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October 24, 2005 -- Vol. 5 Issue 43 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:
Ever Wonder
You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don’t they make the whole plane out of that stuff? A Personal Note From Jack
 Sometimes things are said that help to bring us back to earth or make us rethink issues. For example: The other day I was visiting a neighbor and was introduced to an 85-year-old Southern Belle, who was as gracious as the day is long. She was using a walker, and my friend was going to escort her two houses down the street to her daughter’s house, where she was staying temporarily. She is from New Orleans and was forced out by Katrina. She will go back; her home was not damaged. It’s just that she needed power, water, and other utilities to get a long. As we discussed New Orleans, she said, “Oh, New Orleans isn’t so bad.” And when I mentioned Bourbon Street, she responded, “Lots of cities have Bourbon Streets and don’t even know it.” Out of the mouths of the aged! And you know, she’s right. We can all jest about Nola gaining a reputation as “sin city,” but as the Bible tells us, no one is without sin, no not even one! We sure do have our little distinctive areas and problems around St. Louis. The reports following Katrina painted a pretty dismal picture of the city and the people, more specifically the hoodlums and looters and governing officials that we all felt hadn’t done their jobs. I’m not suggesting that those reports were all wrong. We have seen where some had to be revised because they could not be substantiated. A late report, however, tells us that the driver of the bus that burned and caused the deaths of two dozen elderly people has been arrested. He refused to stop the bus after being warned that the hubs were glowing red. We learned that the buses were in terrible shape. This makes it pretty clear that the victims did not have to be victims. All we have to do is read our local daily papers to see reports about murders, beatings, fraud, etc., in our own areas, and it seems to span the entire race from the lowliest person to government officials. Ugliness is everywhere, and that doesn’t speak well for the human race. But there is more. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s lack of planning, not the failures of state and local officials, was to blame for much of what went wrong with the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told member of Congress on October 19. The Louisiana governor and New Orleans mayor tried to tell us that. There still seems to be evidence that they failed miserably, but now we are learning that they may have had lots of help in their failure. Now that really causes one to reflect, doesn’t it. And what about the emails that told how the former FEMA director was more interested in dinner arrangements than in helping hurricane victims? These came right from his underlings serving in Louisiana. The Homeland Security chief said FEMA was absolutely overwhelmed by Katrina. Political opponents of President Bush blamed his administration and him for everything. Yet, if the truth were known, even if it had been a different administration, I don’t think any of them would have been ready. We’ve never experienced anything of this nature in recent years, and trying to prepare for disaster is a tough job, especially when decades of government agencies and officials have neglected to finance the proper levee protection system in New Orleans. The final chapter won’t be written for a long time. It’s Hard To Get Away From Katrina I know we have all heard enough about hurricanes, but the discussion won’t die, and some of it is pretty good. It’s not bad enough that people nationwide will be picking up the tab for rebuilding a goodly portion of the damaged property resulting from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. But now they are shipping “drowned” cars in every direction and trying to sell them as undamaged automobiles. Don’t be one of those who gets stung! On October 21 the “St. Louis Post-Dispatch” (and I’m sure other newspapers as well) published notices about thousands of flood cars being moved out of Louisiana with new titles and going onto the market, where unsuspecting buyers will get hooked. There will be no indication that the cars were in a flood, sitting there weeks and weeks under water. The number of cars estimated to be damaged by Katrina and Rita is 570,000. Jack Kain, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association called it “car fraud.” As of October 20, the National Insurance Crime Bureau had listed some 150,000 of these cars that insurers reported as total losses. Insurance companies are not eager to have the public find out when a car is salvaged. Salvage titles sharply reduce the selling prices of cars. In fact, State Farm refuses to make public a database of some 32,000 vehicles it bought from customers who had wrecks and other damage. State Farm just put clean titles on the cars and sold them without letting buyers know they were driving damaged cars, the “Post-Dispatch” reported. Lawyers for State Farm reportedly approached Iowa officials in 2003 and made a deal. They admitted they had sold damaged cars and trucks from 1997 through 2002 without the salvage titles required by law in almost every state. In January of this year, the deal was struck and attorneys general from nearly every state announced a settlement. State Farm agreed to pay from $400 to $20,000 to people who still own the salvaged vehicles. But the recipients had to agree not to sue. Thousands of bad vehicles were excluded from the settlement because they were no longer owned by the person who first purchased the damaged vehicle. Published with the story was a list of things potential buyers might check before buying a car. Carfax, which sells vehicle histories, estimates that half of the flood-damaged automobiles might be cleaned and sold to unsuspecting customers. I will be tackling this subject in my next “Waterways Journal” editorial, because I believe this is a specific area where the federal government is not doing its job to protect consumers. Some may think it is a state responsibility, but it’s bigger than that. There is a promising note. The National Automobile Dealers Association is urging the establishment of a national electronic database so that consumers can have immediate access to vehicle identification numbers (VINs). It wouldn’t have to be federal, of course, but if it carried the weight of law, it would be more productive and more protective of consumers. Newsletter News
We really do like to hear your comments on issues. If you send us an email, we assume it is for use in B&B unless you indicate otherwise. Letters help liven up our weekly edition. 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. Advertising
Your classified ad can go in this space for $10 for one week, $20 for two weeks, $25 for three weeks, and $30 for four weeks. For details click here. On The Waterfront
Huntington, W.Va., Termination of Lease Could Jeopardize Construction of Barge-Docking Facility It has been reported that the city of Huntington, W.Va., has terminated its lease with Huntington Marine Services, which wants to build a barge-docking facility along the Ohio River in Westmoreland. The Huntington mayor said the cancellation took place because the firm failed to pay the city $120,000 in delinquent lease payments. The docking facility would extend for about a mile along the West Virginia shore eastward from the mouth of Twelvepole Creek near Camden Park. It would accommodate up to 200 barges moored in four clusters. Huntington marine Services filed its permit application with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in November 2004. According to “The Herald-Dispatch,” it is the third time that the firm has tried to build a facility there since 1994. Three hundred letters were written in opposition to the latest application. A Corps spokesperson said the agency will continue to evaluate the application. If it receives official notice that the lease has been terminated, then the permit application would be withdrawn, since the Corps can work only with the actual property owner. Stay tuned! (Editor’s note: We say “stay tuned” because there are still some differences of opinion in this matter, and it is our thought that the on again/off again project might still not be beyond revival.) National Park Service Awards W. P. Snyder Matching-Renovation Grant The “Marietta (Ohio) Times” reports that the National Park Service has awarded a $350,000 matching grant to the Ohio Historical Society for the renovation of the W. P. Snyder Jr., a historic towboat that has resided in Marietta 50 years. To receive the grant, the Society will have to raise an additional $150,000 by April 2007. It already has enough to make up the remaining $200,000. It is expected to cost $1.4 million to restore the boat. The Snyder, a historical landmark, towed coal, iron ore and finished steel products on the Monongahela and Ohio rivers from 1918 to 1954. Then it was retired and diesel-powered engines were installed. The 342-ton vessel was donated to the Historical Society in 1955. She is 175 feet long, 32.5 feet wide and resembles a 19th Century steamboat. A Gigantic Change of Pace On October 14, two important German shipping canals, the Elbe-Havel and the Mittelland, were joined by a giant kilometer (0.62 miles) long concrete bathtub that cost nearly half a billion euros and the planning of which began in 1919. The new waterway is near the eastern town of Magdeburg. The new waterbridge ties the Elbe-Havel Canal to the important Mittelland Canal, which leads to the country’s industrial Ruhr Valley heartland. Construction on the project actually began in the 1930s but progress was halted in 1942 during the Second World War. The project was shelved permanently after the Cold War split Germany, but was resurrected after reunification in 1990. The massive undertaking connects Berlin’s inland harbor with ports along the Rhine. Construction of the huge, concrete tub required 24,000 metric tons of steel and 68,000 cubic meters of concrete. The water bridge will enable river barges to avoid lengthy and sometimes unreliable passage along the Elbe. Shipping can sometimes come to a halt on that stretch of the river if the water falls to unacceptably low levels. Two Tugs Sink at Port Gamble, Wash. The U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed that two tugboats that were tied together near the old Port Gamble mill sank early on October 17. About 200 gallons of diesel fuel leaked from one of the boats before divers could plug a vent. The Coast Guard is investigating. Coast Guard Database Inadequately Protected It is being reported that the U.S. Coast Guard does not have adequate database security controls for its Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement system and that it might be possible for hackers to “sink it.” The system