STRICTLY BUSINESS: 1994 IS THE YEAR OF RECOVERY FOR BARGE INDUSTRY

Veteran river pilot C.W. "Woody" Rushing faced many challenging situations during his 60 years on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

The time the Chester, Ill., bridge between Missouri and Illinois collapsed, blocking most of the channel, was one. But even that paled last summer's devastating flood and the havoc it played on river traffic.

"Barge traffic was grounded last year," said Rushing. "Traffic could move on the Ohio River and lower Mississippi, but much of the upper Mississippi was shut down."

Rushing, of Cape Girardeau, is retired. He was on the Mississippi south of Chester on July 29, 1944, when he received word that the bridge had collapsed. All but one small section of the river channel was blocked by the wreckage.

"But we could get through," recalled Rushing. "The Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard let us through with a full tow. Larger tows had to be broken up and taken through piecemeal."

Barges were landlocked for two months on the upper Mississippi in July and August 1993.

Barge traffic on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers took a beating from the weather last year. This year has been clear sailing.

The water is mostly down, river traffic is open from Dubuque, Iowa, to New Orleans, La., and the barge industry is on the road to recovery from The Flood of 1993. It shut down sections of the Mississippi for more than two months last summer.

The Army Corps of Engineers says cargo shipments are up.

"The barge industry is rebounding," said Paul Kornberger, chief of the navigating structures section of the St. Louis District of the Corps. "Things are looking up for the rest of 1994."

During a normal year as many as 40,000 barges move down the Mississippi past Cape Girardeau, many containing agricultural products headed to New Orleans for transfer to ocean-going vessels.

During the course of a normal year 70 to 80 million tons of products move up or down river, said Kornberger. "In 1993, that total dwindled down to the 60-million-ton range."

Last year's flood had devastating effects on river traffic. Not only were sections of the Mississippi closed, idling more than 2,000 barges and costing the industry millions of dollars, but floods ravaged corn, soybean and wheat crops that would usually be shipped downstream for export.

"Barges are moving this year and things are looking good," said Kornberger. "The river is in good navigable condition, and the crop year for farmers appears good. So there should be an increase in grain shipments."

Shipments through Locks 26 and 27 on the Mississippi River north of St. Louis during the first six months of 1994 indicate that this could be the year of recovery for the barge industry. Between 35 and 40 million tons of shipments have passed through the two locks.

The barge and towing industry is big on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The industry employs as many as 180,000 workers and moves about 15 percent of the nation's freight, including 65 percent of the its grain.

Petroleum, grain and wood products are among notable loads of products that move downriver. Barges headed upstream typically carry coal for northern steel-plant operations, fertilizer for farms and raw materials for industries along the rivers.

Motorists who cross the Ohio River bridge at Cairo, Ill., for the first time are usually amazed at the number of barges moored on either side of the Ohio. Because Cairo is at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, waterfront activity provides jobs for many of that city's residents.

"We have a lot of river traffic here," said Mark Cruse, fleet manager of Waterfront Services at Cairo. "We usually have about 200 barges tied up along the Ohio River."

The number of barges moored at Cairo varies widely, depending on river conditions. "The busier the traffic, the fewer barges will tie up," said Cruse.

During last year's flood as many as 1,000 barges were moored at Cairo.

A lot of freight passes through this small community of about 6,000 people. In 1985, more than 149 million metric tons of freight passed through Cairo, more than passed through the Panama Canal. The tonnage has increased since 1985 to more than 200 million tons, with more than 100 million tons going down the Ohio River.

Ohio River tonnage is expected to double over the next 50 years.

Construction already is under way on a $1.2 billion dam at Olmsted, Ill., north of Cairo It will replace two outdated locks and dams near Brookport, Ill., upstream from the Olmsted dam site. The first barges are expected through the new dam in 2006.

Sylvan Learning Centers, a provider of supplemental education services, has opened a facility at 1020 N. Kingshighway.

The local center, owned by Jack and Carlene Stanley, offers a variety of programs to children and adults, including math, writing, study skills, algebra and beginning reading. The center also offers SAT and ACT programs.

Sylvan Learning Centers has more than 500 neighborhood centers in the U.S. and Canada.

"We feel we can offer an educational program that complements and expands what the students are doing in schools," said Jack Stanley.

Joseph L. Driskill, director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, and Bob Holden, state treasurer, will join Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce officials today to announce a new business for Poplar Bluff. The announcement of a joint venture between a Poplar Bluff manufacturer and a foreign company will be made at 1 p.m. at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff.

Small employment gains spread through most Missouri industries in June to keep the statewide unemployment rate at under 5 percent.

"Manufacturing employment was up by 1,300 jobs," said Paul L. Rodgers, director of the Missouri Division of Employment Security. "That helped offset the 1,900-job decrease in transportation equipment."

Also helping counter the transportation equipment losses -- a result of retooling layoffs in the automobile industry -- were gains in retail trade, finance and real estate.

The 4.8 percent June unemployment rate in Missouri is up slightly from the 4.7 percent of the previous month.

Locally, the Cape Girardeau County unemployment rate remained under the 4 percent mark, at 3.8, up two-tenths of a percent from May, but well below the 6 percent unemployment rate of June 1993.

No change was recorded in the unemployment rate in Perry County, which remained at 4.3 percent. Perry and Bollinger counties are under the Cape Girardeau Job Security office. The Bollinger County unemployment rate was up two-tenths of a percent, to 5.8.

Elsewhere in Southeast Missouri, unemployment rates increased in most counties. The figures: Butler, 6.3 percent, up from 5.7 percent in May; Dunklin, 7.5, up from 7.1; Mississippi, 11.2, up form 10.8; New Madrid, 7.1, up from 6; Scott, 5.8, up from 5.5.; Pemiscot, 16.3, up from 15.5; Madison, 8.5, down from 8.8; and Stoddard, 7.1, up from 6.7.

Many Southern Illinois counties reported increases in unemployment, but Union and Pulaski counties reported decreases. Union County dropped from 11 percent in May to 8.3 in June, and Pulaski dropped to 10.6. Alexander was up form 11.7 in May to 12.7 in June.

Massac and Jackson counties reported the lowest unemployment rates in the lower 20 counties of the state: 5.5 percent.

Illinois reported an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent in June, but the state's jobless rate jumped in July to 6.3 percent, two-tenths of a percent over the national average of 6.1 percent. The latest figures translate into about 374,000 people without jobs in Illinois.