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December 19, 2005 -- Vol. 5 Issue 51 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
“Don’t wait for a light to appear at the end of the tunnel; stride down there…and light the bloody thing yourself.” — Sarah Henderson, Australian writer. A Personal Note From Jack
Railroads’ Captive Customers “Taking Them To Court” So To Speak  It was reported in the December 12 issue of “The Waterways Journal” that the Louisiana Chemical Association (LCA), whose members are captive customers of the railroads, are paying far more for transportation than they should be, and they are taking up the issue with Congress. Records show that captive customers are paying nearly double the rates that are charged where competitive rates are available.
Captive rail customers are defined as being those who are served by only one railroad and, therefore, have no opportunity to negotiate prices. Ironically, it is the same argument water transporters make. When railroad lines serve customers that have no water transportation available, they charge much higher prices. Because of that, some businesses located at riverbank sites choose to install docks so that if they choose to utilize barge transportation, they can. Just the presence of the docks forces the railroads to reduce their prices. What results is called water-compelled rates. The WJ story, by Capt. Richard Eberhardt, explains how the railroads were relieved of Interstate Commerce Commission regulation back in 1980. At that time, they were deregulated upon passage of the Staggers Rail Act, and it was hoped that market competition would keep them under control. It hasn’t. There is an enormous cost disparity, which is results, says Dan S. Borne, LCA president, from “unrestrained railroad monopoly power.” Explaining the impact of this disparity, Borne cited records for 2001 and said that total freight revenue to the nations major railroads showed 21.1 percent coming from chemical shipments. Some 70 percent of the chemical customers were paying captive rates. These rates are at least 80 percent of the railroad’s direct cost of service. As we move nearer the bottom line of this tale, we learn that Rep. Richard Baker (R-La.) introduced legislation in the last session of Congress, which, Eberhardt writes, raised the level of understanding in Congress about rail-rate inequities. The purpose of the legislation is to remove the exemption the railroads now enjoy to the Sherman Anti-Trust act, which railroads now enjoy. The legislation would make it less expensive and more efficient to bring rate abuse cases to the attention of the new Surface Transportation Board, which replaced the Interstate Commerce Commission. Congress had directed the ICC to make sure that railroads did not abuse their monopoly power over captive rail customers. “Despite that direction, Congress exempted railroads from the nation’s anti-trust laws during the era of pervasive federal railroad regulation,” Borne said. When more than 20 members of the CMA met, “every one had a horror story about railroad cost and performance,” Borne said. It was these horror stories that convinced Rep. Baker to introduce the bill. This session, he is leading the effort in the House, and Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) is leading in the Senate. An umbrella group called CURE (Consumers United for Rail Equity) is comprised of a group of consumers seeking rail reform. Their goals are listed in the online version of the December 12 issue of “The Waterways Journal.” (It is worth the effort to go there, because this will be a horrendous battle, I think.) I have written about the abusive rate-making of railroads for 31 years, but never more completely than in 1974 when the Association of Western Railroads joined the Sierra Club to sue and halt the replace of Lock and Dam 26 on the Upper Mississippi River for some 10 years. I attended what was to be the bid opening for that project on September 4 of that year. At that time, the entire project could have been done for $383 million dollars, including the decade of expected price rises. The railroad boasted of being able to collect $750 million more in revenues for every year they could stall the construction of the dam. That raised the price of the final construction to about $1.2 billion. I suggest you all stay tuned. This one will gather steam and grow like Topsy. You might tune in, as well, to my December 26 editorial in the WJ. It will focus on this issue. It goes back a very long way. Web Site News
The book package specials presently on our web site will be continued for a time. 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
Stifled Marine Service Suing the city of Huntington, W.Va. After trying to build a barge mooring facility in Huntington, W.Va., for more than a decade, Huntington Marine Service is suing the city. The suit, according to the Associated Press report, charges that the city violated the company’s lease agreement with the city with an ongoing effort to stop the project. The city of Huntington cancelled the lease in October, saying that Huntington Marine Service owed $120,000 in delinquent lease payments. Under a lease agreement signed in 1994, the company was to pay the city $10,000 annually. Huntington Marine Service has tried to make payments, but the city has returned them, citing the contention that the lease was terminated. A circuit judge ruled in August 2003 that the city could not stop the barge project by rezoning the property for residential use. At that time, the company submitted a payment to the city for August 2003 through March 2006. It was returned. The barge-mooring facility would extend for a mile along the West Virginia shore of the Ohio River. More To Come On This One! Republican Lawmakers Blast Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco We all knew there was plenty of blame to go around. So it is no surprise that when Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco made a trip to Washington to impress upon lawmakers the need for billions of federal dollars in aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, GOP lawmakers were lying in wait for her. She was asked repeatedly why she had not ordered a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans 48 hours before the hurricane made landfall. Blanco defended her effort, saying that they had successfully removed 92 percent of the region’s population. In a related story, a “New York Times” investigation into the deaths of 260 of the 1,000 plus people who died in the hurricane, It was found that many were offered rides or could have driven themselves out but chose to ignore the evacuation order. It was found that almost all of them had survived the storm but died in the chaos and flooding that followed. State officials have released the names of 512 who died in the state, believed to be about half the total number who perished. In still another related story, U.S. Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said that personal losses suffered from the hurricane have made him consider not running for reelection. He lost his waterfront home in Pascagoula. Another consideration, he said, is that he is embarrassed over the administration’s response to the hurricane. And yet another story that surface last week included a promise by President Bush to build “taller and stronger levees.” In the meantime, there is a legal battle brewing because Gov. Blanco recently signed an executive order delaying indefinitely the New Orleans mayoral election. A group has sued Blanco in an attempt to force her to hold the election as scheduled, saying that postponing it would infringe on the voters rights to select the city leaders who will determine how the city is to be rebuilt, the AP reports. Shrimp-Boat Deckhand May Still Be Missing We did not carry the first reports when on December 11 the 60-foot shrimp boat Johnny T. Kiten was struck by a towboat (identified as the Skat) in Pass Marianne, some eight miles south of Bay St. Louis. One fatality resulted from the accident, two survived, and a deckhand may still be missing. Drowned was Lien Bui, 41, whose husband Giau V. Vinhm jumped off the boat along with the missing deckhand. Bui had been asleep in the boat. We say “may still be missing” because the last time we heard, they were still searching for the body of Julous Cusitas of Pensacola. He is not believed to have been wearing a life jacket. Bui’s body was discovered about two miles from the collision. Vinhm was the boat’s captain. (There is no Skat listed in the “Inland River Record.” The name Skat may have been a misspelling of the mv. Scat, which is owned by Self Towing Company, Mobile, Ala. We have yet to confirm whether it was the Scat that was involved.) According to the Coast Guard, the “Skat” was pushing four barges. The shrimp boat was pinned under the towboat. Sheet Pile Pulled From Damaged Levee By Corps Appears To Meet Specs After charges that levees may have been ill-constructed or under-designed, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been inspecting damaged levees in New Orleans. The Corps’ Brig. Gen. Robert Crear announced on December 13 that the first section of steel sheet pile pulled from the ground that day during an inspection of a flood wall appears to meet design specifications for size and depth. They were examining the 17th Street Canal flood wall. As it turned out, the sheet pile removed varied from 23.5 feet to 23.6 feet in length, with six feet above sea level and 17.5 feet or more below sea level, which was in accordance with design specifications. That apparently leaves the question as to whether the design was faulty. Crossing The Bar(As reported in “The Waterways Journal”) Capt. Glen “Cotton” Hall, 72, of Paducah, Ky., died November 17 at Jewish Hospital in Louisville following a heart attack a week earlier. Coming from a family of river pilots, he worked for Igert Towing (where all of his brothers were employed during their early river careers) and later worked for the former Huffman Towing Company before retiring from Alter Barge Line. 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
Re: Fire On The Mv. Jennie Dehmer While moving a barge from Conoco/Phillips dock to Magnolia’s dock in Wood River Friday [December 9], our starboard engine caught fire somehow, engulfing the engine room in fire and smoke, yours truly at the sticks. The Mvs. Gilda Shurden and Miss Kathy came to our rescue and had the fire extinguished within thirty minutes. The engine room suffered a lot of smoke and heat damage. We were scheduled to go in the shipyard at Greenville this month anyway, for new engines and generators. Now we will go in tow with the Mv. Kelly Lee sometime the first of the week. While there I’ll try to get you a Picture of Magnolia’s new boat that is scheduled to come out in February. Jesse “Jake” Lybarger Re: The Sinking Of The Elly Lane (reported to B&B on December 16) The Elly Lane just sank at Tenn. River Mile 11 (about 4 p.m.). Just got a phone call from a reliable source. He said she was running light boat and is suspected of shoving her head under. Just as I was about to write this, the Coast Guard put out a Pan, Pan Pan broadcast. [The Coast Guard] said the boat is outside the channel and my source said before that she went down near the former Bailey Coal Dock which is near Mile 14. Have no other details yet regarding crew or anything. Getting too dark now to follow up with anything, but I’ll start checking things out in the morning to see if I can get any kind of pix after daylight. Jeff Yates (Editor’s note: As of the 17th, Jeff was attempting to get a picture of the boat. We’ll just have to stay tuned.) Re: Mv. Linda Susan Burns I was typing this when I got the call regarding the Elly Lane. As it seems so often, at this time of year, things happen quickly and often. You heard it here first, folks….. File your photos of the Linda Susan in the “Vessels Lost, Burned, Etc.” section. She reportedly burned to a crisp November 28th on the Back Bay of Biloxi. The fire was said to have started in a clutch tire and when the chief tried to extinguish it with a hand-held extinguisher, it dispersed the flames up under the engine and by the time he could get out of there and pull the main fire suppression system, the entire engine room was ablaze. She reportedly burned for three and a half days before the fire-fighting team from Jackson, MS could arrive. [She] was on charter to Crimson Marine of Houston. Boat is now for sale, where is, as is. Jeff Yates Re: Needs Information Ages ago you were good enough to send me the following excerpt from Way’s [Packet Directory] and I am wondering if you can think of any way I can follow up on the sentence I highlighted in red below? Is John Wenner a name you can associate with anything? Bob Jepperson (Editor’s note: “Way’s Packet Directory…” reported on the sternwheel packet Red Cloud. She was snagged and lost on the Missouri River on July 11, 1882, at Eight Point, above Fort Peck. Bob wants to know if anyone has any information on John Wenner, who relocated the wreck of the Red Cloud in 1926. You can reach him at: jeppers@verizon.net. For those of you who have the Packet Directory, look for vessel 4698 on page 389.) Re: Christmas Card From Canada  Just finished reading the last issue of Bitts & Bytes. As always very interesting, since I am to far away from the mighty river and have a look myself.
