The Prospector - Summer 2010

US Army Corpsof EngineersSacramento District

T he ProsPecTorVol. 81, Issue 1 Summer 2010 www.spk.usace.army.mil

Please Stand District employees welcome, bid farewell to their commander

The Prospector is an unofficial publication authorized under the provisions of Army Regulation 360-1. It is published by the Public Affairs Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, 1325 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. Telephone: (916) 557-7461; Fax (916) 557-7853; e-mail: [email protected]. This publication is available on the Sacramento District’s Internet homepage, at www.spk.usace.army.mil, and will be printed and mailed to those requesting it in writing. Editorial views and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Corps of Engineers or the Department of the Army. Follow the Sacramento District on Facebook, at www.facebook.com/sacramentodistrict and on YouTube, at www.youtube.com/sacramentodistrict.

DISTRICT COMMANDER

COL Thomas C. CHAPMAN

PUBLIC AFFAIRS CHIEF

DeDe CORDELL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Carlos J. LAZO

EDITORIAL BOARD

Chris GRAY-GARCIA

WRITERS

David KILLAM

Hunter MERRITT

Todd PLAIN

Tyler STALKER

Michael J. NEVINS

Katrina NATIVIDAD

Table of ConTenTs

2010 Summ

er Edition On the

CoverCol. Thomas C. Chapman (left) and Col. William J. Leady stand on stage during their change of command ceremony at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium July 27.

Photo byMichael J. Nevins

2 Change of Command

5 Englebright Dam “fills and spills”

6 Sacramento District picnic

8 Napa’s First Street reopens

9 Beale’s first LEED building

10 Engineer’s healthy commute

11 Hands-on learning with the District

12 Bid solicitation opens for Folsom Dam

13 Bobby Beaver throws out first pitch

14 Military project manager deploys

15 Army Birthday celebration

16 Balocki visits Sacramento District

18 Mount Umunhum restoration

19 One more deployment please

21 American River clean-up

22 Vegetation variance approved

23 Chief of Planning

26 Hail and Farewell

Working Hard to Accomplish Our Mission

Col. Thomas C. Chapman

Commander’s Way ahead

I’d like to take this opportunity, the last article I can write in the Prospector, to encourage you to look to the future – I think it is very bright for the Sacramento District (SPK).

What lies ahead is still a very strong program. There is much work to be done. But you shouldn’t be intimi-dated. You have every reason to be confident in your abilities and those of your teammates. Build on your amazing accomplishments, particularly those of the last two years when we executed programs of unprec-edented size and complexity.

We dealt with the pressure of having to use ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) funds very quickly and effectively, always executing very safely, and with no loss of quality in our finished products. SPK has never shrunk from doing its duty, regardless of the circumstances. I am convinced there is no mission too great for the Sacramento District.

As I leave you, I am forever impressed with your com-mitment to always do the best job possible and with your dedication to public service. That’s really what it all comes down to - service. That’s what we’re all about.

Your numbers are impressive – this year alone execut-ing about $250 million in Civil Works and almost $350 million in Military, Interagency and International Ser-vices, and Environmental Programs.

But what did we do? How did we help?

The results we got are what is most important. The most significant numbers are uncalculated. A few of our examples could be: how much we, in conjunction with our partners, reduced flood risk to those who live

and work behind levees and dams; how many lives we saved in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places around the world by providing quality facilities for systems such as the U2, Global Hawk, and F22; or how many members of federally-listed species we saved. What we do, what we actually get done, will always be most important and we must never forget that.

I served as NATO’s chief engineer for the Internation-al Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. There were 42 different nations in ISAF at that time. One thing I learned is that none of those other nations had a Corps of Engineers like we do - a Corps our na-tion can call upon at anytime to respond to disasters, to develop solutions to national economic or resource challenges, or to support overseas contingencies. We are unique. No one else does what we do. And if you look at our history, doing is what we’re known for. We are known for the projects we have completed. We’ve always been an organization of action.

It is of utmost importance that we remain an organiza-tion of action. Regulation, policy, and guidance are all important to make sure we do things right, but getting things done remains our primary purpose. If we can’t execute our projects, we’re not needed, and if we’re not here to do these projects, they won’t get done.

The Sacramento District truly is a great organization and will continue to be. Being part of this team has been a real honor and privilege for me. I learned so much from your great example. I know that I am a bet-ter person for having served with you. I thank you for your professionalism and dedication, for your loyalty to our mission and for your friendship.

I will never forget my time here.

“AlwAy s b e A r i n m i n d t h At y o u r o w n r e s o l u t i o n to s u c c e e d i s m o r e i m p o rtA n t t h A n A n y o n e t h i n g.” - Ab r A h A m Li n c o L n

Essayons&

Building Strong!

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Changing of the Guard

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Sacramento DistrictChange of CommandStory By Chris Gray-Garcia

Photos ByMichael J. NevinsCarlos J. Lazo

A new commander is in charge of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District, with operations in eight western states.

Col. Thomas C. Chapman relinquished command of the district to Col. William J. Leady in a ceremony at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium July 27. Leady is the district’s 30th commander since its inception in 1929.

Chapman assumed command of the district in July 2007. After more than 26 years of active-duty service in the Army, he will retire to Sacramento.

“Over the last few years, we’ve executed a program of unprecedented size and pressure,” Chapman said in ceremony remarks. “I am convinced there is no mission too difficult for the Sacramento District. It is truly a great organization, and will continue to be.”

Leady comes to Sacramento from Fort Lewis, Wash., where he served as deputy commander of the 555th Engineer Brigade, and as a staff officer at I Corps headquarters. A native of Chesterton, Ind., Leady received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and was commissioned as a second lieu-tenant into the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in 1987.

He has deployed in support of Operation Desert Storm, Operation Restore Hope (Somalia), Operation Uphold Democracy (Haiti), Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), and commanded the Corps’ Detroit District from July 2006 to July 2008. Leady also holds a Master of Science degree in environmental engineering from Purdue University. He is a registered professional engineer in Virginia.

