RIVER INSPECTION SCHEDULED

CAIRO, Ill. -- Members of the Mississippi River Commission will conduct their annual "high water" inspection trip early next month, starting with a public meeting here April 8.

Four public meetings have been scheduled aboard the Motor Vessel Mississippi during the April 8-12 inspection trip, with the first session at 9 a.m. at the foot of the 8th Street levee here.

Other meetings are scheduled April 9, at 9 a.m. at Memphis, Tenn.; April 10, at Greenville, Miss.,; and April 12 at 8:30 a.m. at the foot of Prytania Street in New Orleans.

Brig. Gen. Arthur E. Williams, commission president, will present a State of the Valley report during each hearing. District engineers will report on the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project in respective districts during sessions at Cairo, Greenville, and New Orleans.

The general duties of the commission include recommendation of policy and work programs, and study and reporting on necessity for modifications to additions to flood control and navigation projects along the river from Cape Girardeau area to the Gulf of Mexico.

The commission usually inspects the river and conducts public hearings twice a year, during the spring high water period and during the fall low water period, giving an opportunity to exchange viewpoints and ideas with the public.

The commission, founded in 1879, is composed of seven members, each nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Three of the members are officers of the Corps of Engineers; one member is from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and three members are civilians, two of them civil engineers.