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District Digest News Stories

  • December

    Craig Smith, Nashville District Tennessee River Operations Center, takes a momentary break from welding plates securing new tow haulage rail on Kentucky Lock wall Nov. 5, 2013. Nashville District employees completed the Tow Haulage Unit Replacement Project on time at Kentucky Lock in Grand Rivers, Ky., Dec. 5, 2013, and the lock has resumed 24-hour operations. The new unit should move unpowered tows more efficiently and also eliminate a winter icing problem caused by the design of the 69-year-old tow haulage unit installed in 1944, according to Jeff Ross, Nashville District navigation chief.

    Kentucky Lock gets new tow haulage unit

    GRAND RIVERS, Ky. (Dec. 10, 2013) — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District employees completed the Tow Haulage Unit Replacement Project at Kentucky Lock in Grand Rivers, Ky., Dec. 5, 2013. They finished the work on time and the navigation lock has resumed 24-hour operations.
  • From left, Jamie Holt, power plant specialist, and Jamie James, project manager, stand atop U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District’s recently repaired Barkley Hydropower Plant Unit 1 generator Kuttawa, Ky. The unit suffered a phase-to-ground fault resulting in a fire that damaged the 32.5 Megawatt generator wirings in Dec. 19, 2010. The $11.5 million, major repair project began Aug. 15, 2012 when contractor employees lifted the 270-ton assembly by crane and placed it on a nearby pedestal for repair by National Electric Coil from Columbus, Ohio. Unit 1 was placed back on line Nov. 18, 2013.

    Barkley Unit 1 generator is back in operation after major repairs

    KUTTAWA, Ky., (Dec. 6, 2013) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District’s Barkley Hydropower Plant Unit 1 here is back in operation after a phase-to-ground fault caused a fire that damaged the 32.5 Megawatt generator stator windings in Dec. 19, 2010.

  • November

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Nov. 27, 2013) – Bonnie Jagoditz, assistant district counsel for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville Office of Counsel, is the district employee of the month for October 2013.

    Jagoditz named Nashville District Employee of the Month for October 2013

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Nov. 27, 2013) – Bonnie Jagoditz, assistant district counsel for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville Office of Counsel, is the district employee of the month for October 2013.
  • Fort Worth District Planner Nancy Parrish (Right) and Project Manager Nova Robbins facilitate a planning charrette at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Nov. 20, 2013. They were asked to conduct the workshop because they both were trailblazers involved in a SMART pilot project called Westside Creeks, an ecosystem restoration in San Antonio, Texas. In addition, they have conducted SMART initiatives and benefitted from holding a charrette to kick off the planning process for a feasibility study in their home district.

    Charrette helps Harpeth River Feasibility Study flow ahead ‘SMART’

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Nov. 25, 2013) – The team responsible for conducting the Harpeth River Flood Risk Management Feasibility Study held a planning charrette Nov. 20-22 at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Headquarters to help the process flow forward as SMART as possible.
  • Roy Rossignol (Right), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Small Business Office chief, speaks with a customer during the Small Business Training Forum March 13, 2013 at the Tennessee Small Business Center on the Avon Williams Campus at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tenn. The forum's focus was on women-owned small businesses. The district recently announced it has exceeded its women-owned small business goals for fiscal year 2013.

    Nashville District reaches women-owned small business milestone

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Nov. 8, 2013) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District exceeded its goal of two percent of all contractible actions for women-owned small businesses in fiscal year 2013.
  • NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Nov. 4, 2013) – Donna Davis, a program analyst for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Management Support Branch, Operations Division is the district employee of the month for September 2013.

    Davis named Nashville District Employee of the Month for September 2013

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Nov. 4, 2013) – Donna Davis, a program analyst for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Management Support Branch, Operations Division is the district employee of the month for September 2013.

  • October

    Jonathan Sims, a journeyman mechanic works inside the penstock on wicket gates located inside the Laurel River Dam. A group of electrical and mechanical engineers from the Wolf Creek power plant are performing routine maintenance.

    Maintenance inspection on track at Laurel River Dam

    LONDON, Ky. (Oct. 30, 2013) – A team of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District electrical and mechanical engineers are conducting a two-year required maintenance inspection at the Laurel River Dam.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Commander, Lt. Col. John Hudson presents Park Ranger Brent Sewell from Martin’s Fork Lake with the Star of Life award to Sewell for rescuing a drowning teenager from, Smith, Ky., on Sept. 1, 2013.

    Lifesaving award presented to Martins Fork Lake park ranger

    SMITH, Ky. (Oct. 29, 2013) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District commander recognized a park ranger at Martin’s Fork Lake today with a Star of Life Award for his heroic rescue of a drowning teenager Labor Day weekend.
  • Lt. Col. John L. Hudson, Nashville District commander presents the 2013 USACE Innovation of the Year Award to a team of engineers and geologists from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Civil Design and Construction Branch. The Wolf Creek team is comprised of Mike Zoccola, Sarah Wiles, Joshua Bomar, Vanessa Bateman, Lt. Col. John L. Hudson, Alex King, Baron Worsham, Emily Carr and Mike Brown. Not pictured are: Terry Penny, and Brook Brosi.

    Nashville District wins USACE Innovation of the Year Award

    Engineers and geologists from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Civil Design and Construction Branch recieved the 2013 USACE Innovation of the Year Award at the district headquarters Oct. 24, by the Lt. Col. John L. Hudson, Nashville District Commander, for their notable efforts on the Wolf Creek Information Management System.
  • The Pinta, a larger version of the archetypal caravel that Columbus used on his voyages to the new world and offers walk-aboard tours, transits Chickamauga Lock Oct. 20, 2013 after a 10-day visit to Chattanooga, Tenn. The Pinta and her sister ship, Nina, are navigating up the Tennessee River via the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District’s navigation locks with visits to Lenoir City and Knoxville before heading downstream for stops in Alabama and Mississippi. For additional information on these floating museums, go to http://thenina.com/.