“I am humbled to realize the Army has entrusted me with the leadership of this historic and impressive organization,” Leady said. “I am committed to leading this world-class team to successfully executing our mission; to build strong civil works projects with innovative engineering solutions and proven standards of excellence; to deliver quality and value to our nation as we construct projects for the military and other governmental agencies; and to provide leadership and a professional work force to respond to national emergencies with our federal, state and local partners.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District is responsible for a $600 million annual program, providing plan-ning, engineering and design, project and construction management, environmental and real estate services to deliver water resource, environmental and military construction services in eight states, including: California, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and Arizona.

Opposite Page: Col. Thomas C. Chapman (left) passes the Sacramento District’s colors to Brig. Gen. Scott F. “Rock” Donahue, South Pacific Division Commander, during a change of command ceremony at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium July 27.

Left: Chapman embraces his wife, Deidre, during his retirement ceremony July 27.

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Above: Jennifer Payne presents yellow flowers to Mrs. Me-lissa Leady, symbolizing her arrival and new beginning with the Sacramento District.

Below: The California National Guard Color Guard carry the national colors during the change of command ceremony.

Above: Sacramento District retiree Lou Whitney speaks with Col. Thomas C. Chapman after the change of command ceremony. Attendees came forward following the ceremony to bid farewell to the Chapman family.

Below: Jennifer Mijares presents red roses to Mrs. Deidre Ann Chapman. The red roses were presented to Mrs. Chapman to symbolize the beauty and fulfillment of her time with the Sacramento District.

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Photos: Spring snowmelt spills over the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District’s Englebright Dam June 10, at a rate of about 1,000 cubic feet per second (cfs).

“The dam is designed as a ‘fill and spill’ dam,” said Skip Sivertsen, Englebright Lake senior park ranger.

“The spring water runoff that is in excess of what the two power plants need to operate is simply passing over the dam on its way down the Yuba River.”

Englebright typically spills each year or every other year for a duration ranging from just a few days to more than six months.

The concrete dam, constructed in 1941 for storage of hydraulic gold mining debris, holds back a 9-mile-long lake, spans 1,142 feet across and is 260 feet high.

Park rangers are reminding lake visitors that water is flowing fast and is very cold from spring snowmelt, and that everyone should practice water safety and use personal floatation devices.

Englebright Dam“fills and spills”story by todd plAin

photos by michAel J. nevins

public AffAirs office

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Left: Protecting her head, eyes, hands, body and feet, Team Hogwarts member Laine Rugen, does her best to keep it together.

Left: Tom Tufts (right) lends his arm to Registered Nurse Jan Luoma.

Right: Sarah Ross is all wrapped up thanks to Ja-mie LeFevre.

Left: Sue McCallister’s yellow ride took gold with the Commander’s Choice award.Below: Michael J. Nevins’ son, Jack, shows his track star speed hopping hoops and helping his team take first place in Corps Olympics.

Sacramento District Summer Picnic 2010

cAptions by todd plAin



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Right: Without the aid of a box-top, Charles Austin (left) races Zack Simmons from across the table, to see who will be the first to make sense out of the O-Plan... puzzle pieces.

Above: Steve Slinkard stands in front of the 1951 convertible Chevrolet his father bought new straight off the showroom floor. “I learned how to drive in this car,” Slinkard said at the third annual SPK Car Show he organiz-es. “I like to see all the other cars that people have.”

Right: Jack Nevins (left) tries to really stick it to his fellow teammate and friend Cody Alderman.Below: December Winters (right) storms into an early lead.

Below: Kevin Vestal (left) and Patrick Caden try to keep their ballooned hopes up.

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Napa project street closure ends six weeks ahead of schedule“Yippee, First Street is Open!”

The statement was found on just one sandwich board on the corner of McK-instry and First streets, but it reflected the excitement of everyone attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony June 15 that re-opened the street six weeks ahead of schedule.

First Street closed to road traffic in March as workers moved and elevat-ed rail tracks, as part of the Corps’ and the city’s Napa Train Relocation Project. The track shift and eleva-tion is required to assist the passage of flood waters and debris through what will become a dry bypass, which will convey flood water away from downtown Napa, Calif., during a flood event.

Funded primarily through the Ameri-can Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Napa Train Relocation Project is

a $65 million component of the larger Napa River-Napa Creek Flood Pro-tection Project, which will reduce the flood risk for downtown Napa and its surrounding communities. The Napa Train Relocation Project is expected to be completed in winter 2011.

Originally, the project called for a closure of at least six months, but ne-gotiations between the Corps of En-gineers, the contractor for the project, Suulutaaq Inc., and the city of Napa shortened the closure to 20 weeks before seeing the project com-pleted in just 14 weeks.

More than 50 commu-nity leaders,

local business owners and residents lined the sidewalks as Mayor Jill Techel, U.S. Army Corps of Engi-neers Sacramento District construc-tion representative Floyd Bolton and Suulutaaq Inc. project manager Tracy Crain cut the ribbon and officially re-opened the street at about 5:30 p.m.

Within minutes, cars began to file in and out of the city’s Oxbow District,

story And photos by tyler stAlker, public AffAirs office

Left: Jill Techel (left), Mayor of Napa, cuts the ribbon announc-ing the re-opening of First Street in Napa. Along with Techel were Tracy Crain (second from left), project manager for Suulutaaq Inc., Floyd Bolton, construc-tion representative for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, and other Napa city officials and members from Suulutaaq Inc.

Below: A local busi-ness proudly displays the opening of First Street on their board.

-Continued on page 17

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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sac-ramento District and Beale Air Force Base officials broke ground on a new child development center in a ceremo-ny June 2.

Col. Paul McGillicuddy, commander of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, described the importance of the new facility and of the effort by the commu-nity to make it a reality.

“The need for a new child development center was identified six years ago,” McGillicuddy said. “Three years ago, a delegation of local community mem-bers traveled to Washington, D.C., to seek funding for the project. This proj-ect would not be happening without the help and support of the community,”

The old CDC was built in 1967 and undersized, McGillicuddy said. It can accommodate only 80 children at a time and has a waiting list of about 140. Parents looking for an additional care facility for their children need to travel 40 miles to find the nearest one.

