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Railroad Newsline for Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 – 2006

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RAIL NEWS

AMTRAK TRAIN EVACUATED NEAR DENVER AFTER PASSENGER THREATS

DENVER, CO -- An Amtrak train carrying nearly 140 passengers was evacuated near Denver after a passenger threatened the crew and others onboard, claiming he had a weapon and bomb, an Amtrak spokeswoman said early Monday.

Police met the California Zephyr train about 22 miles west of Denver late Sunday after the crew alerted authorities about the unidentified passenger's threats, Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero said.

Authorities detained the man for questioning and did a sweep of the baggage car and the passenger car where he was sitting. The man was carrying a knife, and a bomb-sniffing dog focused on his bag, Romero said.

"There was something that was in that bag that made the dog stop," Romero said, declining to elaborate.

No injuries were reported.

Passengers were evacuated and transported by bus back to Denver, Romero said.

The California Zephyr leaves each day from Emeryville, California to Chicago, Illinois. - The Associated Press, The Sacramento Bee, courtesy Coleman Randall, Jr

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AGING WORK FORCE, SURGE IN BUSINESS CHALLENGE MONTANA'S RAILROADS

Photos here:

[www.billingsgazette.net]

[www.billingsgazette.net]

[www.billingsgazette.net]

BILLINGS, MT -- Steve Miller is 52 and beginning to think about the end of the line.

A career railroader, the Montana Rail Link engineer has put in enough years to retire. But he can't draw his pension until he hits 60, the magic age at which he will qualify for full retirement and benefits.

"Those eight years are going to go fast," he said. "I have mixed emotions about it."

Employees like Miller represent the aging demographic at MRL. They also represent a challenge for the entire industry.

Tom Walsh, president of MRL, points out that the average age of MRL employees is fast approaching 45. Considering the industry's alluring retirement policy -- full retirement at age 60 for employees with 30 years of service -- and expectations of significant growth during the next 20 years, he would like to avert the potential train wreck ahead. The company's single largest challenge, he said, is recruiting, developing and retaining the best people.

"We always want to hire the best and the brightest," he said. "It's just more work to get them."

This fall, MRL will celebrate its 20th anniversary. Two decades ago, the fledgling company had two weeks to fill its entire roster of 600 people. It did so, but those were different times. Rail mergers were common, and the resulting layoffs created a pool of railroaders looking for work.

"In the late '80s, you had 20 to 30 people (apply) for a job," Walsh said. "You could choose from whoever you wanted. Now you have two to three to choose from."

Walsh doesn't expect the situation to change any time soon. And that presents a critical challenge as the industry faces a surge in business. By 2020, he says, the rail industry projects a 70 percent increase in the tons of goods moved nationwide. He attributes the boom to a shift from truck to rail transport. Some of the pressure will be absorbed through increased employee efficiency and a shift to heavier and longer trains, he says. But ultimately he foresees a need for 20 percent more employees.

A limited pool

MRL is not alone in its quest to replenish its ranks. Across Montana, the rail industry is competing for a limited pool of employees in a state with an unemployment rate of 2 percent, the lowest in the nation.

Gus Melonas, spokesman for the BNSF Railway Company, said 38 percent of the company's employees are 50 or older and only 24 percent are younger than 35.

"BNSF is in the hiring mode and will add positions across Montana this year," he said. "For decades, BNSF was one of the top two employers in the state, and it remains in the top five."

Adding employees

In fact, earlier this year the company announced that it planned to add 106 employees to its Montana payroll. They will fill a variety of positions, including track, signal, mechanical and conductor trainees. The extra positions will also beef up crews installing new rail ties between Billings and Huntley and Laurel and Wyoming, part of BNSF's $54.4 million statewide capital improvement plan for this year.

Steve Sheldon, marketing manager for the Yellowstone Valley Railroad, a short line with headquarters in Sidney, says he's looking for qualified employees, too. His competition, however, comes from the oil field, not an aging work force.

"More than attrition, it would be lack of an applicant pool," he said.

Across the nation, rail companies have stepped up recruiting efforts to fill in behind retiring baby boomers.

The Association of American Railroads reports that the nation's largest rail companies expect to fill 80,000 rail-related jobs that will be created over the next six years. Citing the rail industry as "one of the few that doesn't outsource jobs or facilities overseas," the AAR says many companies target Iraq war veterans to fill that demand. In fact, last year, for the second consecutive year, the Union Pacific Railroad was judged the country's most military-friendly employer. The vets are considered good fits for rail jobs because they pay attention to detail, they're extremely safety conscious, they're used to working in a variety of weather conditions, and they offer leadership skills that transfer well into the industry.

According to Walsh and Melonas, many Montana farm and ranch kids are also well-suited to the profession, for many of the same reasons.

"Montanans have historically been great railroaders," Melonas said.

Good pay, tough schedule

The ad reads $19.70 per hour, starting pay for new hires. But the listing for the switchman trainee position also stipulates that the applicants must be available for work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Weekend and holiday shifts are required.

"Trains show up on our door at all sorts of times," Walsh said. "When your name gets called up, you go - 10 a.m. or 2 a.m. Regular hours? They don't exist."

Traditionally, railroad blood has flowed from father to son and often to grandson. That's the case for Miller, whose grandfather was an engineer on the Santa Fe and whose father clerked for the Santa Fe, both in Kansas. He hired on when a previous wave of employees - World War II vets -- were aging out.

Like many of his generation, Miller stayed on with the railroad. When industry layoffs cut his position in Kansas, he moved to Montana and hired on with MRL.

Walsh believes that tradition of lifelong commitment is slipping away.

"You hire a new person at 18, but they don't think this way," he said, noting that the company invests tens of thousands in training a new hire. "How do we keep them interested and motivated to want to stay with us a long time? That's something we never had to deal with in the past."