    Columbus’ replica ships Nina, Pinta transit aging Chickamauga Lock

    CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (Oct. 22, 2013) -- Out of the darkness on Sunday evening, Oct. 20, 2013, what appeared to be two 500-plus year-old vessels quietly and slowly approached the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District’s Chickamauga Lock.
  • The staff at the Cordell Hull Lake project poses with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District’s Hedgehog Award Oct. 22, 2013 in Carthage, Tenn. The award is given to individuals or team of employees to recognize excellence.

    Cordell Hull employees receive Nashville District’s Hedgehog Award

    CARTHAGE, Tenn. (Oct. 22, 2013) – Employees at Cordell Hull Lake received the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District’s Hedgehog Award today at the visitor’s center for their efforts to restore customer services earlier this year following a power outage.

  • September

    Brent Thompson, (left) and Jason Green, (right) both journeymen electricians at the Wolf Creek Power Plant make repairs to generator number three following an electrical ground fault shutdown of the generator.

    Electricians at Wolf Creek Power Plant complete fix on a differential

    JAMESTOWN, Ky. (Sept. 25, 2013) -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District employees from the Wolf Creek Power Plant and the Electronic Service Section have completed repairs to generator number three following an electrical ground fault shutdown of the generator.
  • Carl Scott, left, lock & dam equipment supervisor at Tennessee River Operations Center, Florence, Ala., presents retiree Rick Fisher replacement Certificates of Retirement and Appreciation June 18, 2013 in Chattanooga. Fisher, a 30-year retiree from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District, lost everything in a 2010 house fire. “Getting the replacement certificates was a real shot-in-the-arm to me and I am extremely grateful to Carl and everyone who made it possible. After losing my home and all its contents, I learned that money is not everything. Having this Retirement Certificate helps validate 30 years of my life,” Fisher added.

    Nashville District retirees share pride in service to region, Corps, nation

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 23, 2013) -- As the Oct. 16 date for the Nashville District Fall Retiree Luncheon approaches, a recent effort to assist a former employee serves as a reminder of the pride in service shared among U.S. Army Corps of Engineers retirees.
  • Maritere Gonzalez, an administrative assistant, for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District’s deputy for Programs and Project Management district employee of the month for August 2013.

    Gonzalez named Nashville District Employee of the Month for August 2013

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 20, 2013) – Maritere Gonzalez, an administrative assistant, for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District’s deputy for Programs and Project Management district employee of the month for August 2013.
  • James Bassham, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency director, welcomes state and federal participants during the Silver Jackets Kick Off at the TEMA Headquarters in Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2013.

    Tennessee kicks off ‘Silver Jackets’ with local, state, federal partners

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 17, 2013) – Local, state and federal partners kicked off Silver Jackets today at the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency Headquarters. Tennessee officially becomes the 40th state to join the program that provides a formal, consistent and unified approach to planning and implementing measures to reduce the risks associated with flooding and other natural hazards.
  • Amy Redmond, natural resource specialist at Old Hickory Lake, holds up the pH sample to the pH color chart for recording the results collected at river mile 247.7 on the Cumberland River for the 2013 World Water Monitoring Challenge™ Sept. 13, 2013.

    Nashville District participates in the 2013 World Water Monitoring Challenge™

    HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 16. 2013) – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District park rangers at Old Hickory Lake in conjunction with National Public Lands Day got their hands wet Sept. 2-13 collecting water quality data for the 2013 World Water Monitoring Challenge™.
  • Maj. Brad Morgan (Right), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District deputy commander, and Old Hickory Lake Park Rangers Charlie Leath and Amy Redmond talk with a student participating in Hands-On Science and Engineering Day at Stratford STEM Magnet High School in Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 12, 2013. The students moved from station to station asking questions of community partners about careers in science and technology.

    Corps members guide young students interested in STEM pathway

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 12, 2013) – A group of technical experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District participated in Hands-On Science and Engineering Day at Stratford STEM Magnet High School today to guide young students with budding interests in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
  • Park Ranger Gary Bruce, a conservation biologist at Center Hill Lake, is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Employee of the Month for April 2013.

    Bruce named Nashville District Employee of the Month for July 2013

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 11, 2013) – A conservation biologist at Center Hill Lake is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Employee of the Month for July 2013.
  • Two volunteers haul trash collected Sept. 7, 2013 from the Hurricane Creek Launching Area at J. Percy Priest Lake in La Vergne, Tenn.

    Partnerships result in successful National Public Lands Day event at J. Percy Priest Lake

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Sept 7, 2013) – In observance of National Public Lands Day, the nation’s largest, single-day volunteer effort for public lands, the J. Percy Priest Lake team partnered with the Nashville Clean Water Project and a diverse group of willing volunteers to tidy up several areas around the lake.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Park Ranger Brent Sewell rescued a drowning teenager from Martins Fork Lake, Smith, Ky., over the Labor Day weekend. Aaron Ledford, 18, a non-swimmer from Louisville, Ky., attended a family reunion Sept. 1 and entered the water to recover a beach ball. He got into trouble when he released the swimming area’s boundary line as he pulled himself out hand-over-hand.

    Corps park ranger rescues drowning teenager in Martins Fork Lake

    SMITH, Ky. (Sept. 5, 2013) – A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District park ranger rescued a drowning teenager in Martins Fork Lake over the Labor Day weekend.