Sacramento District is in charge of constructing the new CDC, utilizing a design that will better meet the needs of the community.

“The new CDC will accommodate the entire waiting list,” said Kenneth Wing, project manager with the Sacramento District.

Once completed, the new 37,566 square-foot facility will be able to accommodate 284 children, Wing said, a more than 250 percent increase from the current structure. Among the changes the new facility will have will be five infant rooms, six pre-toddler rooms, six toddler rooms, five pre-school rooms, and three outdoor play areas. Also included will be a full kitchen, laundry areas, and various administration spaces, Wing said.

Along with the increase in size, the new CDC’s location will make it more convenient for Beale residents, Wing said.

The current CDC is located at the east end of the base. Families who live off base must drive to the east end of base to drop off their children, and for those who work at

the flight line, must drive all the way back toward the main gate to their workplace. The location of the new CDC is at the center of the installation, making it more convenient for the families, Wing said.

“Just having the children playing outside right in the middle of the base will add energy and sense of community to the entire base population,” Wing said.

The new facility will save energy, as well. Once completed, the CDC will provide Beale with its first LEED-certified building, which will save 18 percent of energy every year, said McGillicuddy. LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a voluntary, consensus-based standard to support and certify successful green building design, construction and operations, according to the U.S. Green Building Council website.

“It is the next step to Beale’s future,” said McGillicuddy. “The act symbolizes our commitment to members of the military and their children.”

Among the attendees were: Col. Robert Moriarty, commander of the 9th Maintenance Group; Col. Sarah Zabel, commander of the 9th Mission Sup-port Group; Col. Jenny McGee, commander of the 548th Intelligence Surveil-lance Reconnaissance Group, as well as other local unit commanders, members of the Beale military liaison committee board and local children.

story And photo by cArlos J. lAzo


U.S. Air Force Col. Paul McGillicuddy (fourth from right), commander of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, leads the groundbreaking ceremony at the future site of a new child development center at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., June 2.

Ground broken on Corps’ child development center project at Beale

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The daily commute doubles as stress-free exercise for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District civil engineer David Neff, who cycled a total of 1,469 miles to advocate May is Bike Month this year.

Neff’s logged mileage places him at the top of the list of the Sacramento District employees who registered for the campaign this year, and it places him fourteenth out of more than 7,200 riders from the Sacramento region. This year, the Sacramento District took fifth place in the medium em-ployers category with a total of 7,359 miles. In 2008, Neff helped the district place first in the friendly competition.

May is Bike Month is in its seventh year promoting cycling as a healthy, ecologically-friendly alternative form of transportation. It is an initiative supported in part by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments. This year, riders logged over 1.3 million miles in May to advocate for bicycling in Sacramento and the surround-ing five counties. The Sacramento District’s sustainability sub-committee supported the initiative by encourag-ing individuals to register and log bike

miles, and by hosting bicycle safety education presentations on changing a bike tire on the trail and urban com-muter safety.

Neff, a native Sacramentan, has been an employee at the Corps since he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from California State University - Sacramento in 1972. He was slightly disappointed that he did not reach his goal of 2010 miles in May, joking that “work got in the way.” But he stated that he doesn’t race to win. He bikes instead for recreation, relaxation and health. He also doesn’t stop riding his bike at the end of May. This alternative form of commute is routine for Neff, who bikes to the downtown Sacramento District offices from his home in Fair Oaks nearly every day, using the American River Parkway and city streets.

“The parkway is really a crown jewel of this area,” says Neff. He often rides into work with a friend, which helps him to stay motivated to ride each day, he said. Now his preferred form of exercise, he took up biking after his knees suffered too much from jogging, he said. After his bike com-

mute, often at an average speed of 22 miles per hour, Neff uses the bike lockers and shower facilities provided in the building to change. He even maintains a separate locker for work clothes, which he replenishes over the weekend.

“I used to carry panniers,” says Neff, referring to the bicycle saddle bags used for distance traveling, “But the other guys were so much faster that I couldn’t keep up.”

Relaxing, healthy commuteis routine for district engineerstory And photo by hunter merritt


David Neff (right) cycles through the streets of Sacramento with a friend.

The Impact Safety Award and corresponding “safety buck” coin (pictured above) is one of many ways that supervisors can bring immediate recognition to employees for eliminating hazards, im-proving programs, or demonstrating excellence in safety practices.

Safety awards will be given a fresh new look, updated criteria, and a heightened level of visibility this year, according to Marjorie McDonald, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District chief of safety and occupational health. The attention

to this important area of operations comes in response to a recent Inspector General’s report to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Pacific Division, indicating the need to concentrate on safety and the importance of an awards program.

Raising safety awareness, recognition of excellencestory by hunter merritt, photo by michAel J. nevins


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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District civil engineers Kylan Kegel (far left) and Jackie Steiner (second from right) watch as physics students Sabya Das (second from left) and Naman Gupta (far right) launch a volleyball with their self-made trebuchet, as part of the third annual engineering challenge, hosted by teacher Eric Wright at Folsom High School May 19. Kegel, Steiner, and architect Ralph Buell were invited as judges for the event, held in Folsom, Calif.

“These kids deserve the attention for all of their effort,” Buell said, “it is important for them to know there are real people out here, that the learning is not just theoretical.”

The invitation to participate in this event is another form of partnership between the district and Folsom High School, to celebrate National Lab Day and promote science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.

Other partner events this year included judges from the district at a boat regatta and guest presentations from engineers in classes during the month of May.

Wright said that more than 50 studentsfrom the senior class at Folsom were declar-ing engineering majors in their first year in college. Das, one of Wright’s students and a senior with a 4.3 grade average, is attending University of California-Berkeley next year, on a scholarship. Das and other students appreciated Wright’s class as being a hands-on learning experience, and Wright agrees that this is a better way to learn.

“Who wants to look at books when you can do this?” Wright said.

Corps engineers participate inhands-on learningstory And photo by hunter merritt


F I R E !

Occupational hazards are a real-ity everywhere, but especially in the various jobs that Corps em-ployees perform on a daily basis. Managing these risks on the job site, promoting awareness, and reporting concerns to the safety office are all duties of the project manager.