The benefits are certainly no reason to jump ship. Average pay at MRL is just shy of $55,000, and the company matches 50 cents on every dollar employees stash into their 401(k) plans. There's also a substantial profit-sharing plan (typically between 10 and 12 percent of the base salary), bonuses for ideas that make the company more productive and a railroad retirement program that substitutes and far exceeds Social Security, Walsh said. Most incredible, Walsh says the $200 employee deduction toward health care benefits is the same now as it was 20 years ago -- even as benefits expanded.

Branching out

The search for rail employees, once left to word of mouth, has taken new directions. Many companies post jobs on the Internet or hold informational meetings for groups of prospective employees. Job opportunities are also promoted at colleges and employment fairs. Job service is rarely drawn into the mix, although Frank Fleming of the Billings office said for the first time during his tenure, a Union Pacific recruiter recently paid a visit.

Walsh believes that railroad jobs still draw a unique breed of worker. He also knows that, despite changing traditions, the rail industry boasts a better retention record than the average company.

"We're not desperate," he said. "We're not a company of last resort. But we have it on our radar screens constantly. Ultimately, it's the people that make this work. That's why it's always on the front burner with us."

By the numbers

• 3,102 - number of rail employees in Montana (2005)

• 2,000 - approximate number of BNSF employees in Montana

• 38 - percent of BNSF employees who are 50 or older

• 925 - approximate number of MRL employees in Montana

• 85 - approximate percent of MRL employees who are union members

• $210,537,000 - total wages of rail employees in Montana (2005)

• $68,200 - average wage per freight rail employee (2005)

• $26,100 - average fringe benefits per freight rail employee (2005)

Sources: BNSF, MRL and the Association of American Railroads

- Linda Halstead-Acharya, The Billings Gazette

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IN THE BLOOD: A DAY ON THE RAILS WITH AN MRL CREW

Photo here:

[www.billingsgazette.net]

When the train rolled out of Laurel, Montana, hauling 105 carloads of corn, assistant engineer Doug Hedges wasn't sure if the dog catcher would be on their tail.

In rail terms, the "dog catcher" is a new crew that comes to relieve the old crew that has hit its 12-hour work limit before reaching its destination.

Hedges and engineer Steve Miller, both wearing traditional bib overalls, were headed for Helena last month. Miller knows the route well. He figures he has made 2,500 runs.

The 223-mile trip that takes less than four hours by car was expected to take between 10 and 12 hours by rail.

Averaging more than 100 tons per car, the Montana Rail Link train was restricted to 45 mph, less on some curves. The train -- all 6,650 feet of it -- was well past Park City, easing down a "sag" in the track, before it hit top speed. Between Grey Cliff and Big Timber, they say, the wind is so strong "it's like setting the break." Climbing over Bozeman Pass, even with three helpers, they would be lucky to keep it at 15 mph.

And that doesn't take into account the hours sitting on sidings, waiting their turn to pass through.

"Beyond Amtrak and priority mail, nothing runs on schedule," said Mark Smith, the Laurel terminal superintendent who rode along for part of the trip.

The three MRL employees -- representing nearly 60 years of combined service -- say working for the railroad is something that gets into your blood.

Smith, the youngest of five children, caught railroad fever from two of his brothers who work for the BNSF Railway Company. After graduating from high school in the 1980s, Smith, too, was eager for the paycheck. He tried to hire on with BNSF, but when that didn't work out, he put in his application with the brand-new MRL.

"I got a phone call and here I am, 18 years later," he said. "Once you're in there and vested, you'd be foolish to leave."

Times have changed since Smith hired on. He and Hedges, a Park City native who started with MRL in 1996, say they spent between six and eight years with the railroad before they could qualify for engineer training. Now, with baby boomers on the way out and the industry facing an employment gap, the wait is a fraction of what it once was.

"We're at turnover now," Miller said, "to where it takes less than two years between when a guy coming off the street can become an engineer."

The three railroaders like the pay and benefits, which far exceed Montana's average. But their jobs are not easy.

Hedges puts in between 110 and 130 hours in a two-week period. Depending on how the days and hours fall, he rarely qualifies for overtime pay.

For most rail jobs, the concept of weekends doesn't exist. Hedges gets four days off a month. He can put in for certain days, but seniority determines what he gets. When Miller wants to take off more than one day in succession, he has to "lay off" and miss a trip, costing him two days' wages.

Both can be called out any time of the day or night. Because Hedges is not on a permanent crew, his name is listed on a board with the names of 25 others. When his turn comes up, he gets the call and has two hours to be ready.

"This is hard on families," he said. "I don't know what the divorce rate is, but it's high."

The men can count on both hands the number of women among their ranks. Not many apply, Smith said, mentioning safety concerns as a possible cause.

"You can be out in the middle of the yard at night by yourself," Hedges said.

Once on the job, Hedges says the essence of running a train comes down to basics.

"Keep your slack stretched or bunched and comply with your signals and restrictions," he said.

An engineer or his assistant is constantly adjusting the throttle, maintaining radio contact with Missoula dispatch and looking for signals. In fact, attention to signals is so critical that being colorblind prohibits a person from engineering a train.

"Our lives depend on those lights," Hedges said.

Staying awake for night runs, as the train rocks along, is just part of the job description. Miller compares it to constant jet lag. He battles the lulling motion with sunflower seeds and a jolt of caffeine. There's also a "napping rule," they say. If both engineer and assistant are fatigued, they can pull into a siding and notify dispatch that they're catching a few Z's. Should an engineer ever nod off on the job, he's awakened by an "alerter" that automatically sounds if the throttle hasn't been set or the horn hasn't blown for a span of 40 seconds.