contains sensitive but unclassified information for the agency’s missions. This information was taken from a report from Homeland Security Department inspector general Richard Skinner. Getting Back To Normal May Take Year for New Orleans and Gulfport (Miss.) David Krapf, WorkBoat Online editor, reports that it may easily take a year or more before New Orleans and Gulfport (Miss.) reach pre-storm operational levels. These two ports, he said, were two of the hardest hit by Katrina. Krapf wrote on the 19th that the Port of New Orleans is now about 35 percent operational and officials say they are on track to be 80 to 100 percent normal by March. Computer Model Predicted Katrina Damage, Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Part of Problem A Louisiana State University scientist says that the damage that was caused by hurricane Katrina was predicted in 2004 by computer models and that part of the problem is the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. He gave his remarks October 17 before the Press Club of Baton Rouge. Efforts have been made to shut down the Outlet for years, but they have met resistance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The 76-mile MRGO, also known as Mr. Go, was built in the 1960s. It has been controversial for years, says John Day, professor emeritus in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences. He said “everybody knew this kind of storm was inevitable.” Day said the MRGO is a straight channel that doesn’t carry much barge traffic but hurts the cypress forests and marsh surround it. He said it allows more water to get into it during storms. He is not alone in believing that the channel helped move more water from the storm surge into areas of St. Bernard and Orleans parishes. Asked if the recent events might lead to the closing of the MRGO, Day said he hoped so, but he wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t. Notes From The Corps — It was reported on October 19 that the Missouri River is running at only about one-fourth of its normal flow. Because of draught conditions, the Corps has drawn down the river 48 days ahead of normal, said spokesman Paul Johnston of the Northwestern Division office in Omaha, Neb. He said it would probably take a couple years to get the river back to normal. While runoff was improved this year, it was still only 80 percent of normal. (That’s a lot of normals that are missing, right?) — U.S. District Judge James Redden has twice rejected Columbia River operations plans, giving rise to the fear that it might ultimately lead to breaching of the Snake River dams. Judge Redden said the biological opinions violated the Endangered Species Act by jeopardizing salmon runs. The latest rejection was in May, but the judge didn’t issue his order until October 7. He warned federal fish agencies that in the event of further failure, the courts would be required to “run the river.” He again instructed them to “be aware of the possibility of breaching the four dams on the lower Snake River, if all else fails.” — In a related issue, a federal appeals court on October 18 threw out a Bush Administration plan to deliver irrigation water to Klamath Basin farmers. The court said the plan doesn’t do enough for threatened coho salmon in the Klamath River. Speculators say it could mean that more water must be shifted from farmers to fish. — Engineers studying the performance of New Orleans’ levees during Hurricane Katrina say there are signs of soil mass movement at two of the five Orleans Parish sites where floodwalls failed. There was no evidence that floodwalls were overtopped. 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
 Where’s The Cooperative Spirit? (a photo response)
Having explained the status of the Cooperative Spirit in our last newsletter, we take this opportunity to introduce two new views of that boat from Jeffrey L. Yates, who, incidentally, also supplied the only one we had till now in the Photo Center. Just visit our Photo Center section below. Some Thoughts On New Orleans Levee Protection I have yet to see it mentioned that the levee that protected the lower ninth ward would probably have been adequate to protect that section of the city had the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal Lock project been funded properly from the get go. Investigate the history of that unfunded mandate, and you will see that the residents of the nearby “Holy Cross” neighborhood have fought the project tooth and nail from the start, in affect hindering the construction of the very levee that would have saved them. Add that to the budget slashing that has erased this project’s funding (however inadequate) approved by Congress every fiscal year that I can remember and there you have it… And don’t get me started on the failure of the legislature to recognize and appropriately react (read Fund Coastal restoration projects) to the warnings and pleadings of scientists, activists, conservation groups, media groups, and state and local politicians. Check the “Congressional Record” over the past year (in fact, just a few months ago) and compare the amount earmarked for saving Louisiana’s (read America’s) coastal wetlands to the amount requested by the Louisiana delegation. Do this and you will see that Congress has failed in their charge to represent the best interest of the country, the whole country, and vote the bastards out at your first opportunity. On an added note, the project that should have been completed decades ago that would