Yankee Voices..................................2 Commander's Corner.....................3 Cape Cod Forrest Knowles...............................4 Patchogue Canal Joe Colucci retires............................5 River Rescues Dredging Up the Past......................8 Page 6 Page 7 US Army Corps of Engineers New England District Yankee Engineer Volume 41, No. 11 August 2006 Reservoirs too small, too shallow Corps of Engineers bans tube kiting at its federal recreation area lakes in New England for safety by Timothy Dugan safety of the public to ban the use of Middlebury (Route 63); Mansfield Public Affairs tube kites, or inflatable flying water- Hollow Lake in Mansfield (Route 6 or craft, at all Corps-managed federal Route 195); Northfield Brook Lake in The U.S. Army Corps of Engi- recreational projects in New England. Thomaston (Route 254); Thomaston neers, New England District issued a Federal projects managed by the Dam in Thomaston (Route 222); and ban as of July 28 on tube kiting at its 31 Corps are located in the following ar- West Thompson Lake in Thompson federal recreation flood control reser- eas. (Route 12). voir projects in New England. In Connecticut: Black Rock Lake In Massachusetts: Barre Falls Dam Signs will be posted detailing the in Thomaston (Route 109); Colebrook in Barre and Hubbardston (Route 62); prohibition. Most of the reservoirs are River Lake in Colebrook (Route 8); Birch Hill Dam in South Royalston too small and too shallow to support any Hancock Brook Lake in Plymouth (Route 68); Buffumville Lake in type of speed boating use. (Waterbury Road); Hop Brook Lake in Charlton (off Route 12); Cape Cod Of the seven lakes Canal in Buzzards Bay (I-195 where the Corps allows boat from Providence and Route 3 operation at speeds that from Boston); Charles River would support tube kites, the Natural Valley Storage Area lakes are not of sufficient in Eastern Massachusetts; size and depth to allow the Conant Brook Dam in Monson activity and ensure public (off Route 32 on Monson- safety. Wales Road); East Brimfield Additionally, most of the Lake in Fiskdale (Route 20); lakes have competing ac- Hodges Village Dam in Ox- tivities such as swimming, ford (off Route 12); Knightville canoeing/kayaking and fish- Dam in Huntington (off Route ing that would conflict with 112); Littleville Lake in Hun- this type of water sport cre- tington (off Route 112); Tully ating safety concerns. Lake in Royalston (Route 32); For these reasons the West Hill Dam in Uxbridge New England District com- Wego promotional photo provided courtesy of CPSC (between Route 16 and Route mander has determined that Kite tubing, as demonstrated in this Wego promotional photo, has been 122 on East Hartford Ave.); banned at all New England District recreational sites. it is in the best interest and Continued on page 3 YANKEE ENGINEER 2 August 2006 YYankankeeee Sue Holtham VVoicesoices Engineering/Planning Congratulations Cool exercises during hot summer months …to Matt Walsh, who has been named the WE If exercising during the hot summer months isn’t appealing, water aerobics Committee’s August Em- may be the answer for you. Water aerobics classes are offered at many ployee of the month.. community pools and recreation centers. Water, being 12 times more resistant Over the past few years than air, gives your muscles a better workout and burns more calories than the Corps has transitioned to similar movements on dry ground. a performance based budget But because the water makes you buoyant, your joints and muscles are requiring a series of metrics subject to far less stress. Studies at Boise State University show that buoyancy for each project. One such reduces the risk of injury, making water aerobics a good choice for overweight metric the New England Dis- individuals and those who have arthritis or other joint problems. Plus, the water trict was required to report keeps you cool. (Ideas Unlimited) for the FY08 budget was the number of people in the entire The benefits of walking on sand 100 year flood plain for each of our 31 flood control dams If you’re heading for the beach, you can improve your fitness and build up and two hurricane barriers. your calf muscles by taking a walk. A Belgian study found that walking on dry This was a huge task and sand requires 2.1 to 2.7 times more exertion that walking on hard surface. there was very limited time in According to the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles, walking on which to develop the infor- sand requires extra effort to position and roll the foot, leading to better mation. coordination and more muscle mass. (Ideas Unlimited) Walsh, using GIS, was able to provide the informa- tion on all the projects within Choosing Sunscreen a few days. Without the information The American Academy of Dermatology recommends using a broad- on the number of people in spectrum sunscreen year-round with an SPF (sun