Like every job, there are downsides, Miller said. But for reasons harder to define, none of the three considers himself anything but a railroader.

"A lot of boys want to grow up to be engineers," Miller said, smiling. "I did."

Talking the talk

• Beans: go to lunch.

• Dying or dead: when a crew cannot reach the next terminal within its allotted 12 hours.

• Highball: when one train passes another and all is OK.

• Hogger or hoghead: the engineer.

• Married-up: when a two-man crew works together for some time.

• Tying up: when duty ends at the final terminal.

- Linda Halstead-Acharya, The Billings Gazette

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NO INJURIES REPORTED AS TRAIN HITS CAR IN SACRAMENTO

SACRAMENTO, CA -- A train hit a car in Sacramento early Friday, but no injuries were reported.

Authorities said the vehicle was struck just after midnight at 14th Avenue near Power Inn Road.

Officials said the train was backing up while the crossing arm was down. Police said the car went around the crossing arm and was struck and pushed several hundred yards.

The driver left the scene after the crash, officials said. - KCRA-TV3, Sacramento, CA, courtesy Coleman Randall, Jr

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'PIECE OF HISTORY' GIVEN NEW HOME IN COUNCIL BLUFFS

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA -- More than anything else, the history of Council Bluffs revolved around the railroad.

That history was enhanced Friday as a 1953 Plymouth diesel locomotive came out of storage and was put on public display at RailsWest Railroad Museum, South Main Street and 16th Avenue.

MidAmerican Energy Co. donated the locomotive.

Photo here:

[images.zwire.com]

Caption reads: A 1953 diesel locomotive used for years to push carloads of coal at the Council Bluffs power plant was brought out of storage Friday and given a new home at the RailsWest Railroad Museum. (Tim Rohwer/The Daily Nonpareil)

"This is a great fit," said company spokesman Mark Reinders. "It's another piece to go into the museum."

For years, the locomotive pushed carloads of coal so that they could be unloaded at the Manawa power station of Iowa Power and Light, a predecessor of MidAmerican Energy.

By the late 1970s, however, conveyors accomplished that task, eliminating locomotive use. The Plymouth diesel had been in storage for many years, until recently, when room was needed for the new expansion of the power plant.

Sure, the company could have scrapped it for its metals.

"We hated to see that," said Grant Wiese, instruction coordinator for MidAmerican. "It's a piece of history for Council Bluffs."

The company contacted museum officials who were happy to have another piece for their train collection. A large crane was brought in Friday afternoon and removed the 45-ton locomotive from a truck flatbed, then hoisted it over the museum fence and onto a base, also known as trucks.

"This is a historic railroad town, and this locomotive is a unique piece the way it ran," Reinders said.

The 300-horsepower diesel electric-powered unit has a separate diesel engine and generator located at each end. During the train's working career, each generator powered a separate traction motor located between the wheels in the framework underneath the locomotive's walkway. The traction motors drove two sets of wheels by means of chains, much like a bicycle or motorcycle. - Tim Rower, The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil

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FRONTIER DAYS TRAIN TICKETS GET ROLLING

Tickets went on sale Sunday for The Denver Post Cheyenne Frontier Days Train, a Colorado tradition since 1908.

A ticket coupon appeared on Page 8C of The Sunday Denver Post.

This year's train departs from Denver's Union Station at 07:00 hours on Saturday, July 21, and is expected to return about 20:30 hours.

Cowboys-for-a-day will have a continental breakfast aboard the train, view the giant parade through downtown Cheyenne, enjoy a catered barbecue at the rodeo grounds and have a light supper on the way back. Country music aboard the train and at the barbecue will be supplied by Southern Exposure, making its 16th trip, with Halden Wofford and the Hi-Beams playing for dancing in the baggage car.

The annual trip, begun by Post founders Harry Tammen and Frederick Bonfils to foster business relations between Cheyenne and Denver, was discontinued in 1970 but revived in 1992 to help celebrate the newspaper's 100th anniversary.

Through the years, celebrity riders have included actors, musicians, politicians (Govs. Dan Thornton, John Love and Roy Romer and Denver mayors Bill McNichols, Wellington Webb and John Hickenlooper among them) and prominent businesspeople.

At the head of this year's 17-car train of 1950s-era Union Pacific passenger cars will be steam locomotive No. 844, the last built for the UP, in 1944. The 900,000-pound giant has remained on the railroad's active roster since then but is now used only in rare excursion service. Hundreds of people are expected to line the route along U.S. 85 to watch the train speed past.

Information on tickets, which are $235 each, and the day's schedule is available at 303-954- 1904 or online at [www.cfdtrain.com]. - The Denver Post

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MAN HIT BY TRAIN NEAR SAFECO FIELD

SEATTLE, WA -- A man who tried to cross railroad tracks while a slow-moving train was still passing was seriously injured on Saturday, according to police.

Police said two men grew impatient while waiting for the train to pass at South Royal Brougham Way and Alaskan Way South near Safeco Field around 19:00 hours. They attempted to cross the tracks in between two train cars when one of the men's foot got stuck.

Photo here:

[media.komotv.com]

None of the train employees were aware of the two trespassers and the man whose foot had gotten stuck got run over by the train, police said.

The man was seriously injured and may lose his foot. The second man was not hurt.

Police said the men may have been headed to the Mariners-Yankees game. - KOMO-TV4, Seattle, WA

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METAL THEFTS A PUBLIC RISK

OLYMPIA, WA -- Nighttime youth baseball games at a sports complex in south Tacoma were canceled last week. The reason: Thieves ripped out copper wiring and left two of the six fields without power.

The thieves tore out 4,500 feet of wire to salvage for a quick -- albeit illegal -- profit.

It's not just the loss of wire and other scrap metal that's at play here. It's the damage done by the thieves. For example, in March last year four thieves stole $190,000 worth of wire from a railroad company in Grant County but did an estimated $280,000 in damage during the theft.