“A lot of supervisors don’t under-stand what their role is in safety,” says McDonald, who joined the Sacramento District after work-ing for the office of Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The Sacramento District has a

good safety record with a long-standing safety awards program, McDonald said, but she saw the opportunity to revise and promote the award program even more after her arrival.

The district’s current awards pro-gram has been in place since the 1960s and recognizes individual and project successes in promot-ing safe practices, and sometimes going the extra step to make the project safer.


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Corps opens bid solicitation for Folsom Dam Joint Federal Project control structure

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District opened the second phase of the bid solicitation process June 9 for a contract to build the control structure for Folsom Dam’s new auxiliary spillway.

The control structure marks the third phase of construction on the Corps’ and U.S. Bureau of Reclama-tion’s Folsom Dam Joint Federal Project in Folsom, Calif., a vital component in a series of improve-ments designed to increase Folsom Dam’s flood control capacity.

Three firms submitted acceptable technical

proposals in the first phase of the so-licitation process and are now invited to submit a sealed bid by Aug. 31 for

the control struc-ture contract.

Those firms are Barnard-Shimmick Joint Venture of Bozeman, Mont., Granite Construc-tion Company of Watsonville, Calif., and Kiewit Pacific Co. of Concord, Calif. The contract is expected to be awarded by Sept. 15.

The Bureau of Reclamation has performed the first two phases of the JFP, which involved

significant excavation of the auxiliary spillway site. The Corps will oversee construction of the control structure, scheduled to last 45 months, includ-ing an expected nine months of ad-ditional excavation.

Construction of the 3,000-foot-long spillway chute and stilling basin, which will allow the water current to slow to a level that can be contained by the downstream levees, is the next phase.

Completion of the 1,100-foot-long approach channel that will lead into the auxiliary spillway is scheduled to be the final phase of the project.The Joint Federal Project is a unique partnership between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation to substantially reduce the risk of catastrophic flooding in the Sacramento metropolitan area, on schedule for completion by 2016.

story by tyler stAlker, photo by chris grAy-gArciA


David Neff, engineering division, pro-vides additional details on the specifi-cations of the Joint Federal Project’s control structure. Three firms are vying to win the contract, which is expected to be awarded Sept. 15.

An aerial view of Folsom Dam

. Photo by Michael J. Nevins.

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Left: Bobby Beaver salutes as GI Johnny strolls past on military appreciation night. Above: (from left) Friedman, park ranger Holly Myers, Bobby Beaver and Bookholtz delivered water safety mes-sages to over 11,000 attendees at the Sacramento River Cats’ 4th annual military appreciation night May 20.

Bobby Beaver throws out first pitch, safety message at River Cats’ Military Appreciation game



Above: Floating key chains, water safety fliers and bi-lingual activity books found their way to new homes inside recycled Corps tote bags. Right: Senior District Park Ranger Jonathan Friedman (left) flanked by fellow park ranger Tom Bookholtz, introduce water safety messages on military appreciation night.

Pl a y B A L L

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers water safety mascotBobby Beaver brings the heat throwing out the first pitch.

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Major Jon Stover, project manager for National Guard projects in the Sacramento District’s Military Construction Branch, has been selected to serve as the liaison between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the American Am-bassador to Iraq. This will be Stover’s third deployment to Iraq. He is expected to depart sometime in late July.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Stover said. “It’s something I’ve never done before. It will pose some unique challenges. We’re getting to the point where we’re downsizing in Iraq. There will be major troop cutbacks next summer. As part of this drawdown, we in the Corps of Engineers will probably be transferring a lot of work to the Iraqis.”

The Scarborough, Maine, native previously served in Iraq from 2003 to 2004, and again from 2005 to 2006. During his first deployment, he served as a human resources of-ficer with the 130th Engineer Brigade from Schofield Bar-racks, Hawaii. He was a company commander for a unit attached to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Pendleton, Calif., conducting route clearance of improvised explosive devices for convoys during his second deploy-ment. Each trip taught him lessons on how to deal with the stress of deployment.

“You have to stay well-rounded while you’re there,” Stover said. “You can get buried in your work and can get very

stressed out. It’s important to exercise, go to church, take some time to relax.”

Stover credits the district for preparing him for his upcom-ing responsibilities. “Working in the Sacramento District as a project manager will help me in this assignment,” Stover said. “This was my first assignment working for the Corps of Engineers. I got a very good taste of the entire gamut of the Corps: contract-ing, construction and all of the other pieces that make this organization function.”

Stover has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Vanderbilt University; a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Missouri; and a mas-ter’s degree in structural engineering from the University of Virginia.

Stover offers his advice for Corps civilians considering volunteering for a tour of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan.

“It’s a personal decision that you have to weigh with your family,” he said. “There are a lot of opportunities over there because there is so much work. You can see and do a lot of stuff in a very short period of time. But it is definitely dif-ficult to be away from your family for six months or a year.”

Military project manager faces new challengesin Iraq

story And photo by dAvid killAm


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Sacramento District

wishes Army happy 235th

birthdayU.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District commander Col. Thomas Chapman (center), serves cake during the Sacramento District’s celebration of the U.S. Army’s 235th birthday June 14.

“Take pride that you’re part of the U.S. Army,” -Col. Thomas Chapman.

“Take pride that with the work we’re doing you’re giving pride back to the service.”

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District employees enjoyed cake (pictured above and below) and Meals - Ready to Eat, known as MREs (pictured left), during the event.



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Chief of the Environmental Community of Practice visits Sacramento District

James Balocki, Chief of the Environ-mental Community of Practice at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers head-quarters in Washington, D.C., visited the Sacramento Engineer District June 25. He is responsible for the im-plementation of environmental policy for all projects that fall within the juris-diction of military construction.

Balocki has been in his current posi-tion for almost a year and it’s his goal to visit every single district, division and laboratory within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he said.