have replaced the lock and replaced the present levee, was and is currently underway. Unfortunately, and this is my opinion, the piecemeal fashion with which the Corps has been forced (due to underfunding) to approach this project appears to have lead to the levee being left in a very vulnerable state at the time of the storm…. Let me be clear, I do not blame the Corps, nor do I blame the residents of the neighborhood. I really don’t want to lay blame here. I just want everyone to know where to look to find the answers. Take the time to check the public record and write your representatives and senators. Ask them how they voted on these issues, and then ask them to justify their vote. If they happen to respond to your letter, perhaps they will ask you how they might better serve you in the future. I would hope, if they do, that your response might sound something like this: Get your head out of the beltway sand, turn off CNN and FOX and CBS and NBC and ABC and get out and take a look at the country, listen to the people, and do the right thing for crying out loud because the price of your shrimp cocktail has just gone up! Thank you for letting me vent, J. Kelly Ward (Editor’s note: B&B has emphasized the inadequate Corps budgets for as long as it has been in print, and “The Waterways Journal,” for which I have written editorials for 29 years, has emphasized that inadequacy for decades. Ward is correct.) Where Was The River Explorer Though I lost the email, a writer questioned the location we published last week for the River Explorer. We had cited information that was supposed to have come from a company staffer, so we didn’t bother to check it out. Our writer apparently is right. We contacted Jeff Kindl of RiverBarge to help us out. Here’s his reply: I guess technically at the time of Katrina we were on the Upper Miss. We towboat people tend to think of the Upper Miss as above St. Louis, and St. Louis south as part of the Lower. Anyway since the storm the vessel has been between St. Louis, Nashville, Louisville, and Cincinnati. We begin our trek back south on 11/2 from Cincy to Nashvl, then a Nashville round trip, then Nashville to Memphis, and finally Memphis to NO. The pictures of the destruction in NO in the news media do not begin to show the magnitude and the enormity of the damage. In the flooded areas it is like a black and white picture, with many shades of gray. All of the shrubs and grass are dead and brown or gray. Flooded cars are everywhere and in shades of gray, depending on the water level. One can drive for miles (most streets are now drivable) and see house after house after house, etc, with major water damage. It will take years to come back. As for Lake Pontchartrain I understand the fishing is pretty good. The Lake is 630 square miles and there was about 120 square miles of flooded city or 20%. The depth of the city flooding was about one half the depth of the Lake, so about 10% of the Lake Pontchartrain volume was pumped back into it. And the Lake has fared quite well. It’s like the old adage of “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!” Jeff Kindl RiverBarge Idiots On The River On Wednesday morning, October 19, I had occasion to witness a scene that made me shudder. Working as a deckhand on a towboat, I heard the captain throttle the engines back. Thinking that the captain was summoning me, I made a mad dash to the pilothouse. He said, “Look at this ! ! ! ” About that time, breaking out of a fog, right at the steering coupling, were four men in two separate fishing boats — right in the channel in the middle of the Ohio River! As we floated past, the men, wrapped in warm clothing, smiled and waved as if nothing was happening. I could have tossed a coin to the fishing boats from the towboat. The boats did not show up on radar because of overhead power transmission lines. Had these boaters been run over, injured/killed, the captain of some 20 years could have possibly been scrutinized. Why is it that our government officials require special training [to operate] airplanes, automobiles, trucks and motorcycles but ignore needed training for people to operate boats? Boaters need classroom hours that emphasize such things as weather, locking procedures, buoy identification, whistle/horn signals, etc. Let’s get the ball rolling and put pressure on our legislatures. Ron Richardson advertisement 4/4
Author Offers Book of Stories of River Pilots
"Stories Of River Pilots On The Great Western Rivers" is a book written by a river pilot, Captain Charles F. Burdick. It also includes other stories by other river pilots. It has pictures and river information. This book gives good insight as to happenings and events that make a river pilot’s job challenging. It is comb-bound with clear plastic covers and is written in language suitable for schools, etc. The price is $8 plus $4 shipping and handling. Please allow two weeks for delivery. Order from, and send checks or money orders to: Charles F. Burdick, P.O. Box 205, 600 Second St., Grand Tower, IL 62942. You can email him at mastermariner@juno.com. Boat Photo Center
 Photographs are coming in at a good clip. I am using them according to the one received first and keeping them in two special folders. I try to acknowledge them upon receipt, then file them and remind contributors when I plan to use them as the pertinent edition of B&B approaches. Don’t let up on sending, if you have more pictures and it is not inconvenient, it is better for us to have a good supply on hand.
