of the tows will be using power to hold to the banks, so small-boat operators will be advised to keep a safe distance in order not to be damaged by debris being blown up from the bottom of the river. Got a nice note from Forrest Scott Wood last week, thanking us for sending B&B along to his Lee’s Summit, Mo., home. As with some other subscribers, Forrest has been receiving his B&B in pairs. We’ve discussed this matter with our host, but they can’t seem to find out why it happens. He has been using Boat Photo Center pictures to use as references for models he builds and has hull outlines drawn for a radio controlled, 28-inch long screw boat of “yet to be decided 1/48 or 1/24 scale.” He wants us to tell Old River Bill and Joe Brown (and everyone else) that he knows towboat screws are called wheels, but he grew up in the U.S. Navy and, he says, old habits, wa-a-ay old habits, die hard. From the Pacific Northwest we received several weeks ago reports of a couple vessel incidents, and then we promptly lost them. Charles Wright of Washington was kind enough to tell us about the Empress of the North, a 360-foot sternwheeler, hitting a sandbar about 350 yards from shore on March 24. Fuel was removed the following day. There were no injuries, according to a report in “The Olympian”, and the 260 passengers were taken off without incident. The Empress has been re-floated since the grounding. (The Empress is owned by Seattle-based America West Steamship Co., the same company that is to be merged with the Delta Queen Steamboat Company, the sale having been reported in B&B last week.) “The Olympian” reported on March 26 that crews were still finding pockets of diesel fuel connected with the Queen of the North, a ferry, which sank off British Columbia’s north coast on March 22. The vessel struck a rock off Gil Island near the Indian village of Hartley Bay. Rescuers removed 99 passengers and crew. Fred Seckendorf, a Diamond Head, Miss., computer friend who always is on the lookout for good maritime stories, sent us a report from Illinois Farm Bureau interests, who say shipping rates on the Illinois and Mississippi rivers are expected to remain high, offering no relief to farmers hoping to improve their bottom lines. The subsidiary of a very large Japanese feed buyer said he anticipates another year of costly rates on those rivers. According to John Williams, president of Zen-Noh North America, “Freight rates at times during their peak (last year) were higher than the corn was worth on a given barge.” Increased fuel costs were singled out as “a large reason” for the increased rates. (Maybe they’ll just ship to the ethanol plant.) 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.
On The Waterfront
State Farm Insurance Co. Destroying Documents, Lawyers Say (Editor’s note: We said last week that more was to come on the issue of insurance companies being challenged for refusing to pay for hurricane damage. The following, we think, is a biggie.) At Biloxi, Miss., Zach Scruggs, a lawyer for U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, has said that State Farm Insurance Co. is destroying documents that could show the insurer has fraudulently denied thousands of claims by Lott and other policy holders whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Scruggs said Sen. Lott has a “good faith belief” that the insurance company’s employees in Biloxi are destroying engineering reports that gave conflicting conclusions about whether wind or water was responsible for storm damage. A Kiln, Miss., couple claims to have obtained copies of conflicting reports prepared by State Farm’s engineers, one tracing the destruction to Katrina’s winds and another attributing it to flooding. State Farm says the second report was the only one sent to the company’s claim office. The Mississippi attorney general is investigating allegations that State Farm has manipulated engineer reports to avoid paying claims. A judge has ordered the insurance company to turn over copies of Katrina engineering reports to the AG’s office. (Editor’s follow-up: In our opinion, wind, flood, storm surge are all forms of natural disaster and should be covered by insurance. We think the Supreme Court should rule that to be true.) Feds Issue Guidelines For Rebuilding New Orleans On April 12 the Bush Administration issued building guidelines for the flood-prone regions of New Orleans. They require that houses be rebuilt at least three feet above ground. Officials said that some houses in low-lying areas would have to be built even higher. The Administration also proposed to spend another $2.5 billion for levee construction. (Heard on TV: It is possible to raise homes but at a cost of more than $40,000 for the first foot and $12,000 for each additional foot.) According to the “Washington Post”, the new guidelines do not apply to existing houses, to those that suffered less than 50 percent damage or to homeowners who obtain permits before the rules take effect locally. Pleasing to Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.) is that “the federal guidelines do not restrict rebuilding in any part of New Orleans….” Still unresolved, said the “Post”, is the fate of lower Plaquemines Parish, a strip of land where nearly 15,000 residents lived before the storm. The feds are studying whether improvements to the parish are economically justifiable. A decision is not expected until at least June. It was recently announced that the cost of rebuilding levees to federal standards would required at least $10 billion, but officials then reduced that amount to $7.6 billion, in part, by cutting projects that seemed redundant. Levees damaged by Katrina are expected to be repaired by June 1, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said. By next year the Corps expects to have completed construction on levees not damaged by Katrina but have sunk over time, and by 2010 the Corps expects to have the levees certified as meeting federal standards for flood insurance. Private New Orleans Energy Firm Selling Fleet It was reported recently that Laborde Marine Lifts Inc., a New Orleans-owned energy company, has agreed to sell its fleet of five liftboats and one that is still under construction to Hercules Liftboat Co., which is a division of Hercules Offshore Inc. The transaction will cut the Laborde staff from 50 to five. The purchasing company will offer jobs to all who lose their employment because of the deal, Laborde said. Laborde’s plan is to build a new fleet to serve an international market. New Bridge Construction To Begin Over Ferried Waters Construction reportedly will begin in May of a new, 2.44 mile-long bridge over the Mississippi River between