protection factor) of 14 or the 100 year flood plain the higher. It also recommends looking for a product that contains the chemical New England District projects avobenzone, also known as Parsol 1789. would not have been able to This protects against ultraviolet A and B rays. The UVB rays, which can compete well with projects be blocked by window glass, are the main cause of sunburn and skin cancer. from other districts and divi- UVA rays, which can pass through window glass, penetrate deeper into the skin sions. and can also contribute to skin damage. For the most effective protection, check the label before you buy. (Ideas Unlimited) YANKEE ENGINEER is an authorized unofficial Army newspaper under District Commander ...........................................Col. Curtis L. Thalken provisions of AR 360-1 published monthly. Views and opinions expressed Chief, Public Affairs ...............................................Larry B. Rosenberg are not necessarily those of the Department of the Army. Contributions from readers are solicited, but publication depends on judgment of the editor. No payment will be made for contributions. Published by the Public Affairs Office, New England District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 696 Virginia Road, Concord MA 01742-2751, 978-318-8777. Printed by the offset Editor ........................................................................................Ann Marie R. Harvie method on recyclable paper by the Defense Printing Office in Boston, Mass. Media Relations Officer...............................................................Timothy J. Dugan Circulation 1600. The YANKEE ENGINEER can be found on the World Public Affairs Specialist.................................................................Sally M. Rigione Wide Web at http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/news/yankee.htm YANKEE ENGINEER August 2006 3 Commander's Corner: Why year-end closeout is like football by Col. Curtis L. Thalken Now there are things that we have to do at the end of the District Commander year. Just go down to RM or contracting and see all the effort they put into wrapping up the year's loose ends. We have to As the short New England summer account for what we spent by fiscal year and then we have begins to cool down, my favorite time of to reset our accounts and get ready for the next year. year is about to begin: football season. However, I equate that to the referees moving the chains and Last night, as I was watching the Patriot’s resetting the down marker. first preseason football game, I was If I’m on the field I don’t stop running because I’ve made struck by an analogy between football a first down. I keep pushing for every inch I can with no and our program execution – fiscal year intention of stopping until I reach the end-zone (project closeout is more like a first down than completion). There may be impediments between me and the end-zone. Please bear with me as I the goal line: contractor problems, quarterly fund allocations explain. or even requested changes by our local cost share partners. Excluding Army OMA dollars, which are an annual They may slow us down or even tackle us momentarily, but appropriation, most of the funds we use do not expire at the our ultimate goal remains the end-zone. end of the fiscal year. Therefore we should see no letup in So my challenge to you all is to be like Cory Dillon (I’m our efforts as the end of the fiscal year approaches. Most of partial to hard hitting running backs) – don’t stop running at our projects, civil works, MILCON, support for others have the 1st down marker. funds that span the fiscal year. Year end closeout is an intermediate goal towards Therefore, unless we have exhausted all available funds, project completion, but it shouldn’t cause us to lose a step. which in most cases should mean we’ve completed a phase Keep your legs moving and keep your projects headed up of a project, work on Oct. 1 should continue just like it was field. Don’t look at the sidelines. on Sept. 30. We don’t reach the end-zone until the project is Thanks for everything you do each and every day and complete. We can celebrate at the ribbon cutting. let's hope for a great season for the Pats. Essayons! Tube kiting banned at Corps recreation area lakes in New England Continued from page 1 in Jamaica (Route 30 or Route 100); North and Westville Lake in Southbridge Hartland Lake in North Hartland (Routes and Sturbridge (Wallace Road 4 and 5); North Springfield Lake in off Route 131). North Springfield (Route 106 and In New Hampshire: Reservoir Road); Townshend Blackwater Dam in Lake in Townshend (Route Webster (Route 127); 30); and Union Village Dam in Edward MacDowell Thetford (Route 132). Lake in West There are no Corps- Peterborough (Route operated flood control 101); Franklin Falls Dam reservoirs in Rhode Island in Franklin (Route 127); or Maine.