Scrap metal thieves across this state have become more brazen in their quest to make a fast buck. Items such as catalytic converters on vehicles, cases from headstones and mausoleums, wire from construction sites, and manhole covers are stolen or damaged by thieves. In many cases, the scrap metal is melted down to facilitate its sale. Cops say the thieves are using their ill--gotten gains to purchase drugs.

The good news is that the state Legislature is on top of this emerging problem, and Gov. Chris Gregoire has signed Senate Bill 5312 into law.

SB 5312 redefines the term "recycler" and requires all recyclers to record every transaction.

The records are open to inspection by law enforcement officers.

The primary advantage of Senate Bill 5312 is that it takes away the cash nature of most metal recycling transactions.

Customers must produce a driver's license and the amount and kind of salvaged material must be logged. Instead of being handed cash, as is the current practice, any transaction above $30 will handled through a check. Metal recyclers are going to have to wait for their money, and in the interim, law enforcement officers will be able to check to see whether the goods have been stolen.

No doubt, the new law shifts a burden to those who recycle scrap metal. It makes it a crime to accept metal where someone has removed or altered a make, model or serial number, personal identification number or identifying marks.

Rep. Dawn Morrell, D-Puyallup, a prime supporter of the new law, said scrap metal theft is "a huge, expensive bother." It's also a public safety issue. As Morrell noted, "We risk our lives on the train when they steal the switches."

SB 5312 should be effective because it dries up the market for stolen goods. The fact that thieves can have jail time added to their sentence if they endanger public safety also should serve as a deterrent. - Editorial Opinion, The Olympian

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GRAND THEFT METAL

VALLEJO, CA -- The wiring off Solano County windmills. The light poles at John Swett High School. Roofing off Congressman George Miller's Concord office. Entire pieces of guard rail. Copper vases off cemetery headstones.

If it isn't nailed or bolted down -- or even if it is -- metal thieves are stripping various materials from public places and selling them for scrap at an alarming rate.

It's an epidemic, law enforcement officials say.

With metal prices, particularly copper, soaring, the criminal element has begun taking advantage of the easy marks. Why rob a bank when you can steal some copper piping lickety-split from an empty construction site in the middle of the night?

The trend has Sacramento lawmakers introducing legislation cracking down on the thefts. The scrap yard industry knows of the problem, but says it's difficult to distinguish a legitimate scrap seller from a crook.

Generally, those affected by metal thefts are farmers, corporations and municipalities. However, last year, shortly before Memorial Day, officials realized Vallejo's bronze veterans' memorial plaques down by the waterfront had been pried from their foundation presumably to sell for scrap.

Photo here:

[www.timesheraldonline.com]

Metal thefts hit the city in its collective gut.

'Desperate'

Late last summer, vandals unbolted two 21-foot-tall light poles from downtown Vallejo and carried them off to sell for scrap, maintenance officials said.

The bold theft has left officials scrambling to replace old light pole bases with new foundations, making them harder to remove. The poles were replaced in November, but not until the city logged about 40 hours of labor, costing Vallejo thousands of dollars, said Mike Schreiner with the city's maintenance division.

"This is the latest thing to happen in public works. People are stealing street signs and selling them, stealing the caps off fire hydrants and selling them, and plaques," said Joe Bates, assistant maintenance superintendent. "And not just historic plaques, but entrances to neighborhoods, lettering for businesses downtown.

"This could become a very expensive problem for the city," he said.

Although most thieves' hauls net a mild payday, the replacement and labor costs for the victims are significant, officials say.

A street sign or stop sign costs well over $100 to make, but sells for significantly less as scrap, Bates said.

And crooks often leave a mess, adding extra costs. One thief tied copper wiring in a Mare Island building to his truck bumper and ripped it straight out of the walls, officials said.

It's the same scene in Benicia.

"There's a lot of thefts in new construction building supplies, lumber, wood, copper wiring," said Benicia Detective Mark Menesini. "One of the major problems is the amount of destruction caused by it.

"If something is built with any type of recyclable materials, they'll strip it. They'll ruin it just to get the recycling material," he said. "They're that desperate."

Over last several years, police have made numerous arrests of people breaking into Benicia's Industrial Park, the detective said.

Business owners often find supplies stolen from broken-into storage containers, buildings with ripped-out walls, stripped air-conditioning compression units, heisted stainless steel fabricated pipes -- you name it, he said.

"They'll steal anything that's not nailed down," Menesini said.

Supply and demand

Solano's biggest metal theft target? PG&E.

The energy company has numerous substations and units across the county that are generally unmanned and housing tantalizing recyclable metals.

PG&E systemwide suffers annual losses of more than $1 million for stolen copper wiring alone, said Brian Swanson, a company spokesman.

"It's a problem not just in Solano, but all over our service area," he said.

"Occurrences of copper theft correlate with the price on the market," he said.

And the market is high, as a pound of copper goes for $3.64.

Copper wiring seems like it might not weigh much, but many of the major strands come 2-3 inches thick, which can add up, said Solano Sheriff's Deputy Jim Currie.

Officials have found large burn spots near metal thefts where the criminals burn the rubber insulation off the metal wires, Currie said, which can be extremely dangerous.

"It's not just illegal to steal energized electrical wire," Swanson said. "Attempts in the past have lead to fatalities."

A couple years ago at Vallejo's Syar plant, during daylight hours, a metal thief attempted to cut copper wiring from plant property, Currie said. Unfortunately for him, he cut a live wire, the deputy said.

"The electricity jumped right through him," he said. "He was still smoking when authorities arrived. He lost the use of his arm."

Culprits

So, who are these metal thieves?

