Towboat tour promoting public hearings

Shannon and Jason Keith brought their son, Jaden, 3, to Cape Girardeau's riverfront for the first time on Saturday. They were delighted to find an open house for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers towboat, the M/V Mississippi.

"There is an awesome view from the pilot house," Shannon Keith said, moments before the boat's horn sounded.

"That's loud," Jaden shouted, holding his hands over his ears.

The Keiths were among an estimated 300 people touring the boat Saturday. The Memphis, Tenn.-based boat travels the length of the Mississippi River twice a year to inspect water levels and hosts public hearings at various cities from Minnesota to Louisiana.

A hearing, led by members of the Mississippi River Commission, is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday in Cape Girardeau. The commission is made up of three U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officers, a representative from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and three private citizens. It is charged with making policy recommendations, study and report on flood control, navigation and environmental issues. Commission members are appointed by the president of the United States.

Julie Ziino, executive assistant for the St. Louis district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the most common concern residents voiced at recent hearings is about flood protection.

The public hearings are made for "anyone who has any interest -- which is just about anybody, really -- in the river," said Phil Manhart, a park ranger assigned to the corps, "It's a good way for the corps and the public to sit down and get to know one another."

The formal hearing opens with a national and regional issues summary, following by an update on Corps of Engineers' projects in the Mississippi River watershed. The public hearing follows immediately.

Saturday's open house was a day for volunteering.

Marge Engleman and Betty Voss, both of Cape Girardeau, greeted visitors and offered chamber of commerce pamphlets and cups of water.

"It beats housework all to heck," Voss said. "And you meet so many nice people."

On the boat, citizen tour guides such as John Jatcko wore yellow shirts and led clusters of visitors up to the pilot house and down to the engine room, offering facts and answering questions about the boat along the way. Between water level inspections, the M/V Mississippi tows barges or other boats and works to prevent shoreline erosion.

"I didn't even know the river was here," Jatcko said of life before volunteering. Now he leads weekly tours of the National Great Rivers Museum on the Melvin Price Locks and Dam near Alton, Ill. "It gives me something to do and shoot my mouth off. We have a lot of good fun."

Jatcko, 79, worked for the corps during the U.S. occupation of Korea after World War II. He started volunteering after his wife died four years ago.

The Mississippi River Commission's public hearing starts at 9 a.m. Monday aboard the boat. The M/V Mississippi is docked at the foot of Broadway.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127