Balocki began his trip with a visit to a Formerly Used Defense Site at Ham-ilton Air Force Base in Novato, Calif. Following his visit to Hamilton, he ac-companied Sacramento District proj-ect manager Kristine Des Camps to the Folsom Dam to view ongoing con-struction at the dam. He was briefed by field engineer Jonathan Revolinski on the Joint Federal Project, a $600 million, multi-year Corps partnership with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

aimed at improving flood protection capabilities at the dam. Such relation-ships are a vital part of the Corps’ mission according to Balocki.

“Relationships endure,” he said. “People remember the way you treat them.”

He believes that success comes when people engage with each other and unite on a position of common interest, such as the environment, he said.

“My passion is people,” Balocki said. “We spend a lot of time concentrat-ing on money but we should an equal amount or more of time on intellectual capital. We have incredible chal-lenges but we also have incredible capabilities.”

This approach will better express the Corps capabilities according to Balocki.

“We need to help people see that the

Corps is the nation’s environmental engineers,” Balocki said. “No one else can take on the challenges that we do.”

In addition, every challenge should be tackled with sustainability in mind, Balocki said.

“When we start the initial design phase of a project, sustainability should be a part of that design, rather than being tacked on later,” Balocki said.

“Sustainability is a way of thinking for everyone, not just a few designers.”

story And photos by dAvid killAm


James Balocki, (second from right) Chief of the Environmental Community of Practice at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headquarters in Washington D.C., is briefed by Folsom resident engineer Jon Revolinski (second from left) at the Folsom Dam Joint Federal Project construction site on June 25. Balocki visited the Sacramento District’s project site, a $600 million, multi-year project aimed at improving flood-coping capabilities at the dam during a recent trip to the state. Joining Revolinski were Kristine Des Champs (left), Folsom project manager, and Jerry Vincent (right), Formerly Used Defense Site program manager.

Below: Construction continues at Folsom Dam.

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The Corps’ safety program draws from Army Regulation 385-10, which covers the Army safety program. The AR has gone through recent revisions of its own this past June.

Two awards in particular – the District Engineer’s Occupational Health Award for Program Excellence for Resident Office and the District Engineer’s Occupational Health Award for Program Excellence for Water Resources Project – will be revised slightly, to include the new regulatory and planning field offices in the Sacramento District.

These awards will be made available to individuals and projects throughout the district, through nomination and selection by a safety committee. Other awards, such as the Water Resources Lifesaving Award and the Supervisor’s Impact Safety Award, will remain in effect as resources for recognition of excellence in employees’ individual safety efforts.

McDonald mentioned the Utah Resident Office’s actions on a recent project as an example, noting that the first thing they did was to reach out to the safety office for guidance on best safety practices. For the past two years, the office has won the Resident Office award.

Nominations for the 2010 awards will be made in the fall. An additional award, also recognizing an individual for employee safety practices, is expected to be introduced next year, McDonald said.

Winners of awards “go above and beyond with the program, to give support to employees to speak up regarding safety and health,” says McDonald, “both at project sites and in other work environments.”

-SAFETY (page 11)composed of a couple dozen local shops and eateries.

“This is a wonderful gift to the com-munity,” Techel said after detailing the concerns expressed prior to the road being closed in March.

While First Street was only closed for a two-block stretch, it serves as the primary corridor for accessing the Oxbow District. For Adam’s Cleaners customers, it serves as the only ac-cess point.

“Today is good,” owner Adam Chebl said. “Hopefully, now business can

pick back up.”

According to Chebl, many customers were overwhelmed by all the large machinery and the difficulty of getting to his shop due to the road closure.

Now, focus will shift to work on Soscol Avenue through the summer. Third Street will close for construction fol-lowing the completion of the Napa Town and Country Fair in August.

Next spring, First Street will require another closure for about two weeks to elevate the rest of the road to the height of the new railroad tracks.

-NAPA (page 8)

Bobber celebrates Dinger’s Birthday at River Cats Game

Dinger, the Sacramento River Cats baseball team’s mascot (second from left), invited the Corps’ Bobber the Water Safety Dog and other local mascots to his birthday party July 11 at the Sacramento River Cats’ stadium.

Bobber enjoyed a kickball game, cake and a singing celebration while district park ranger Terry Hershey spread the word about water safety. Children enjoyed taking photos with the very lovable and social Bobber as he made the rounds throughout the stadium. At the end of the day, Dinger’s team won the kickball game and the River Cats won the ball game!

by michAel J. nevins


18

story by dAvid killAm



Representative Mike Honda and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, along with representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District, Sens. Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein’s offices, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, and the Amah Mutsun Band of the Ohlone Costanova Indian Tribe met July 9 to celebrate the start of a project to remove contamination and quake-damaged buildings from Mount Umunhum, near Los Gatos, Calif.

Rep. Honda described the project as “the last lap of a long, long relay race.”

“It was a stroke of genius to bring the different agencies together,” he continued. “Through lots and lots of technical work, the blending of different funding streams and by working together, we can do this. The Corps of Engineers has built a good reputation through its efforts in flood control. Now, the Corps and the Open Space District can work together to make this happen.”

Mount Umunhum was home to the former Alamaden Air Force Station, built in 1957 as an Air Force radar site. Satellite technology made it obsolete and in 1979 it was decommissioned. In 1986, the newly created Midpeninsula Regional Open

Space District purchased the property to set it aside for public use for hiking and bicycling.

Kristina Mullins, Deputy District Engineer for Programs and Project Management for the Sacramento District, spoke to the audience that had assembled at the top of the mountain, briefly describing the history of the site and pledging Corps expertise in accomplishing the project. Members of the Mutsun Band offered a prayer for the success of the project and told a traditional story

about how Umun (Ohlone language for humming bird) acquired fire and gave it to humans. Mount Umunhum, which means “humming bird resting place,” had once been part of their tribal lands.

The Sacramento District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been involved with the site since 1986, when, under the Formerly Used Defense Sites program, it surveyed the area, removed underground petroleum storage tanks and cleaned up soil that had been contaminated by oil leaking out of the tanks.