"Tweakers. People using methamphetamine are up all night or two to three nights at a time, and that's pretty much who we've been in contact with," Currie said.

Other law enforcement agencies concur.

"The majority do have some type of drug history," Benicia's Menesini said.

A decent haul could net an addict some significant drug money, Currie said. One pick-up truck worth of scrap can yield a thief around $400 to $700, he said.

Police have a difficult time catching the criminals because the stolen items are often untraceable, such as copper wiring. Often times, officers find suspicious people in possession of the wiring with no explanation why, Menesini said.

Another issue is most of the scrap yards buying the metal are outside Solano County, Currie said, making it a multi-jurisdictional crime.

Officials say suspicious activity tips are the best hope of capturing perpetrators.

For instance, Caltrans, in response to stolen guard rails, warns that they never perform guard rail work at night. They ask that people report anyone tampering with them during dark hours.

Even if they can get a prosecution, it's the tip of the iceberg, Currie says.

"It almost seems like we arrest them and someone else takes their place," he said.

Scrap yards

Thieves can only steal the metals; they needed a willing scrap yard to pay for the items. The scrap metal industry is well aware of their responsibilities, but say it's not that easy to stop.

Mare Island-based Alco Iron and Metal Co. takes in scrap metals from individuals, electrical, plumbing and demolition contractors.

"The problem of metal theft has been constant in our industry for years," the company wrote in a released statement. "This is an industry-wide problem; no reputable scrap dealer wants to intentionally take stolen scrap."

Alco has installed security cameras and a 15-foot-high wall around the entire property. Yes, scrap yards are targeted for thefts too.

Alco says it requires all customers to provide valid identification which is scanned into a computer, and the seller must sign a receipt. All transactions over $150 must be completed with a check to keep a paper trail.

In addition, Alco says, identifying stolen scrap isn't easy when they receive giant truckloads of separate items, torn all apart, many without identifiable markings.

"[Still] there have been times when we have been notified of a theft of a unique type of material and have identified customers who brought it in and reported it to the authorities," Alco states.

Police departments work with scrap yards, faxing over photos of stolen items, said Currie, of the Solano Sheriff's Office. Benicia police have also sent newsletters to industrial businesses alerting them to crime waves and offering advice on increasing security.

By law, sellers are supposed to provide scrap dealers a driver's license number and license plate number, Currie said.

"And they're supposed to make an attempt to make sure the stuff they're receiving is not new and supposed to be scrap," he said.

A scrap buyer can be charged with a felony if caught purchasing more than $400 worth of stolen metals, Currie said.

"It's pretty hard for scrap yards and can be frustrating too. How do they know?" Currie said.

But sometimes it's obvious, like when Currie caught a scrap yard accepting a farmer's brand new roll cage for a John Deere tractor.

"That's the stuff we're targeting," he said.

Farm crime

Solano's rural areas have been hit particularly hard.

Many agricultural sites are used only seasonally, allowing criminals to strip expensive systems of metal during off-season, often miles away from civilization.

"They're getting pretty brazen about it," Currie said.

Windmill farms in the Montezuma Hills had wiring cut. The Railroad Museum in Rio Vista even had metal parts taken off an antique train they were remodeling, Currie said.

"Anything you can possibly imagine with metal on it, I've seen taken out," said Currie, a member of the California Rural Crime Prevention Task Force.

It's not just metal thefts farmers must worry about. As gas prices began soaring, farmers private gasoline tanks began getting robbed, Currie said.

The trend has led Assemblyman Tom Berryhill, R-Modesto, to introduce a bill aimed at curbing metal thefts by increasing checks at scrap yards. Dealers would pay all sales by check, which would only be payable after 10 days. The bill also requires yards to hold the metal for 10 days or get a photo of the seller.

"This is one of the major issues we're seeing statewide," Currie said. "It's something that's not going away."

Memorial plaques

The names of Vallejo veterans killed in battle will return to their downtown memorial before Memorial Day - just not on a valuable metal setting.

The city will pay $1,200 out of its vandalism fund for temporary replacements of screen printed panels, said Mike Rehmus, Vallejo Veterans Building Council boardmember.

"We're working on deciding just what form the permanent plaques we should make," Rehmus said.

Artist Thomas Wojak, who runs The W.O.R.K.S studio, 437 Georgia St., has donated his services in replacing the plaques.

"I was pretty outraged by the whole thing," Wojak said.

Permanent replacement plaques will eventually grace the memorial again, Rehmus said.

The sticking point is finding a resilient material that isn't tempting to metal thieves.

Whatever the choice, it will cost about $10,000, Rehmus says, which will come from donations.

"We have to pick something that won't get taken again," Rehmus said. - Matthias Gafni, The Vallejo Herald

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HOW FAR THE PORT OF LONG BEACH HAS COME

LONG BEACH, CA -- The Port of Long Beach has come a long way since it opened for business nearly 95 years ago, when waterborne trade in Southern California consisted primarily of lumber, fresh fish and the occasional load of citrus.

Today, the port ranks as one of the globe's most important international shipping hubs, handling cargo considered vital not only to the U.S. economy, but the world.

Photo here:

[www.presstelegram.com]

This year, economists estimate cargo valued at more than $100 billion will move through the 3,200-acre seaport, about 70 percent of it imported from Asia.

Overseeing this operation is the 353-member Long Beach Harbor Department, the city's most financially lucrative division and one of the community's most politically powerful.

As waterfront landlords, the port negotiates land leases and operational permits with shippers, terminal operators, commodities traders, trucking companies, tug boat drivers, port pilots and others.

Photo here:

[www.presstelegram.com]

The port's 12 subdivisions also help oversee oil drilling, building maintenance, environmental programs, public relations and outreach, landscaping, governmental affairs, security and property development.

