AIA Baton Rouge announces 2003 Rose Awards

Seven member firms were selected by AIA Baton Rouge to receive its 2003 Rose Awards. The awards were announced at its Summer Social in July.

The project presentation and balloting took place at a special chapter meeting at the Varsity Theater in June.

The purpose of the Rose Awards program is to recognize members of the AIA Baton Rouge Chapter for their outstanding architecture. Projects are judged on their individual merit and are not compared with other projects. Projects may be residential or commercial in nature and may also include new construction, additions, renovations and other architectural construction projects.

The winners include:

• Trahan Architects for Louisiana State University Academic Center for Student Athletes, for the renovation of the LSU Gym Armory. Located on Field House Drive at LSU, the center is owned by LSU/Tiger Athletic Foundation. The contractor was The Lemoine Co.
  
• Trahan Architects for the design of the new St. Jean Vianney Catholic Church. The contractor was MAPP Construction Inc.
  
• Cress and Lopresto Architects Inc. for Brian Harris Porsche/Audi Automotive Dealership, owned by Brian Harris and constructed by Limcon Construction.
  
• Chenevert, Songy, Rodi, Soderberg Inc. for the Performance Contractors Inc. corporate headquarters, constructed by The Lemoine Co.
  
• Holly & Smith Architects APAC, for the Channell Drugstore in Hammond. Owned by Sam Magee, the building was constructed by MDB Construction Co. Inc.
  
• Bani, Carville & Brown Inc. for the Catholic High School Health & P.E. Addition. Owned by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart/Catholic High School, the project was built by Cangelosi-Ward Inc.
  
• STBP Architects in association with The Haizlip Firm for the Louisiana Arts and Science Museum's Irene W. Pennington Planetarium.
  
• Ford/Dickinson AAC with Musso-Troyer Architects for the Johnny Walker Lounge at the Office Depot Center, owned by Office Depot Center and built by Centex Rooney.

Interstate variable message signs approaching full operations

The Louisiana Dept. of Transportation and Development recently installed 12 variable message signs throughout the state (five around New Orleans, three in Shreveport and two each in the Baton rouge and Lafayette areas) as part of its Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) initiative.

The signs will be used to display "real-time" messages to give motorists advance notification of traffic congestion, accidents, weather-related conditions and other situations that impact travel conditions.

"The goal of ITS is to use innovative technologies to improve the operations of our transportation infrastructure," said DOTD Secretary Kam Movassaghi. "In addition to improving how we communicate with the motoring public, ITS technologist will make our system more effective, efficient and safe."

The signs, installed for $5.8 million, are expected to be fully operational in September and will be managed from the Baton Rouge Advanced Traffic Management and Emergency Operations Center, according to Movassaghi.

Currently, DOTD only has the capability to post "static" messages, which will be used in the event of an emergency or catastrophe.

Amber alerts and ozone alerts may also be posted upon notification from appropriate authorities.

Following notification by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, DOTD will display the message "Ozone Alert Tomorrow" or "Ozone Alert Today" on the Baton Rouge area signs.

Dow Louisiana Operations to fill 20 positions this fall

Dow Louisiana Operations recently announced plans to hire 20 technicians this fall. The positions are in operations, lab, instrumentation, vessel inspection and logistics.

"In times of economic hardships, we are pleased to announce Dow's plans to hire these new employees," said Steve Friday, Human Resources manager for Dow. "However, it's important to note that these are not new positions. We run a lean and efficient organization - when people leave or retire, or a group restructures its work, our organizations often cannot absorb the extra workload. This translates into the need we have to fill these positions," Friday said.

"Louisiana's chemical industry continues to wrestle with tough economic conditions. Companies are struggling to remain competitive in the face of rising costs and tough competition. Dow is no exception. This is our second and last hiring for 2003," he added.

DOTD earns C+ on public report card

The Department of Transportation and Development recently issues the results of a statewide customer satisfaction poll. According to DOTD Secretary Kam Movassaghi, the poll was undertaken to learn how the public viewed the services DOTD provides. Overall, the 1,600 respondents gave a grade of C+ to the job being done by DOTD on the state's highway system.

"We did this because we wanted to know what our customers saw as our strengths and weaknesses and which areas we needed to improve. While our overall grade of C+ is not where we want to be, it is certainly a good starting point," he added.

In addition to receiving an overall "fair" grade, DOTD was graded on various components of the state's transportation system, such as traffic flow (C+), pavement conditions (C), bridge conditions (B-), road maintenance (C+), work zones (C) and safety of roads (C+). Respondents were also asked whether the state highway system was better, worse or the same as it was five years ago. Forty-five percent of the respondents said better, 41 percent said the same, 12 percent said worse and 2 percent didn't know.

DOTD had established as a part of its 2002-2006 Strategic Plan to achieve a 60 percent customer satisfaction rate.

Bottle factory to build in Pineville

A $45 million plant will soon be making liquid detergent bottles for Proctor & Gamble in Pineville.

Plastipak Packaging of Plymouth, Mich., expects to finish the plant in a year. The project is necessary for P&G to complete a planned addition necessary for the production of liquid detergent. Since P&G's founding, the plant has only produced dry detergent.

The new Plastipak plant should create about 100 new jobs, and will be built on 62 acres near the P&G plant. The plant is expected to measure approximately 500,000 sq. ft.

Conrad Aluminum plans expansion in Amelia

The approval of $1.5 million in EDAP (Economic Development Award Program) funds recently allowed Conrad Aluminum LLC to begin construction of a new $5.5 million aluminum fabrication facility in Amelia.

About 220 jobs should be created over a three-year period as a result of the expansion, as well as 45 construction jobs.

Conrad Aluminum, a subsidiary of Conrad Shipyard LLC, will expand Conrad's products and services into the aluminum marine fabrication, repair and conversion markets for both commercial and government customers.

Retired Baton Rouge businessman H. H. Manner Jr. died at his home in August. He was 89.

Manner was a partner in Louisiana Metal Culvert, and helped found Construction Materials Inc., Waskey Bridges, All State Truck Lines, Manner Reality and LOMETCO.

A Dallas native, he moved to Baton Rouge in 1944 to convert an old Alcoa plant into an artillery shell plant to make 105 mm shells for the military.

Manner also served as director of Fidelity National Bank from 1957 until its merger with Hibernia National Bank. He was active in civic affairs, serving on the board of the Baton Rouge Civic Symphony, United Givers, Junior Achievement, the YMCA, the Chamber of Commerce, Baton Rouge General Hospital and the Arthritis Foundation.

Group endorses three constitutional amendments

The Association of Levee Boards of Louisiana's Executive Committee recently endorsed the passage of three proposed constitutional amendment:

• Constitutional Amendment No. 1 provides for the Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Fund.
  
  
• Constitutional Amendment No. 2 establishes the Louisiana Coastal Restoration Fund in the state treasury.
  
  
• Constitutional Amendment No. 3 allows the Legislature to limit the extend of recovery because of damages due to coastal wetlands conservation.

The association's Executive Committee declined to take action on 12 other proposed amendments.