Pointe Coupee and West Feliciana parishes in Louisiana. The John James Audubon Bridge will replace the ferry linking St. Francisville and New Roads. Louisiana’s Department of Transportation and Development awarded this month a $347.9 million contract to Audubon Bridge Constructors Joint Ventures to design and build the new span. In order to save more money later on in the project, the state decided the initial phase would include more highway with four traffic lanes. It will be the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America. The length of the main span will be 1,583 feet. Mississippi River Bank Stabilization To Take Place in Algiers The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports that in May it will begin dropping 280,000 tons of stone along the Mississippi River in Algiers to stabilize areas of the channel’s bank that have shifted. The stone berm will be covered with concrete along 600 yards of the riverbank. The work is considered routine, the Corps said. No levee is believed to be in jeopardy. 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 From Our Readers
As you know, I am up to my eyebrows in the fight for my house and the right to live where I want to live. Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) wants to destroy another 100 houses — they don’t call them properly homes — to add to the destruction of last year when they took 85 and the Riverside Presbyterian Church. The Clinton [Iowa] city fathers gave ADM their blessing and of course a TIF [tax incentive financing] to do this. It is causing great stress on the old people (that’s people older than me) and has hastened the deaths of several. I am in communication with the Castle Coalition of the Institute of Justice in Arlington, Va. They are the folks that took Kehoe vs. New London to the Supreme Court. Kathy Flippo Clinton, Iowa (Editor’s note: Kathy is a very busy river author, who has, presently, four river books on the market. As a prolific and dedicated author, she also provides our weekly “Tow Talkin’” column and is busy writing other material when she is not out making educational presentations about the river industry. She has lived in her present home about three years and had just about completed remodeling the house when the threat of losing the house surfaced. Two comments I received from her over the duration of this ongoing threat really made me wonder why the city is going along with it. Kathy says the expansion is not going to provide additional jobs for Clinton. Secondly, while there are river facilities available, ADM does not intend to utilize the barge industry to delivery any of its products. Obviously, since the project is not complete, those things could change. Since the city offered tax incentive financing, what does Clinton get out of the deal other than a lot of unhappy residents who reside in the area “Between The River And The Rails: South Clinton” which is the name of the Clinton history she produced more than a year ago? An article in the “Quad City Times” expresses Kathy’s willingness to fight for what is hers.) Re: The Water Patrol Thanks for sending again your Bitts & Bytes. I just finished a letter to the public prosecutor on behalf of a Tchech barge captain. He should pay 1,200 Euro (approx. 1,300 dollars) because he was degassing his cargo tanks at the anchorage. This is only under limited condition during sailing allowed. Fact was that he was just drying (from water/moisture) his cargo tanks. Although he showed the police with his explosion meter that the cargo tanks were gas free, they didn’t accept that. They saw only 2 tanks gas free out of 12 and weren’t interested at all. The behavior of the police in the Netherlands, especially the Port of Rotterdam, has been changed dramatically in the last 5-6 years. Everything costs immediately a lot of money. Gerrit Bedet The Netherlands Boat Photo Center
 We have 20 photos for you this week, including: the Nebraska City, Medicine Bow, Stevie Ann, Capt. Frank Gibson, Flicker, and Squeak Carpenter, all from Eagle Marine Photography; the Hortense B. Ingram from the Boat Photo Museum; Leo D. Guttman, two of the Explorer, and R. L. Ireland from Eric M. Johnson; Spirit of Peoria, R. W. Naye, and two of the Stephen L. Colby from C. A. “Chuck” Perrin; the Noble C. Parsonage and Carol Ann Parsonage from Ed Rahe; and the Robert Kopper, Norman L. Snodgrass, and James G. Hines from Ron Richardson.
Got some golden oldies to show you next week. 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
For several weeks I have reduced prices on books we have in limited supplies. We are adding none this week, but we suggest you browse our site to see what good bargains are available. Self-publishing your book: J. R. Simpson & Associates is now accepting submissions from authors who wish to self-publish their manuscripts. When you self-publish “our way,” you pay for the project and you get virtually all of the books. Many existing publishing schemes do not pave the way for you to profit. Self-publishing “our way” does. If you have a book project in mind, call Jack at 314-921-4419 to discuss it. I’ll even talk to you on my nickel if you give me your phone number so I can return your call. The world of publishing is filled with booby traps. I can help you avoid them, even if you do not use our service. If your desire is to earn money from your book, if you believe in your project and are dedicated enough to work with it, you can do well with self-publishing. We walk you through it step by step until the books are on your doorstep. Give a call. — Jack 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'
April 17, 2006 By Kathy Flippo  It’s been good towboat watching! The Corps boats Mv. Rock Island and Clinton went up in tandem pushing a slew of working equipment. Didn’t go far tho, just to Dam 13. Since then they’ve brought up a couple barges loaded with rock and have them parked on the Iowa side below the rollers. Going to fill in the scour holes below the dam I suppose. The Mv. Moline has been working with them.
ACBL’s Mv. Andrew Cannava went up around noon one day with one MT and by supper she was coming back down with one load. Couldn’t have gone too far! Probably just to Savanna, Illinois. Ingram’s Mv. Ed Renshaw went up and doesn’t have a signboard on her port side. Good thing her name is on the ring buoy on the pilothouse bridge, the tow knees and the stern! Ingram’s Mv. Peter Fanchi went up and had a full load of crewmembers out on the barges. They’ve been working putting a spit shine on everything for an afternoon of…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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