Heading it all is Executive Director Richard Steinke, promoted to the post in 1997.

"The key to this business is developing trust and good working relationships with our customers,'' said Steinke, hired by the port in 1990.

Because they're dealing primarily with international shipping companies run by foreign businessmen, port executives must know their customers' cultures and societal customs.

"There's a very different dynamic," said Steinke. "Establishing relationships with the Chinese, for example, is very important to them before you cut a deal. They want to know about your family, your company, who you are and what you represent, before they'll sit down and talk business."

Outside the realm of land leases and development, the port authority is tasked with managing 59 miles of railroad track, more than 50 miles of roadway -- including bridges -- 11.1 miles of wharf and 14 of the 70 giant gantry cranes used to load and unload cargo.

Port authority workers also oversee a maze of storm drains, water and sewer lines and oil and gas pipes.

"The port is like a city," said acting Chief Harbor Engineer Al Moro. "It has to maintain in good working order all the sewer lines, roads, street signs and signals and things like that, but we also have responsibilities like wharves and cranes."

The only large port property strictly under City Hall's jurisdiction is a roughly 50-acre plot around the Queen Mary, which includes the historic ship, two restaurants, the West Coast Hotel and Carnival Cruise Terminal.

Outside of the Queen Mary property, where the city deals directly with tenants and oversees development, harbor operations are mostly autonomous, said Long Beach City Manager Jerry Miller.

Still, the port, ruled over by an appointed five-member commission, takes direction from City Hall on many issues, including growth policies and development projects.

Funding payroll, development and infrastructure are rental agreements, wharfage fees, grants, interest income and reimbursements. Typically, shipping companies reach long-term leases in which the port is responsible for infrastructure like roadways, pipelines and sometimes gantry cranes, and the tenant pays a sliding lease rate for a chunk of waterfront property on which to deliver their cargo, said Port Spokesman Art Wong.

To communicate the port's vision to lawmakers and regulators outside of Long Beach, port authorities contract with lobbyists in Sacramento and Washington, DC, and maintain an in-house staff who specialize in government relations.

Other port authority positions, however, are more visible to the public.

Security staff work alongside U.S. Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection and FBI to ensure safety, while port maintenance strives to beautify what is essentially one of California's largest industrial complexes Ö planting, irrigating and maintaining all landscaping outside of leased marine terminals.

The port's largest department is engineering, where 117 employees work on infrastructure and development, which is often contracted out to local construction firms.

To shape public opinion, promote port policies and respond to media inquiries, the port employs a staff of 13 public relations specialists. Communications personnel also produce cable and Internet programs and compile community newsletters and other publications.

The port likes promoting itself so much, in fact, that it offers free chartered boat rides in the spring and summer months and an annual open house. The Port also sponsors or co-sponsors dozens of public events, including the July Fourth Fireworks show and Long Beach Sea Festival.

During a recent boat tour of the harbor, port spokesman Steven Macias described one of the selling points his employer uses with customers.

"If shippers wanted to divert through the Panama Canal, for example, to get their products to the East Coast, it would take an extra eight days on the water, which in most cases is unacceptable," Macias said. "Retailers use our port and the infrastructure going inland, and it gets delivered much quicker. The point is -- and every retail and transportation business knows this -- time is money."

In the planning department, 22 workers develop smart growth policies and green programs, while in finance, 19 money experts ensure the port is receiving its fair share.

When tenants want to upgrade or expand their properties, the port uses its landlord authority to re-open the lease and negotiate amendments with the private party.

This was the driving regulatory force behind the port's joint Clean Air Action Plan with the Port of Los Angeles, an initiative to reduce the high levels of air pollution caused, in particular, from the diesel engines widely used in the shipping, trucking and marine terminal industries.

The rush to clean up the air in recent years came in response to health studies showing that diesel emissions were contributing to abnormally high cancer pulmonary disease and asthma rates in local communities.

Under pressure from local community members and elected leaders, the port began CAAP, aimed at forcing industry to clean up even as their operations continued expanding rapidly.

But getting businesses to play ball isn't always easy. Finesse is often required.
Addressing several hundred global shipping executives last year in China, Harbor Commission President Jim Hankla bluntly told the crowd that serious and often expensive investment in green technologies would be required to do business here in the future.

But it was behind the scenes, in informal discussions, where he really made his mark, Steinke revealed.

"If Jim would have just said, 'Hey, you have to do this at the Port of Long Beach or else,' that would have been perceived, in their culture, as a threat or an insult," Steinke said. "But instead it was brought up in the course of the conversations that this was important to us and it was going to be important for them to go along. In this way, it wasn't perceived as a threat, and both sides are able to get much more accomplished."

Since its launch last year, the program has been emulated in other global seaports.

The Port of Oakland, for example, has initiated its own green port policy, and port authorities from Hong Kong to Antwerp are adapting greening strategies important to their regions. - Kristopher Hanson, The Long Beach Press-Telegram

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GRAIN LOADING SHIPS NOT CALLING AT PORT, BUT BIOFUEL CALLS OFFSET SOME LOSSES

GRAYS HARBOR, WA -- Despite a $688,000 deficit in expected revenue for the first quarter, the mood was upbeat Thursday at the Port of Grays Harbor Commission meeting.

The bad news is that Ag Pro, the bulk grain loading facility, is barging its product elsewhere to cut costs. The good news is that vessels are already calling on the Imperium Renewables biodiesel facility under construction at the Port.

And there is unexpected revenue from the military, which used Port facilities to load and ship military equipment and helicopters last weekend.

The budget had projected a drop in revenue of $401,000 in 2007, primarily due to a down cycle in soy production from AGP. But, when the grain facility was hit with higher marine freight rates, rail costs, supply competition and soaring diesel costs, AGP management had to seek other options for moving their product. Much of the grain that was coming here by rail and going out on vessels is now being shipped from other ports.

