NEXT MEETING Monday, November 21, 2005 (noon to 1:00pm)______
in the Tallan Cellar Restaurant at the corner of M.L. King, Jr. Blvd. and Carter Street in downtown Chattanooga

"Lessons Learned by the National Transportation Safety Board" - James Evan Hall, Hall & Associates, LLC

Since the National Transportation Safety Board gained its total independence from the U.S. Department of Transportation in 1975, thousands of safety improvements have been inspired by Safety Board recommendations. Aircraft icing prevention, drug and alcohol testing, better truck brakes, commercial drivers licenses, bridge inspections, voyage recorders, and anti-collision devices on cargo planes are just a few of the changes the inspired by the NTSB.

Our speaker, James Hall, was appointed as chairman of the NTSB during the Clinton administration. He served on the NTSB from 1993 to 2001, and he is an attorney who still spends a lot of his time helping to investigate accidents. The lessons we learn from accidents can save lives.

Program Chair: Sam Powell

Invocation: Ron Burton

Lunch: A buffet lunch for $11 will be available for attendees beginning at 11:30 a.m. Reservations are not required, and guests are welcome. For more information, call Judy Driggans at 751-7616 or Brad Baucom at 751-4696.

Parking: Free parking (for those who leave a notice on their dash indicating they are with the Chattanooga Engineers Club) is available for attendees at the Days Inn on Carter Street. There is also a parking garage behind the Tallan Building.

BUSINESS ___________________________________

Slate of Officers for 2006
The nominating committee has presented the following candidates for next year's slate of officers. Additional nominations will be taken from the floor at the meeting Nov. 21. The election will be held on Nov. 28 by ballot.

First Vice President (Program Chair):
Phil Kazemersky

Second Vice President (Membership Chair):
Stephen R. Smith

Secretary:
Tiffany Grant
Ron Bailey

Judy Driggans will assume the position of President

Steve Stark will remain as Treasurer

PREVIOUS MEETING_____________________________________

Nov. 14, 2005 "Post-Hurricane Investigation of Locks and Control Structures in South Louisiana and New Orleans" - Peter S. Zimmerman, P.E., P.G, ARCADIS

Peter Zimmerman showed us photos of the damage from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. His firm was asked to inspect locks and dams to the west of New Orleans, and some of the downtown levees, under contract with the United States Corp of Engineers. They found mostly electrical and structural damage to pump houses, control systems, and erosion to earth around structures. Water flows were a problem. The difference in head from some of the locks is only 1.5 feet but the tidal surge caused saltwater damage to electrical systems. Some emergency generators were on pilings, but their propane tanks floated away. Locks had to be closed by using comealongs, tractors, and U.S. Army dump trucks. There had been environmental damage due to fuel spills, autos overturned, etc. To see more, Google for the U. S. Army Corp of Engineers website, or look for links at www.ASCE.org. Thanks for this summary go to Stephen Smith. Tiffany Gibby provided the additional details that follow.

He first mentioned and showed photos of the Calcasieu Lock and Saltwater Barrier. Each is estimated to cost about $400,000 to repair. The lock experienced extensive electrical damage and structural damage to most buildings. One building had asbestos siding and it will cost more to deal with that environmental hazard. Barges must keep traveling and shipping goods on the river so timely repairs are vital. The Calcasieu Saltwater Barrier is a levee that keeps saltwater out where there is a lot of rice farming. The rice does not tolerate saltwater well but a secondary product in the rice fields, crawfish, can tolerate it a bit more. Both were affected by the damage.

The Leland Bowman Lock, south of Lafayette and near Intercoastal City, was devastated by Katrina's storm surge. At this lock, the chamber length is 1160 feet and the width is 110 feet. There was damage to the access road and a great deal of land erosion. An unexpected problem was depleted oxygen in the water which killed many fish. The Schooner Bayou Control Structure is accessible only by boat and has four gates. Flood debris around the control houses made this into a poisonous snake infested danger area. Here, the generators were flooded with six to eight feet of water and there was extensive electrical damage and riprap destruction.

Three others Mr. Zimmerman mentioned were the Harvey Lock which was harmed very little, Algiers Lock where there was wind damage to the fire pump shack that had asbestos siding, and the Inter Harbor Navigation Channel Lock (IHNC) a very old lock where the levee breeched extensively.

No meeting on Dec. 19, 26, or Jan. 2

Monday, January 9: "Intelligent Transportation Systems" Pat Hu, Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Engineering Science
and Technology Division

Monday, January 16: No meeting - President's Day

Monday, January 23: "Cameras on Traffic Lights and in Curves" John VanWinkle, City of Chattanooga

Monday, January 30: "Brainerd Levee System" Roger Milstead, TVA
Program Chair: Terry Reynolds

Dreaming Up Something to Say by Katie Schwartz, CCC-SLP

Have you ever had to attend a social event and wished you could melt into the woodwork when you arrived? You positively dreaded entering a roomful of strangers and pretending you were enjoying yourself. That time of year, the holiday social event, is coming around again. This year, though, it will be different. This year you will know what to say. Think about what you have in common with the others in the room. Before the event, prepare 5 statement and question combinations to start conversations. One might be, "This is a great party! How do you know the host?" Reading the daily newspaper usually yields one or two possibilities for questions. This preparation makes a difference. At the event, catch someone's eye, smile slightly, and if the other person smiles back, walk over to him or her. Act like a host and take responsibility for starting a conversation. Usually the first or second statement and question combination develops into a real conversation. If nothing happens after the third or fourth one, excuse yourself and try with someone else. Skills of starting, continuing and ending conversations take practice to develop. Often people who think they are shy really never learned these skills in the first place. With practice, though, even the dreaded social event can be a great opportunity to meet terrific people!

Katie Schwartz, CCC-SLP of Business Speech Improvement in Chattanooga (www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com) provides group and individual coaching in many aspects of communication, including small talk and presentation skills. She can be reached at info@BusinessSpeechImprovement.com or 423-894-8024.

QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS? If you have any questions or suggestions about program items please contact Judy Driggans at 423-751-7616 or by email at jdriggans@comcast.net. You can find references to other Chattanooga Engineers Club members at our web site www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org.