Dine & Discover

We had a pretty good time last evening at the twice-monthly Dine & Discover series sponsored by the Marshall University College of Science. I showed some photos of the Ohio River I'd taken over the past few decades, but the best part was the Q & A that followed. Among the questions:

How many bridges are across the Ohio River? I had to say I didn't know, but I could dig out the navigation charts and count them. I need to do that for myself anyway.

How long does an Ohio River bridge last? I don't know, because you don't know how long it lasts until it comes down.

Where are your favorite spots along the river to get photos? My favorite spot is the boat ramp at the mouth of the Guyandotte River in Huntington. You can get a variety of photos -- boats, my favorite bridge, fishermen, birds, litter -- there.

I would show some photos I got last night, but either Blogger or my computer is acting up.

As they used to say on local TV news, a good time was had by all. My thanks to Jeff Kovatch and Charles Sumerville Somerville for inviting me to speak.

Recovery

Jeffboat says it has enough orders for new barges that it's recalling 200 hourly workers and several salaried workers at its shipyard at Jeffersonville, Ind., across the Ohio River from Louisville.

From the news release:

ACL President and CEO Mike Ryan stated, "Customers are beginning to build new barges again as demand for moving freight on the inland waterways system returns in our recovering economy. Our active Jeffboat production lines are nearly sold out for 2011, and we are starting to contract for business in 2012." Ryan added, "Most barge companies need to replace thousands of barges over the next several years as the oldest units are retired and sold for scrap. During the recession, most barge carriers postponed the use of capital for new barges."