That has cut the vessel calls to the Port drastically. Last year, 19 vessels called at the Port, half of what it was the year before. Through early May, the total is 6. Zero vessel calls in March put a $400,000 hole in the budget projection.

However, even that is expected to improve. Mary Nelson, the Port’s finance director, projects 21 vessel calls for AGP before the end of the year. “We think the fourth quarter will be an improvement,” she said.

The real reason for optimism is Imperium. “We didn’t budget anything for Imperium until July, but the early vessel calls will help,” Nelson said.

“They will have weekly outbound vessels through the end of summer,” she added.

Biofuel

Imperium had one vessel call in early April, bringing in canola oil, but on Monday, its first outgoing vessel will be in port, taking out a load of completed biodiesel, likely from its Seattle facility.

The Hoquiam refinery has not yet been completed and isn’t scheduled to open until July 15, according to Aaron Leatherman, the plant’s assistant manager. Leatherman said the company’s “tank farm” is in operation, though, and is being used to help facilitate the incoming and outgoing shipments.

“We are very pleased to see these projects have a turnaround in May,” said Commissioner Stan Pinnick.

“The second quarter is going to show an improvement,” added Chuck Caldwell, the Port commission president. He said the staff is doing a good job of cost-control in all areas.

With Imperium’s early production, the extent of the revenue boost is still an unknown, but at this point, it’s all a bonus to the budget. The military payment will also be a bonus.

The biofuel activity will do its share to dent the budget deficit to some degree, but Nelson is still projecting losses at $487,000 or about $87,000 more than budgeted.

She said the Port has been working with the military to compile bills of lading and time sheets from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 32. “We had more than 55 Longshore workers at the dock. They did a great job.”

Nelson said another vessel is due at the Port on May 29 to transport rocket motors to Japan for its space program. - Bill Lindstrom, The Grays Harbor Daily World

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TEXAS STATE RAILROAD TO HOST ARMED FORCES DAY AT PALESTINE DEPOT

PALESTINE, TX -- To coincide with Texas Tourism Week and National Tourism Week, the week of May 12-20 will be declared Palestine Tourism Week -- and filled with special events and open houses.

The Texas State Railroad will host its annual Armed Forces Day event Friday through Sunday on the grounds at the Palestine Depot.

“We have set aside May 18 as ‘Education Day’ for area schools,” TSRR spokesperson John Garbutt said. “This is a great field trip opportunity allowing students to visit the railroad and learn about America’s military history by way of exhibits and interaction with living history impressionists and veterans.”

This unique annual event is free to the public and serves as an occasion to honor veterans and show support for America’s men and women currently serving in the armed forces.

“Our theme this year is ‘In the Shadow of the Blade,’ based on the award-winning military documentary of the same name -- a film following the healing journey of a Vietnam War Huey helicopter,” Garbutt said. “One veteran called the film ‘The most important thing to happen for Vietnam veterans since the dedication of the Wall.’”

A special ceremony will precede the showing of the film.

Vietnam veterans are encouraged to attend this year’s event as the Texas State Railroad celebrates Armed Forces Day.

For more information about the Armed Forces Day event, contact the Texas State Railroad park at 800-442-8951. - Cheril Vernon, The Palestine Herald

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ORLAND 1/5-SCALE RAILROAD SCHEDULED FOR GLENN COUNTY FAIR RIDES

Photo here:

[www.chicoer.com]

ORLAND, CA -- The Orland Newville and Pacific Railroad will be open for rides for $1 each during the Glenn County Fair May 16-20 at the Glenn County Fairgrounds.

The Orland Newville and Pacific Railroad was the product of the mind of the late Frank Allen.
Allen with the help of volunteers built the one-fifth scale railroad on the grounds of the Glenn County Fair.

Now in its second decade of operation, it still provides a realistic feel of old-time railroading. Riders board the train at Orland Newville and Pacific depot in the shadow of the original Orland Southern Pacific depot. Years ago the depot was moved to the fairgrounds and restored.

On its route at the northeast corner of the grounds, the train passes an old water tank that was used to service steam engines in the old days; through cattle pens of a feed lot, around "Dead Owl Curve" where the picnic area is and through a typical valley orchard where it is possible to note four types of trees -- olives, prunes, citrus and almond grown within a three-county area.

Riders will see Orland's Heritage Trail where buildings from a 100 years ago have been relocated to the fairgrounds.

The train and picnic grounds are available for private parties during the year, except for the winter months. To charter the train, call Tom Johnsen at 865-7867.

The railroad is a nonprofit program and the crews are volunteers. - The Chico Enterprise-Record

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A FINE SPOT FOR SPRING TRAINING: RAILROAD FANS STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE IN ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA

ALTOONA, PA -- Below us, from the parking lot of the Horseshoe Curve National Historic Landmark, mountains green with spring leaves stretch as far as we can see. More than 1,700 feet above us, a train that appears to be miles long is curving along tracks that hug the sides of the highest mountains.

My three nephews, all 13, leap from the car and dash up 194 steps to reach a small retaining wall just inches from the railroad tracks. Assured by the receptionist in the gift shop that another train would be by soon, I wait for the funicular -- a tramlike vehicle that climbs the steep slope to the tracks.

This is the best spot in North America to watch trains, says a fellow funicular traveler, Joseph Waldorf. A "train spotting" enthusiast who has traveled to central Pennsylvania from Illinois to visit the Curve, Waldorf explains that not only is the view spectacular and the train traffic frequent, but this section of track is an engineering marvel, and part of what was once the greatest rail complex in the world.

Photo here:
[www.washingtonpost.com]

Railroad fans occasionally gather here, a three-hour drive from Washington, for international conventions, Waldorf says, and usually supplement their train spotting with a trip to the nearby Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona.

