Weekly News Summary For August 15–21, 2005:
Lower Ohio River operators have been plagued by low-water problems that have resulted in several Coast Guard-mandated channel closures and traffic restrictions in the various areas between Mile 960 and 967.
Conditions began deteriorating during the last week of July as river levels continued to drop in spite of gradual releases of water from Kentucky and Barkley Lakes in accordance with their annual elevation drawdown. Lock 53 was raised for the first time this year on July 27 and was dropped and raised again at least four times during the following week as the Corps of Engineers tried to maintain the pool below Lock 52 while also not adversely effecting the area above Cairo.
The Coast Guard’s first navigation restriction was issued on July 27 when Marine Safety Unit-Paducah issued a notice prohibiting commercial vessels from meeting or overtaking each other between Mile 958 and 961 while also restricting tow width to 108 feet.
Another safety zone was established August 7 between Mile 969 and Mile 976 and was still in effect August 10.
The American Bar to Mound City reach above Lock 53 between Mile 958 and 961 has been rebuoyed, but at least four tows had been reported aground at various times in the area. As of August 10, the channel was cleared of grounded vessels and traffic was being allowed to pass with extreme caution….
The St. Louis Engineer District dredge Potter began dredging in the St. Louis Harbor on August 8. The dredge was sent to counter the descending river level that has come about as a result of the regional drought. This low water is causing potential problems for barge tows transiting the St. Louis area.
Dredge Potter, a 247-foot-long buff-yellow and red trim vessel, is designed to work most effectively in the sandy river bottom that is abundant in the region.
During a conference call with interested parties, the personnel with the National Weather Service predicted possible rain over the weekend, potentially assisting the conditions. At the same time, the Corps river engineers announced that flows from the Upper Mississippi River are being reduced as of August 9. The cuts were necessary to lessen low water impacts on the entire system. Other groups taking part in the call were the Coast Guard and the River Industry Action Committee….
Roughly 60 years ago, Thelma Parker quit her job as a schoolteacher in order to keep the books for her husband’s fledgling one-boat company. She worked from the dining room table at their home in Tuscaloosa, Ala., which was near the banks of the Black Warrior River. Riding the boat with her husband, Capt. Tim Parker Sr., was her brother-in-law, who had left his job as an electrician to be the chief engineer. Both have since passed away.
This year, on July 21, Mrs. Parker christened the second towboat named for her. She worked at Parker Towing Company until her retirement and still serves as a member of the board of directors. Not lacking in energy or strength, she broke the bottle of champagne over the boat’s H-bitt so forcefully that Tim Parker Jr., her son and the company’s president, likened her to Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz.
The ceremony was held at the firm’s new offices in Northport, Ala. The vessel is one of 16 that Parker Towing Company now owns. It operates 195 barges and has close to 200 employees.
The mv. Thelma Parker II was formerly named Greenville. Built by Mainstream Shipyards in 1974 as the Frank H. Peavey, it was most recently owned by American Commercial Barge Line. Parker bought it at the end of last year.
The first Thelma Parker was in service from 1977 until 1998 when it was destroyed in a fire….
The Pittsburgh Engineer District hosted a dedication and groundbreaking ceremony on August 9 to recognize the completion of the Charleroi site development contract and the initiation of the Charleroi river wall contract. It marks the Lower Mon project’s shift in focus from the completion of the new Braddock Dam to the modernization of the Charleroi Locks.
"These locks and dams are the region’s industrial lifeline, so with every federal dollar we spend here, we’re investing in Southwestern Pennsylvania’s economic well-being," said Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), main speaker at the event. "Modernization of the Mon river navigation system has been one of my top priorities for years, and we’ll keep working through the severe budget restraints in Washington to make sure these vital projects continue to move forward."…
When towboat pilot Michael Allen heard he was going to be given an award for his part in a rescue in Matagorda Bay earlier this year, he wasn’t sure he could go through with it. "Facing the family of the little boy who didn’t make it would have been tough," he said.
Only the towboat’s crew and their families were invited, though, and Allen, who had spent more than two hours trying to revive the five-year old, showed up.
The crew was presented with the Dale Miller Award at the 100th annual meeting of the Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association (GICA) in Victoria, Texas, August 8. Dale Miller, the late son of one of GICA’s founders, was a longtime executive director of the organization.
Allen, Capt. Raymond Adaway and deckhands Brian Mills and Michael Jordan of the Miss Julie, an 800 hp. towboat owned by Hard’s Marine Service Ltd., Hull, Texas, spotted an overturned boat in the bay March 12, some 10 miles from Port O’Conner. Thinking at first it might be worth salvaging, they took a closer look through binoculars and noticed there were people in the water….
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