Rep. Honda, with the support of Rep. Lofgren and Sens. Boxer and Feinstein, recently secured $3.2 million so that the Sacramento District, under the auspices of its Work for Others Program, could demolish and remove 88 deteriorating buildings, many of which had been severely damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

The buildings are the last remnants of the former air base. Any toxic materials associated with the buildings, mainly lead-based paint and asbestos, will be cleaned up and evacuated to authorized landfills. The 44-acre site will be part of the 18,000-acre Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve, administered by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. Valentine Lopez, Chairperson of the Amah Mutsun Band said: “This is progress that would make our ancestors glad. It will help us respect the lands and the environment.”

The Sacramento District plans to award a contract for the asbestos removal portion of the project in September, which is expected to be completed by summer 2011.

RejuvenatingMount Umunhum

Deputy District Engineer for Programs and Project Management Kristina Mullins (far right), joined (from left to right) representatives from Sens. Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein’s offices Jennifer Tang and Christine Epres respectfully, Congressman Mike Honda and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren at the ceremony July 9 to celebrate the start of the project at Mount Umunhum.

The ProsPeCTor

19

A 12-month deployment to Iraq can be difficult. Fifteen to 18 months even more strenuous. But 32 months? A bit tiring according to Penny Coulon, but “I’m hoping to go back within the year,” she says with a smile.

Penny Coulon has been with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District for the last five years, work-ing as a maintenance worker at Lake Kaweah, Calif. But she’s only physi-cally worked there for less than two years. That’s because, for the last 32 months – plus 5 months in 2006, for a total of 37 months – she has been deployed with the Corps of Engineers to Baghdad, Iraq.

“I like learning new things, meeting new people…and to help, of course,” Coulon said about her deployments. Her first deployment was from July 2006 to November 2006, the second from July 2007 to March 2010.

The Navy veteran said she had great experiences working with Iraqis and others at the multi-national base where she was stationed, even though she expected complications before departing.

“When I went in 2006, I had heard that for women it was kind of hard working with the Iraqi men over there,” said Coulon. “But being on base, they had kind of worked with Americans for a little while now, and they were more open to working with females.”

“The people I was working with, those guys were great.”

During the majority of her deployment, Coulon worked on operations and maintenance contracts, overseeing minor construc-tion projects on base. She’s already begun incorporating some of that experience at Lake Kaweah.

“Just from this past tour, I have come back and implemented some stuff at work,” she said. “We’re doing some things that my boss actually said, ‘I might not let you leave this time.’”

“Some of the computer things I’ve learned and some of the construction things I’ve learned, it’s been beneficial,” she said.

Coulon acknowledges the downside to deployment: the danger of being in a combat zone, the long work hours and being away from family.

“The long hours are something we typically don’t work here,” said Coulon. “Seven days a week and 12-hour days.

“Being away from your family -

that’s probably the hardest thing,” she said.

At the end of the day, deploying, “it re-ally wasn’t bad,” said Coulon. “There’s always opportunities to learn. The benefits to me far outweigh the nega-tives.

“You learn things that you have never learned seeing on TV or in a book.”

Sacramento District maintenance worker readyfor third deploymentstory by cArlos J. lAzo, photos courtesy of penny coulon


An external view of the Victory Over America Palace.

Penny Coulon, maintenance worker at Lake Kaweah with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District, poses inside the Victory Over America Palace in Baghdad, Iraq, May 24, 2009.

Truck Entrance Control Point projectat Tracy Army Depot completedcAptions by duAne bAlch

photos by vA lAo

progrAms mAnAgement And engineering division

20

Above: Col. David Rodriguez, Commander of the Defense Distribution Center-San Joaquin, addresses the audience dur-ing the ribbon cutting ceremony for the recently completed truck entrance control point project at Tracy Army Depot May 27. The ceremony was held inside the new truck control building administration area.

Below: A view of the truck entrance control point at Tracy Army Depot.

Above: The new truck scale (red pad in foreground) sits in front of the truck en-trance control administration building.

From left to right: Larry Smith, area engineer, Sacramento District; Mike Hendrickson, project man-ager, Biltwell Development Co.; Bob Thomas, chief of installation services division, DLA Enterprise Support-San Joaquin; Rod Tatman, site director, DLA Enterprise Support-San Joaquin; Kathy Brown, deputy commander, Defense Distribution Center-San Joaquin; and Col. David Rodriguez.

The ProsPeCTor

21

At first, it looked like every other one. Dark. Slimy. It was surrounded by hundreds of little brothers and sisters under the cool, clear water. But then, un-like its siblings, it did something totally unexpected – it brightly reflected the sun.

“Can!” someone yelled. It was a can – a beer can to be more specific – in the water. Sur-rounded by rocks and covered in algae, it resembled every other rock in the American River that day. But that day,

several dozens of people were out on the American with one thing in mind: river clean-up.

Joining the dozens of people were senior district park ranger Jonathan Friedman and geolo-gist Coralie Wilhite, both with the U.S. Army Corps of Engi-neers Sacramento District.

Friedman and Wilhite, along with local residents and other local agencies participated

Sacramento District staff chip in for American River clean-upstory And photos by cArlos J. lAzo


Above photos: Geologist Coralie Wilhite removes trash from the American River. Right: Wilhite assists senior district park ranger Jonathan Friedman (right) collect the remnants of a lawn chair from the shore of the American River July 22.


22

Corps approves Sacramento-area levee vegetation variance

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved the vegetation variance requested by the Central Valley Flood Protection Board and the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, allowing trees to remain on nearly 42 miles of Natomas, Calif., levees.

All but a 0.4-mile stretch of the Natomas East Main Drainage Canal was approved under the variance, endorsed by the Corps’ Sacramento District and South Pacific Division, and approved by Corps headquarters June 16. While some trees in this short stretch were approved to remain in place, the Corps could not approve keeping all the trees in place based on their location along a steep slope and the uncertainty of the levee’s abil-ity to protect if the trees fell and pulled out part of the levee. The Sacramento District has initiated consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service to ensure no net loss of habitat or species results from the possible re-

moval of trees on this stretch to meet levee safety standards.

“This decision highlights the intent of the Corps’ vegetation variance process: to allow the Corps and its partners to conserve trees on le-vees where they don’t pose a risk to public safety,” Sacramento District Commander Col. Thomas Chapman said. “As we move forward with levee improvements in Natomas and else-where, we will continue to balance our mission to protect the public with our strong commitment to preserving natural resources.”

