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125 Years m 1866-1991 Tower Times US Army Corps of Engineers Volume 13 No. 10 October 1991 North Central Division Rock Island District Col. John R. Brown Commander's Corner To talk of many things ... Congratulations and appreciation for through donations to the charity of our Rock Island District's 125 years of service choice. You should be contacted by a were expressed by the Quad Cities Council keyperson who will provide you all the in of the Chambers of Commerce with a din formation needed to make a decision. If ner and program on the 4th of September. you choose to donate, you can specify the Speakers were Congressman Leach of agency( s) who will benefit from your gift. Iowa, Mayor Schwiebert of Rock Island, As a group, we have been generous in the Commissioner Winborn of Scott County, past and I expect that trend will continue and Mr. Charles Ruhl of the Council of so I thank you for your generosity in ad Chambers of Commerce. It was a pleasant vance. evening on the banks of the Mississippi Safety is still a concern for all of us. We near the Visitors Center with a large tur are making progress in reducing both the nout of guests and our people. I was very rate and severity of the accidents ex proud to accept the speakers' laudatory perienced. However, the rate is not zero so comments on behalf of all the past and we can still improve. I encourage present members of the Rock Island Dis everybody to review their work habits from trict. The plaque recognizing the occasion a safe practices viewpoint and let's try now hangs in the Clock Tower Building. I eliminate accidents of all types! If you would like to say thank you to Mr. Paul need specific advice on safety, give the Soyke and his committee members who did Safety Office a call at extension 6280. an outstanding job of coordinating our part We are in the last stages of the summer of the celebration. Great work! construction season and trying to make up Major Thomas G. Ayers has joined the some of the time lost to flooding and exces district as the Deputy District Engineer. sive rainfall in the spring and early summer. He comes to us from an assignment as the This means our activity at the field sites will Executive Officer of the 15th Combat En be at a higher level than normal as the gineer Battalion at Fort Lewis, Wash. I weather turns colder. Plan ahead for the would like to welcome him, his wife Leigh, variable conditions. This could also impact and their four children to Rock Island Dis on time off so plan ahead for your leave trict. and don't get caught in the use or lose trap. The Combined Federal Campaign has On January 11, 1992, the pay year will end begun throughout the district area. This is so there is one quarter left. the annual opportunity for us to help Have a great month! others less fortunate than ourselves 2 Tower Times October 1991 Tower Times CONTENTS 4 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District District welcomes new deputy Vol. 13 No. 10 October 1991 6 Women's Equality Day DISTRICT ENGINEER Col. John R. Brown PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER 8 Ron Fournier Taming the Rock Island Rapids EDITOR Denise C. Yale 10 GRAPHICS Hispanic Heritage Month Loren Carey EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Evelyn Fincher 16 TOWER TIMES REPORTERS Smithsonian group tours Mississippi Marlys Busch Evelyn Fincher George Gitter NormaMahl Richard Rupert Denice Seaman DEPARTMENTS Steve Vacek News Briefs 5 Retiree's Corner 14 Field Notes 12 People 15 TOWER TIMES is an unofficial pub Corpsnucopia 14 lication authorized under the provisions of AR-360-81, published monthly by offset press for the employees of the Rock Island District. Cover Views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of The "Old Pella Bridge", the Department of the Army. Address which is downstream mail to: Rock Island District, U.S. from Red Rock Dam, Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: P AO, Clock Tower Building, Box 2004, Rock collapsed in late Island, Illinois 61204-2004. Phone August. The bridge had (309)788-6361 ext. 6638. Circulation been closed to traffic 1300. All photographs are U.S. Army property unless otherwise specified. since 1989 for safety reasons. A new bridge The deadline for submitting articles for is being built to replace the Tower Times is the lOth of the it. For more, see story preceeding month. Send articles to Denise Yale, Public Affairs Office. on page 5. Photo by John Holt October 1991 Tower Times 3 New deputy joins Rock Island District The Rock Island District welcomes its new 9th Infantry Division (Motorized); and most deputy district commander--Maj. Thomas G. recently, Executive Officer, 15th Combat En 11 Ayers. Ayers is not a stranger to the Quad gineer Battalion ("Drive On ), 9th Infantry Cities area or the Corps of Engineers. Division (Motorized) at Ft. Lewis, Wash. "I was born in Davenport, but am actually a na His awards and medals include Airborne tive of Rock Island, Ill., and currently a resident Wings, Expert Infantryman's Badge, of Alaska. Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf "I grew up in Rock Island and went to Im Clusters, Army Commendation Medal, Air manuel Lutheran School, Central Junior High Force Commendation Medal, Army Achieve School, and Rock Island High School. My dad ment Medal, National Defense Service Medal was the fire chief in Rock Island from 1965- (two awards), and Overseas Service Ribbon 1976. My folks and siblings (two awards). moved away from the area in Ayers is a member of several organizations 1976." such as Association of Graduates, USMA; Ayers received his Society of American Military Engineers; As bachelor's degree from the sociation of the United States Army; Kansas United States Military State University Alumni Association; and Academy (USMA) and his numerous unit associations. master's in industrial en Our new deputy district commander married gineering from Kansas State the former Miss F. Leigh Crain of Clarksville, University. Some of the many Tenn., on Dec. 12, 1975. They have four military schools he has com children: Corbin E., age 9; Ashley E., age 7; pleted include: Airborne, Christopher T., age 5; and Marcus T., age 4. Jumpmaster, Mortar Officer's 'The boys all attend school at Immanuel course, Northern Warfare Lutheran. Ashley is profoundly deaf (pre-lingual Course (Summer and Winter from a virus at age 6 months) and goes to Lin phases), Construction/Con coln-Irving in Moline, which is one of the ad tract Management Course, vantages of being here. I was offered Memphis, and the Command and Kansas City, or Rock Island Districts. The Hear General Staff Officer's ing Impaired program is exceptionally good here Course. in the Black Hawk School District, especially "I decided to attend USMA compared to Memphis and Kansas City. Rock Is Photo by Denise Yale in 1971 after attending Augus- land District was the clear winner as an assign Maj. Thomas G. Ayers tana College in Rock Island ment, and my family is very happy with the area, for a year. I graduated from the Academy in the local people, and the job." 1975. I was commissioned Infantry--by choice- In 1986, Ashley was selected for a FDA ex and branch transferred to the Corps of En perimental cochlear implant --one of the very gineers in 1986--again, by choice." first and very youngest children in the country to Ayers has held a variety of positions before receive a single-channel cochlear implant. Last coming to Rock Island District including: Air year, she received FDA approval for a multi borne Rifle Platoon Leader; Airborne Infantry channel implant on her other side--making her Mortar Officer; Battalion Mortar Platoon possibly the first young recipient of a Nucleus 22 Leader ( 4/23rd Infantry--"Tomahawk"); Brigade channel cochlear implant after having a single Liaison Officer (172 Light Infantry Brigade- channel device. As part of a 20-year FDA ex "Snowhawk"); Assistant S3 (Air); Infantry Com perimental program, Ashley makes many trips pany Commander (1/60th Infantry--"Go each year to James W. Riley Children's Hospital Devils"); Infantry Fighting Vehicle NETT in Indianapolis. Ayers said that his wife is always Project Officer (New Equipment Training available to discuss the pros and cons of Team); Area Commander, Recruiting Com cochlear implants, raising hearing-impaired mand; Instructor, Northern Warfare Training children, education of the deaf, and other re Center; Director of Plans, Training, and lated parental concerns. Security, Fort Greely, Alaska; Project Engineer, Ayers is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys hunt Ft. Benjamin Harrison Area Officer (Louisville ing, fishing, backpacking (especially in the moun District Corps of Engineers); Resident En tains) and is particularly fond of sheep hunting gineer, Chanute AFB (Louisville District); in Alaska. He does a lot of winter camping and Brigade Engineer, 3rd Brigade ("Go Devils"), shuns the use of RVs or campers. 4 Tower Times October 1991 :rrnn:III?IItiitrt:t:n:ttliiiiiiii1Ittiiiiiiiiitti:t::niikt1tt:ttriittiti:trrmn:wt:titi~:IIIIJttit~m:m:IIIIIItimi~I:~n:~:tttiJtimr:mtr N e ws b ne fs Former employee helps build school Bridge below Red by Tim Feavel As an Army Engineer Reserve Officer, Rock Dam collapses I was given the opportunity in May to take The center section of the "Old Pella a 40-person crew from the 389th Engineer Bridge" linking the north and south Battalion to Honduras, Central America. banks of the Des Moines River a half We were tasked with building new school houses for two extremely remote mile downstream from the Red Rock villages in the coastal banana groves in the Dam collapsed Saturday, August 31.