Corps convenes in Bossier City to reshape organization, improve performance

A special session of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers' Mississippi Valley Division Senior Leaders Conference convened in November in Bossier City.

Entitled "Partnerships for Effective Watershed Management," the conference was aimed at reshaping the organization to enhance performance. The meeting was held at the Holiday Inn Bossier.

Key area and regional stakeholder groups, such as the Red River Valley Association and Red River Waterway Commission, joined flood control, environmental and navigation leaders on a panel to discuss improving cooperation in managing national water resources efforts.

Also on the panel were Ken Babcock, director of operations for Ducks Unlimited, and George Grugett, executive vice president of the Mississippi Valley Flood Control Association.

The MVD Senior Leaders Conference brings Corps district engineers and leaders from the MVD headquarters in Vicksburg, as well as New Orleans, Vicksburg, Memphis, St. Louis, Rock Island and St. Paul districts, to discuss Corps regional organization direction, strategic planning, performance improvement issues and response to the Global War on Terrorism.

Carville, Kotkin, Thomas address landscape architects in New Orleans

The annual meeting of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) convened recently in New Orleans, and featured presentations by political expert James Carville, author Joel Kotkin and Emmy Award-winning television host Steve Thomas.

In addition, environmental health expert Dr. Richard Jackson of the Centers for Disease Control discussed how community design affects public health.

Political consultant, Democratic Party operative and television actor Carville made a career of turning political underdogs into upset winners.

Kotkin is an internationally recognized authority on global, economic, political and social trends. The author of five books, his next work will be about the history of cities from the earliest settlements to the present.

Thomas is the former host of the most popular series on public television, This Old House. Many of the projects on the show include significant exterior renovations, highlighting the value of landscape design.

A national voice on environmental health, Dr. Richard Jackson has gathered research on the critical relationship between the design of the built environment and the health of a community's citizens.

The ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo was held in late October at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Founded in 1899, ASLA is the national professional association for landscape architects, representing more than 13,500 members.

Landscape architecture is a comprehensive discipline of land analysis, planning, design, management, preservation and rehabilitation. ASLA promotes the landscape architecture profession and advances the practice through advocacy, education, communication and fellowship.

State could get $100 million for military

Fort Polk, Barksdale Air Force Base and other Louisiana defense installations could share more than $100 million in federal money during the current fiscal year.

Fort Polk, about 50 mi. west of Alexandria, would receive $72 million for five projects under the agreement, which contains $9.2 billion for military construction in the current fiscal year.

The largest amount, $34 million, would be used to build an aircraft maintenance hangar at Fort Polk, which will become home to the Second Stryker Brigade next year. The hangar would house the fort's helicopters, including those belonging to the brigade and any future craft.

The agreement also includes $462,000 for a new command center at Barksdale in Bossier City, allowing the 93rd Bomber Wing to consolidate into one building from the seven separate structures it now occupies.

Charity hospitals need $1.1 billion in repairs, equipment

Louisiana's charity hospitals need more than $300 million to remain open and need $1.1 million in total improvements, a new study recently reported.

At LSU's Earl K. Long Medical Center in Baton Rouge, an expected $18.1 million in repairs will be needed during the next decade.

The report suggested studying whether the state-run charity hospital in Independence should stay open.

The system's other hospitals - in Lafayette, Bogalusa, Houma, Lake Charles and Monroe - are in fair condition, according to the assessment.

The report estimated between $302 million to $325 million is needed to keep the hospitals open.

The statewide hospital-by-hospital assessment, done by Washer-Hill & Lipscomb with Adams Project Management Consulting, provided the first analysis of each hospital.

Greater Baton Rouge Industrial show hosted by DEQ, LES

The 2003 Greater Baton Rouge Industrial Show was held in mid November at the Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales. The event presented new technology, information and services for industry professionals interested in staying competitive in today's market.

All members of the Baton Rouge area industrial community were invited to attend. The show as of special interest to industry professionals in the fields of engineering, maintenance, safety, environmental, production, plant management, electrical and purchasing.

This year's new sponsor, the Louisiana Dept. of Environmental Quality, hosted a series of seminars worth professional development hours. Also, the Louisiana Engineering Society sponsored the show and hosted a series of seminars worth Professional Engineering credit.

The 2003 Greater Baton Rouge Industrial Show is designed to bring buyers and sellers together to conduct business in a relaxed, social atmosphere.

DSC supplies dredge to resolve neighborhood dilemma

Lake Wildwood, a prestigious private homeowners association in north central Illinois, invested in a new 8-in. Moray swinging ladder dredge manufactured by Dredging Supply Co. of Reserve.

The Moray Class dredge was delivered in mid-summer 2003 and immediately improved circumstances for both the association and the lake's boaters and swimmers.

DSC engineers performed a comprehensive sediment survey using a computer generated silt program for the various size swinging ladder dredges (using no cables). An 8-in. discharge swinging ladder dredge could outperform the existing auger dredge by a factor of 1.75 times.

Not only was this performance improvement impressive to the Association, the lack of cables resulted in a significant liability reduction for the board of directors.

"One of the major problems with the auger dredge was that the unit operated on a long cable, sometimes up to 1,000 ft., which is difficult to manage," said Eric Seagren , DSC's sales representative for the MidWest. "The cable was dangerous for boaters and was a liability to the association. This became even more apparent when the dredge was moved in front of the swimming beach and the cables were in close proximity to swimmers."

"Also, the cable had to be moved frequently to reposition the dredge and this process eliminated a considerable amount of useful dredging time."

Lake Wildwood, located in Varna, Ill., was built in the late 1960's as a lake recreation complex for people living in the Chicago and north-central Illinois areas. The lake is man-made and covers over 220 acres and is filled by water runoff from the upland agricultural area.

Co-founder of McInnis Bros. Construction dies at 90

Harry E. McInnis, a co-founder of McInnis Bros. Construction of Minden, died in November at the age of 90.

Funeral services were held at First United Methodist Church of Minden.

A lifelong resident of Minden, McInnis died in late November at his home. The son of Helen Norman and John Lawson McInnis, Harry McInnis was a co-founder of McInnis Bros. Construction, a commercial and industrial construction firm that he served until his retirement.

He was also a past president of Associated General Contractors, Shreveport Chapter, and a member of First United Methodist Church of Minden since 1925. He served his community as a member of the Webster Parish Selective Service Board from 1967 to 1972. He was a director of Minden Bank & Trust Co. from 1957 to 1983, serving his last two years as chairman of the board. He was selected as Minden's Man of the Year in 1976.

McInnis was the recipient of Norwela Council's Distinguished Citizen Award in 1996 and was also recognized as a James E. West Fellow by the Boy Scouts of America.

STBP Architects' Smith dies at 76

Thomas Clayton Smith, a founding member of STBP Architects of Baton Rouge and a fellow of The American Institute of Architects, died at the age of 76.

A native of Wesson, Miss., Smith was also a U. S. Navy veteran of World War II. Visitation was held at University Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, and interment followed in Resthaven Gardens of Memory.