The attachment is also for all the men who work on the river and I wish all of them good sailing, a “Merry Christmas” and all the best wishes for a “Safe and Happy New Year”. For you and your family all the best wishes for a Great Christmas and a Good 2006. Jan van der Doe Ferguson, Ontario, Canada advertisement 4/4
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Photo Center
 This week we have something a little different. Seems Ron Richardson got to talking about the Susan C. McBride, and then other people joined in. Before you know, Dan Owen dug up a couple of shots of the old girl, taken in 1980 at St. Louis (we posted one). Then Ron followed up with three engine room shots and six shots in the pilothouse. Well, considering that there are lots of readers who have never seen a towboat pilothouse or engine room, we thought we show them to you. If you every thought that a towboat pilot had nothing to look at but the river ahead, you have another think coming.
So this week's postings include: the Mv. Omar by Jesse Lybarger; a 2005 Christmas card to be enjoyed by all of our 800+ subscribers from Barry Griffith; The Susan C. McBride picture from Dan Owen; and the nine engine room and pilothouse pictures taken on board the Susan C. McBride by Ron in 2005. Enjoy! 
Recipe Box
Do you have a good holiday recipe you’d like to share? Submit your recipes here! ITALIAN ORANGE BISCOTTI 1/2 cup real butter 1-3/4 cup flour 1 cup sugar 1-1/2 cup ground almonds 2 eggs 1 cup blanched, slivered almonds (toasted if you wish) 1 tsp. (or more) orange zest 1 tsp. almond extract 1/2 tsp. salt Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, eggs, orange zest, and almond extract until light and fluffy. Stir in flour, salt, and nuts. (Don’t use whole almonds here. Biscotti will be hard to slice later. The blanched slivered almonds work best, or you can use coarsely chopped almonds.) Dough will be soft. On lightly floured waxed paper with floured hands, shape dough into two “biscotti shaped” logs. There is no rising, so shape the logs how you want them to look. They do spread a little, though. Use additional flour as needed. Transfer logs to greased cookie sheets, leaving 3 inches of space between logs. Bake logs for 15-20 minutes, until firm. The logs should be just barely dry to the touch. Do not over-bake. You just want to firm them up for slicing. Remove sheets from oven. Turn oven to 275 degrees. As soon as logs are cool enough to handle, cut on a 45-degree angle into 1-inch slices using a very sharp bread knife using a sawing motion. This is the hard part - biscotti wants to crumble if too dry and sticks to the knife if too wet. Do your best and forget about the 45-degree angle thing if not possible. Return the biscotti slices to the baking sheet and bake 1 hour (or longer) or until biscotti are dry. How dry is up to you. Lay the slices on their sides and flip them over half way through. Cool on wire racks. These are very hard, crunchy cookies for dipping in coffee or red wine. The Book Beat
 As we said under Web Site News, our good package deals will continue for some time. So tune in to www.littleriverbooks.com The Gift Shop
Compass and clock chart weights — make the perfect gift! Each chart weight comes gift-boxed suitable for presentation purposes. Chart weights can be customized with names, company names, and logos for an extra charge. However, to do so requires that the customer call Jack at 314/921-4419 and make arrangements by phone. It cannot be done directly on the website at this time.
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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 commercial and 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 add the site ring graphic and code onto your website.) Check out the sites currently in the ring and their hit statistics as a direct result of being in the site ring. Tow Talkin'
December 19, 2005 By Kathy Flippo  First off, a bit of a goof in last week’s column. This is what I wrote, assuming that since it was written for December 12th, that it would make sense that I inferred the date as December 7th: “The towing season is over as of the 7th here on the Upper Mississippi River,” But when it showed up, the elves added one word, November, and that changed the whole end of the towing season at Mile 517 a whole month back. …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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