This week we feature 11 pictures, including a mystery boat. They are: two new ones of the Cooperative Spirit from Jeffrey L. Yates, in answer to last week’s request for more; a mystery photo from Jan McDonald; The Samuel B. Richmond from Jim Currens; two views of the Erna E. Honeycutt from John Miller; the LST 325 en route to Evansville, Ind., from Jack Jacobs; the Mv. Captain E.S.C. from Thomas Waller; and three varying views of the Albert Auberger from Hape Kraus, Oberhausen, Germany. Click here for the Boat Photo Center. Book Beat
“The Inland River Record” The 2006 “Inland River Record” is due to be released about mid-November. Therefore, we have suspended sales of the 2005 edition unless the buyer insists on having it. We are making up a list of those desiring to purchase the 2006 edition as soon as it is available. You can give us your name, email address and phone number via email at any time and we will contact you when we can start delivering and to consummate the sale. The price, we’re told by the publisher, will remain the same, $37.50 plus S&H from the WJ. We market it for $32.50 plus S&H. Portraits From The Past: Steamboats of the Western Rivers - Drawings & text by Neal R. Fink This 14- by 8.5-inch book contains 17 drawings of sternwheel and sidewheel steamboats on heavy enamel stock pages, all keyed with registration marks so that the pictures can be removed and framed. Trimmed, the pictures will  be 8.5- by 11 inches with one-inch borders. Pages printed on one side only. In addition to drawings, the book contains a “Packet Portfolio” page showing various appliances and fixtures used on steamboats; and a page devoted to framing information to assist in the removal of pages for mounting. Each steamboat picture is accompanied by appropriate material describing the boat. Included are: City of St. Louis, b. 1883; Spread Eagle IV, 1911; St. Paul, 1883; Mississippi, no date; John M. Macomb, cerca 1905; Belle of Calhoun, operated in late 1920s; Belle of the Bends, delivered 1898; Alton, launched 1906; John A. Wood, no date; City of Providence, 1880; Robert E. Carr, no date; Albermatla, launched 1902; W. M. Rees, no date; Bald Eagle, 1898; Dubuque, formerly Pittsburgh, rebuilt as Dubuque after 1896 tornado his St. Louis waterfront; Hill City, launched 1897; and **Delta Queen, 1926. Three smaller drawings on the first inside page are of the Robert E. Lee, Natchez, and J. M. White. Assisting in the preparation of the book was James V. Swift of The Waterways Journal. Only a limited quantity of this book, published in 1977, are available. Usually same-day shipping! 
Our Price:
$10.00Receive a FREE copy of the video At The Water's Edge: Majestic Riverboats with each special offer book purchased (while supplies last)! No additional shipping! The Gift Shop
Models And Caps Discontinued Because Cherokee Barge and Boat has announced interest in advertising its multitude of river-related products in our newsletter and perhaps on our web site, we have discontinued handling the scant choice of barge models and the American Steamboater caps that we previously carried in our gift shop. These products will be available in a larger variety from Cherokee, so it will actually be more convenient for those desiring to buy models. By ordering directly from Cherokee, customers can get the precise selection with boat and company name, type of barges, etc. that they want. This is a service we could not offer. 
Steamboat Clock & Barometer - The hinged porthole-style case is solid brass with a lacquered antique finish. It has quartz movement for convenience and accuracy and runs on one AA battery. The matching Steamboat Barometer has visible aneroid barometer movement, and the antique brass case is hinged so that the movement is accessible from the front.280522 Steamboat Quartz Clock $136.49 280722 Steamboat Barometer $146.99 Tow Talkin'
October 24, 2005 By Kathy Flippo  Went down to Albany, Illinois, for supper on the 16th and afterwards swung around their riverfront to see what we could see. Saw a northbound tow way down by the nuclear plant halfway to Cordova, Illinois, five miles away. Took a look with the binoculars and thought, “If I didn’t know better, I’d guess that was the Kevin Michael coming up.” But that boat hasn’t been up in this neck of the woods all year and in fact, I hadn’t seen it up here last year either.
Killed an hour by drinking coffee at the Tomman’s cabin/house at Van’s Landing at Mile 516. When the tow came by, I about fell over, as sure enough, it WAS the Kevin Michael! (Am I good or what?!) The Mv. Kevin Michael is huge! She’s “only” 177 feet by 42 feet, which makes her similar in size to the Mvs. Alois Luhr and American Beauty. What makes her so huge? She is tall! Five decks high. Most boats are just four. Built in 1957, she is the biggest boat ever…to continue reading 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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