Trees on approved reaches will be allowed to remain in place perma-nently, as long as the approved levee sections continue to meet approved design and maintenance standards. If at any time the Corps finds conditions in the variance area that threaten system reliability and public safety, the Corps will work with its partner

agencies to revise the approved vari-ance to address them.

The Corps’ levee vegetation policy prohibits trees on levees, which can pose risks to levee stability, and to hamper ongoing levee inspections and maintenance needed to continu-ously gauge levee integrity. The veg-etation variance policy allows levee maintaining agencies to request that trees remain on levees where they don’t threaten public safety, levee integrity or levee system reliability.

“Preserving these trees through the variance is a result of the success-ful partnership between SAFCA, the CVFPB and the Corps under the Cali-fornia Central Valley Flood System Improvement Framework,” Chapman said. “We’re glad these trees will stay. And we’ll continue to work with our partners to find safe solutions that value these important resources and habitats.”

story by chris grAy-gArciA

photo by michAel J. nevins


The Sacramento metro area (left) sits at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers, depending on miles of surrounding levees for flood risk reduction.

The ProsPeCTor

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“I thought I’d be making copies all day.”

The job sounded simple enough to Alicia Kirchner on her first day of work at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District. She was starting as a temporary engineering technician and didn’t have any idea about what she should or shouldn’t be doing – except of course, the copies.

Fast forward 22 years. Kirchner still has to work with copies, she just doesn’t have to make them herself anymore. In January, after originally starting out as a part-time employee, Kirchner was named the district’s new Chief of Planning.

But those early years are still fresh in her memory, especially since she never initially looked at the Corps as a job possibility. Her job with the Corps was due more to the kind intention of a high school friend’s mother.

“My friend worked across the street from one of the former branch chiefs when she was growing up,” Kirchner said. “He (branch chief) happened to be speaking with her mother and said, ‘Would your daughter like a job in our office for this summer?’

“She asked for two applications and we both filled them out,” Kirchner said. “It was purely chance.”

She signed on as a temporary engi-neering technician, but her first day was still filled with uncertainties.

“Because the person that the branch had prior to me hated making copies,” Kirchner said, “she complained about

making copies all the time and she ultimately quit. So my boss wanted to see whether or not I’d be willing to do basi-cally whatever they needed me to do.

“I just wanted a job. I didn’t have any ideas about what I should do or shouldn’t do. So I came in and he and one of the senior planners in the organization at the time inter-viewed me and basically they said, ‘how do you feel about making copies?’ And I said, ‘Sure!’

“They were thrilled,” she added.

Jane Rinck, a senior environmental manager, remembers those first days for Kirchner.

“I remember when she came in as a student. She caught on so well and did such a great job of moving up by hard work,” Rinck said. “None of it at all was given to her.”

Year after year Kirchner kept putting herself more and more into her work at the district, climbing up the career ladder along the way.

“I realized how long I’d been here, the years kept flying by and I was still here, still enjoying things and I was doing fairly well – advancing my ca-reer,” Kirchner said. “Around 15 years I started to realize this might be what I choose to do for the majority of my career.”

Although her new role as Chief of Planning was not initially in her sights,

it was foreseen by one of her former bosses.

“I certainly never thought about it on my own, especially in the early years,” she said. “I was just supporting doing whatever the lead planner needed me to do – tables, small write-ups, mostly a lot of coordination. Those were the years that I really learned what it takes to put together a report, not just the content, but the how to.

“He and I were standing there, speak-ing with somebody from another division, and the individual made a comment about me. My lead planner said, ‘She’s going to be running the organization someday.’ I was taken aback… it shocked me at the moment and it just started opening my mind to that possibility.

“Every great boss I have had has told me that and certainly given me assign-ments that surpassed what I perceived to be my abilities at the time. You figure out how to do it and that’s how

From copy maker to Chief

story by cArlos J. lAzo,photos by michAel J. nevins


Chief of Planning remembers her first dayat the Sacramento District

-Continued on following page

24

you grow.”“She really does whatever it takes to get the job done,” Rinck said.

Sara Schultz, a water resources planner in the district’s planning division, has worked with Kirchner since 1998.

“She was a senior planner,” Schultz said, “I was a be-ginning planner and she gave me a lot of direction and mentorship.”

“I always found her very approachable. She may be very busy, but she always makes time.”

Making time is a characteristic that helped – and contin-ues to help – every-one around Kirchner, Schultz said.

“She sees her job as trying to make our jobs easier. She supports us in execut-ing our goals and our work.” Kirchner’s work ethic has brought her success, even with challenging and high-visibility projects such as the Folsom Dam Joint Federal Project (JFP).

The JFP covers a series of improvements designed to increase Folsom Dam’s flood control capacity, including a new auxiliary spillway. The project is a joint venture between the Sacramento District and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

“Working on the JFP was very rewarding and challeng-ing,” she added. “We had just finished working on the Folsom Bridge document and we needed to go right into the Folsom Joint Federal Project document. Everything about the JFP was challenging.”

The challenge was something new for her and her group.

“A great group of people worked really well together,” Kirchner said. “Working with the Bureau of Reclamation in a close fashion was new for all of us. It was really impor-tant that we were able to pull together.”

She formed a plan that worked backwards from the norm, all in order to anticipate any potential communication

issues that would face her group on the project, as well as perceived problems and potential solutions for all the involved partner agencies.

She also created a policy communication link on the JFP between the Corps’ Headquarters, the Sacramento District, the Bureau of Reclamation and the State of Cali-fornia; this link was integrated into the regular practice of planning.

Her approach was praised by the Corps’ South Pacific Division and resulted in the division encouraging other studies to follow Kirchner’s example.

“It just so happens that I’ve learned over time that I am a planner by nature,” Kirchner added.

But it’s not all plan-ning and no play for Kirchner. Traveling is a huge part of her life, and she tries her best to make time for it.

She recently took a trip to Italy, where she visited Flor-ence, Siena and Venice.

