BARGES STILL STRANDED ON RIVER NEAR HERE

A 20-barge tow stranded in ice near Cape Girardeau will have to lighten its load before moving farther on the Mississippi River.

When the Dennis Hendrix started its trek on the Mississippi late last week, it was within load limits, but over the weekend the Corps of Engineers' St. Louis District issued an edict that barges traveling on the upper Mississippi north of Cairo, Ill. would be limited to eight barges, two wide and four long.

"We're not closing the river to barge traffic," said Steve Dierker of the Corps. "But we are restricting the size of tows."

Barge movement is slow all along the upper river, said Dierker.

"The upper Mississippi ranges from 80 to 90 percent ice covered, slowing barge traffic," he said. That's better than the Missouri River, said Dierker, explaining the Missouri is 100 percent covered with ice."

The Dennis Hendrix was stranded just north of the water system pump house at Cape Rock Park early Sunday morning, coming to a halt as 8-below-zero temperatures fused chunks of ice together, forming solid ice later across the river."

A second tow, with 12 barges, is also stranded near the same area.

"The ice jams in the river worsened throughout Sunday," said Mark Emmons, a lieutenant with the Coast Guard office at Paducah, Ky. "A number of companies were running tugs through the ice in some areas between Cairo and Cape Girardeau in hopes of keeping the ice broken up."

Emmons said a Coast Guard crew was sent into that area of the river to assess the situation. "The ice was piling up, but some traffic was moving slowly," he said.

One tow from Missouri Barge Lines, headquartered in downtown Cape Girardeau, went downstream Saturday.

"It took the tow, with only one barge, 26 hours to reach Cairo," said Leo Steger, general manager of Missouri Barge. "And it had to have some help to get there."

Past Cairo at the confluence with the Ohio River the Mississippi is more passable.

"The Ohio River is up," said Rick Dillon of Cairo Marine Ways. "But there is no ice in it and traffic is moving both ways."

The Ohio River at Cairo is about 41 feet. The Mississippi at Cape Girardeau was at 15 feet Monday.

The last time barges were stranded in the Mississippi River here was during the winter of 1979. However, traffic was closed on the river during the flood of 1993, because of high waters and weakened levees.

It may be another day or two before the stranded tows are moving.

Cold weather has subsided in Southeast Missouri, with temperatures in the 30s Monday and highs expected today in the 40s.

Meanwhile, in Cape Girardeau, ice covers most of the small pond in Capaha Park.

Park officials try to keep some open water on the pond to keep ice skaters away and to let the resident waterfowl get to the island in the middle of the pond.

"People are not allowed to skate on the pond," said a spokesman for the Cape Girardeau Park Department.

A number of waterfowl make their home in the park, and are fed periodically by park officials.