24 Sep 2020

Corps, Samaritan's Purse go above and beyond for Laura survivor

"The day I met Mr. Williams, I was looking for his house and drove past it because I didn't see it; all I saw were trees," Roofing Quality Assurance Specialist George Hayes recalled. "Honestly, I wasn't expecting anyone to be home. So many folks evacuated after the storm, I just figured no one was home. As I got closer to the door, I heard his little dog bark. I yelled, "Is anyone home?" and I saw a movement through the window. The door opened, and he drove his wheelchair out onto the front porch. My heart just sank." At that moment, Hayes knew he needed to go above and beyond to help this man.

16 Sep 2020

USACE provides power to hard-hit Louisiana

Living in the 21st century, most Americans have electricity on demand. When it isn’t working, it usually doesn’t take longer than a day to get it turned back on. But what happens when a storm like Hurricane Laura hits? Close to 200,000 residents living in southwestern Louisiana lost power on Aug. 27. Many of them are still without it, weeks after the storm has come and gone. Delivering power to southwest Louisiana is one of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' top priorities. USACE is installing generators in several critical facilities like water pump stations, sewage lift stations, hospitals, radio towers, and corrections facilities, to name a few. The 23-person team responsible for installing these generators ensured they were in Louisiana before Hurricane Laura even made landfall.

7 Sep 2020

Corps of Engineers fully engaged in LA Hurricane recovery efforts

When Hurricane Laura struck Lake Charles, Louisiana, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Mississippi Valley Division (MVD) response and recovery teams were already in place to execute the critical mission assignments assigned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Damages sustained in southwestern Louisiana warrant USACE expertise. Mission assignments range from temporary roofing and emergency power installation to supporting the temporary housing mission and conducting infrastructure assessments and providing debris removal technical assistance to the state.

6 Sep 2020

First temporary ‘Blue Roof’ a success

“The governor happened to have a news conference and my wife said, well what about the blue roofs?” Duhon said. “She gave me the information and I got online and registered and here we are today.” The purpose of the program is to provide homeowners in disaster areas with fiber-reinforced sheeting to cover damaged roofs until permanent repairs can be made. The deadline to sign up for the Blue Roof Program is Sept. 21. Don't wait!

27 Aug 2020

Memphis Team deployed to Louisiana in support of Hurricane Laura relief efforts

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis District deployed a 13-member Emergency Power Planning and Response Team (PRT) to support Federal Emergency Management Agency's Hurricane Laura response, on Aug 26.

21 Aug 2020

A look back: Williams' 30+ years of service

"If you walk around this vessel, chances are you will find him working somewhere around here, even when he is off the watch," Dredge Hurley Assistant Master Tim Tucker said. "We sometimes have to make him stop to go to his room to relax after a long day. If some of the kids coming out of high school these days would show up with half of the work ethic that he has, we would really get a lot more done." Tucker is describing Curtis Williams, who is also known by many on the dredge as "Lil Wolf". Williams is the Dredge Hurley's ship keeper and has been with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a little more than 30 years.

12 Aug 2020

Critical drainage channels to be maintained

Throughout its history, the Lower Mississippi River Flood Plain has been besieged by floodwaters; that’s why flood risk management is one of the Memphis District's major mission areas. We serve as the first line of defense for the entire lower Valley. Working to execute this mission and serving as that first line of defense, a Memphis District Project Delivery Team awarded three major contracts to perform maintenance on drainage channels 1 and 251, which are located in the Little River Drainage District in Southeast Missouri. The contracts are for lower Ditch 251, upper Ditch 251, and upper Ditch 1 and authorize contractors to go in and return a total of 89 miles worth of drainage channels to their authorized level of flood protection.

6 Aug 2020

A look back: Hamilton’s 35 years of service

Hamilton was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957, and later adopted by his parents at the young age of six months. "I grew up here in Wynne, where the (USACE) Area Office is located (and now where he works)," he said. "And I graduated from Arkansas State University in 1982."

3 Aug 2020

Contract awarded for Old Town Seepage Remediation project

Congratulations to the Old Town Seepage Remediation Project Delivery Team on reaching their Contract Award Milestone for their project located in Arkansas and Cotton Belt Levee District Number One. The project team awarded the $5,042,556 contract to the Sytes Corporation. The project involves extending the existing seepage remediation berm. The slated begin date for construction is Oct. 16 this year, with a tentative completion date of April 2023.

16 Jul 2020

Bank Grading Unit paves way for commerce, safety

Memphis District Commander Col. Zachary Miller recently visited Island 68, a project site in Arkansas, where he met with the district’s hardworking Bank Grading Unit and reviewed progress made at the site thus far. According to Project Manager and River/Civil Engineer Cole Stonebrook, we have done work here before as this area is particularly erosive and scours easily in moving water. “The soils in the area are very unstable and highly erosive,” he said. “We are addressing a large bank failure by grading irregularities in the bank alignment to a smooth straight alignment. The Grading Unit is grading the banks to a one on four slope,  which requires moving 220,000 cubic yards of material.”