“It was great. My BlackBerry didn’t work in Europe,” she said laughing. “I haven’t had a vaca-tion like that in a few years.

“I love to travel and my goal is a nice trip each year. I hadn’t been to Europe for ten years,” she said.

“It’s never a good time to take a vacation; you just have to plan to do it. As a planner, I planned it well in advance. Anybody should be able to take a break.”

Thanks to her time with the district, her natural planning skills continue to improve.

“All of us are planners to some degree,” Kirchner said.

“Everyone has to make decisions every day. Big ones, little ones, it doesn’t matter - you go through a planning process. I learned that I definitely do that in all things. It just proved to be a good fit for me.

“I think I was one to begin with, and I learned how to be-come a better one by being here.”

Then Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Terrence “Rock” Salt shared a light-hearted moment with Alicia Kirchner during a visit to the Sacramento District July 16, 2009.

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25

in cleaning up the South Fork of the American River July 22. Hosted by El Dorado County River Recreation, the river clean-up event focused on a 14-mile stretch of the river from Hen-ningsen Lotus Park to Salmon Falls in Folsom Lake.

Friedman, Wilhite and the volunteers loaded up into rafts and worked their way down the river, stopping to collect any and all trash along the way.

“It was great to get out,” said Fried-man, “help some partners, clean-up the river, have a good day – introduce people to the Corps.”

“It seemed like a nice day to spend outdoors and clean up the environ-ment,” Wilhite said.

Cans, bottles, hats, lawn chairs and even a half-buried boat were discov-ered and picked up by the volunteers during the seven-hour event. Even temperatures in the 90s couldn’t keep the volunteers’ motivation from evapo-rating. All desired to do their share in helping the environment – as well as have bragging rights at the end of the day.

“I enjoyed a little bit of the competition aspect,” Friedman said. “Who was go-ing to come out of there with the most trash; the biggest piece of trash or the weirdest piece of trash?”

“We did pretty good,” Wilhite said of the amount of trash she and Friedman collected.

The voyage down the river had its

added plus for both Friedman and Wilhite.

“The rapids of course,” both of them said smiling.

“Being able to go through some of those class-III rap-ids,” Friedman said, was one of the best parts of the day for him.

“It’s always a pleasure doing that,” said Wilhite. “There’s always a slight fear of falling out of the boat…but I’ve done it (rapids) before. It definitely adds to the thrill of it.”

It’s an experi-ence she’s already shared with co-workers, and hopes to repeat again soon.

At the end of the day, both of them not only enjoyed the time on the river, but the added value of helping the environment and repre-senting the Sacramento District.

“It strengthens our relationships with our partners and stakeholders,”

Friedman said of the experience. “It seemed like a perfect opportunity to combine several [job types] from the Sacramento District and get them out there…and make that personal rela-tionship with the general public.”

Above: Friedman makes his way along the shore of the American River looking for trash. Below: Clean-up volunteers, along with local youth groups, make their way down through the rapids of the American River near Folsom Lake July 22.

-RIVER (page 21)

26

HeadlineHeadline

Hail...

Col. William J. Leady

Colonel William J. Leady was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers in 1987.

Leady holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a Master of Science in environmental engineering from Purdue University. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Ranger, Airborne, and Air Assault schools, the Engineer Officer Basic and Advanced Courses and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He is a registered professional engineer in Virginia.

Leady is married to the former Melissa Bolesch of Chesterton, Ind., and they have three children.

Col. William J. Leady and his wife Melissa (right), along with Kristina Mullins, Deputy District Engineer for Programs and Project Management, greeted District employees during a welcome reception for Col. Leady at the District headquarters July 22.

Col. William J. Leady addresses the crowd during his change of command ceremony at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium July 22.



The ProsPeCTor

Farewell...

Col. Thomas C. Chapman

Colonel Thomas C. Chapman was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers in 1984.

His initial assignments at Fort Knox, Ky., were with the 522nd Engineer Company, 194th Armor Brigade and the 19th Engineer Battalion as a platoon leader, company executive officer and staff officer. Follow-on assignments included staff officer and Company Commander with the 326th Engineer Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Ky., deploying in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm; project man-ager in the Chicago District, U.S. Army Corps of Engi-neers; Staff Engineer for the 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Red Cloud, Korea; and Brigade Operations and executive officer at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

He served as Assistant Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center and Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Engineer School. From July 2002 to July 2004, he commanded the Philadelphia District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

His most recent assignment was Assistant Corps Engi-neer for the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps – Italy, which included serving as Chief Engineer for NATO’s Interna-tional Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

Chapman holds a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and a Mas-ter of Science in civil engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Ranger, Airborne, and Air Assault schools, the Engineer Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the U.S. Army Command and Gen-eral Staff College, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, where he earned a Master of Science in national resource strategy. He is a registered professional engi-neer in Virginia.

Chapman is married to the former Deidre Ann Powell of Alexandria, Va., and they have seven children.

The ProsPeCTor

27

28

SpringCaption Winners

“How dare you burrow into my levees!”

Cage fighting takes a turn for the worst.

Vegas odds have the beaver 5 to 1.

Fill in the game board so that the numbers 1 through 9 occur exactly onCE in each row, column, and 3x3 box.

The numbers can appear in any order and diagonals are not considered.

Your initial game board will consist of several numbers that are already placed.

Those numbers cannot be changed. Your goal is to fill in the empty squares following the simple rule above.

Rules of Play

sudoku Challenge

Difficulty: easy

row

column

42 9

5 92

21

7

83

664

4

1

48

5

687

5

1

8

5 7

9

46

6 37

3 2

The ProsPeCTorThe ProsPeCTor

Can you spot all eight differences between these photos?

PiCTure Challenge

Spring Picture

Challenge Answers

29

U.S. Army corps of Engineers

SAcrAmento District

1325 J. Street

SAcrAmento, cA 95814

What caption would yougive this photo?

Send your caption ideas to [email protected] top captions will be printed in the next issue of The Prospector.

Send in any funny or interesting photograph and we may use it for a future caption challenge.

“Get that microphone out of my face,

I have no comment!”

Documents

The Prospector - Summer 2010