By the time I reach the tracks, the freight train has gone. But already I can hear the grinding sound of another climbing the mountain. About five minutes later, it passes, shaking the ground beneath my feet in a deafening roar of power. Loud, massive things with moving parts -- an experience made for boys in general, and my nephews in particular.

This length of track, opened in 1854, created a major boom in the westward expansion of a young country. Engineers had spent decades trying to figure out a way to go under, over or through the Allegheny Mountains. Finally, the Pennsylvania Railroad's chief engineer decided to move mountains. Men with pickaxes and shovels sliced into two mountains and filled the deep ravines that divided them to create a curved but level area to lay tracks.

At least 18 American presidents have ridden trains along the Curve, I learn in the visitors center, whose displays explain the challenge of creating the landmark. The route was so critical to the movement of war materiel during World War II that it was a top target of Nazi saboteurs who were captured after a U-boat dropped them near Long Island, New York.

After rounding up my nephews we drive five miles to the museum, which is housed mainly in a historic building that was once part of a thriving railroad complex.

In the early and mid-1900s, more than 50 passenger trains a day stopped in Altoona, and by 1945 the city was the world's largest center for making railroad cars and locomotives, employing 17,000.

The museum owns about 25 railroad cars, and by next spring will have a new $3 million roundhouse that will allow the cars to be easily moved around the museum grounds.

I sit at a picnic table while the boys run into one of the cars. After about 10 minutes I decide to have a look, figuring the car must hold some special display inside. But it's just an empty rail car. What could have held their interest so long? I understand as I find them on the outside of the carriage, looking beneath the oblong iron monster to figure out how the wheels move, examining every bolt and strut.

Consider how excited they'd be if they could actually ride a historic train. That's an opportunity that comes once a year, when a Philadelphia man, Bennett Levin, helps the museum raise money by offering excursions on the 1950s-era passenger trains that he owns. This year, the trains will run July 7 and 8, with one taking hour-long local hops and another traveling between Harrisburg and Altoona.

"Some of us have toy trains. Bennett has the real thing," says museum director Scott Cessna. He notes that Levin has also used his trains to take injured Iraq war veterans from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital to Army-Navy football games.

Inside the museum, exhibits focus on the lives of the men and women who ran the railroad and worked in the shops. Mostly men. Women helped run the railroad during World War II. However, all but the hookers were expected to give up their jobs when the veterans returned. Not that men couldn't have done the job: "Hookers" in this case is a term referring to crane operators.

We round off our day with an Altoona Curve ballgame in a stadium that is a dead ringer for Camden Yards, only smaller. The Curve, a Pirates AA team, killed the Harrisburg Senators, a team affiliated with the Nationals, 7-1.

The boys spend about half the game watching, half roaming the stadium and stocking up on junk food. They always return to their seats for between-innings antics, hoping to be picked to run onto the field and compete for such prizes as $20 restaurant certificates or, in one case, $50 off any car at a local dealership. Home runs warrant a brief spurt of fireworks, with bigger displays at the end.

What more could any All-American boy ask for than junk food, trains and baseball in one short trip? An amusement park. From the stadium they can see Lakemont Park. Between innings, when the park is open, the Curve mascot -- Steamer, a steam locomotive -- rides the roller coaster and waves to the stadium crowd. But Lakemont doesn't open this season until May 19.

"Can we come back and do it all again when the park's open?" they want to know.

I answer more like a mother than an aunt: "We'll see." - Cindy Loose, The Washington Post

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TRANSIT NEWS

ALL ABOARD: AREA GEM OPENS FOR SEASON

Photo here:

[www.suburbanchicagonews.com]

SOUTH ELGIN, IL -- Roaring into its 41st year of inspiring railroad enthusiasts, the Fox River Trolley Museum opened for the season Sunday with ticket prices that celebrate mothers.

Mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers ride historic trolleys for free with a paid child's fare this Mother's Day. Dads pay full price, which is $3.50. Seniors and children ages 3 to 11 are $2, and children younger than 3 ride free.

Museum volunteer Robert Bresse-Rodenkirk said the typical visitor paying to ride the rails today looks different from the average patron of years past.

"Initially it was hard-core railroad enthusiasts," he said. Now, the crowd largely consists of parents and their children.

"Young families, I believe, are our bread and butter these days."

Many families visit the museum year after year due to the cheap ticket prices and beautiful scenery, he said.

Visitors ride the four-mile round trip line that runs along the Fox River and Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve.

The track dates back to 1896 and once connected Carpentersville, Elgin, Aurora and Yorkville.

The museum's train operators, volunteers all, typically will run two different electric trains on any given day, Bresse-Rodenkirk said. They have 12 functioning cars, including locomotives and cabooses, to choose from.

The museum's pride and joy, Bresse-Rodenkirk said, is the 1902 Chicago, Aurora and Elgin wood car. It is the country's oldest operating interurban trolley.

The pinkish-red 1957 Illinois Central caboose is a favorite among children.

"There's a whole new generation out there," he said of these budding amateur railroaders. Young people arrive with Thomas the Tank Engine books under their arms, wearing their coveralls and engineer caps.

"That may be the volunteer of the year, 2013," he said.

One teenager is on his way to earning that title. He started visiting the museum when he was 2 or 3 years old.

"I know he is waiting for the day he turns 18," the minimum age for a train operator, Bresse-Rodenkirk said.

The young man is biding his time volunteering in the gift shop, as a ticket agent and as a member of the track gang, which repairs the rails.

The museum, 361 S. LaFox St. (Illinois 31), is open from 11:00 to 17:00 hours Sundays, through Nov. 4; and 11:00 to 17:00 hours Saturdays, from June 30 to Aug. 25 and Oct. 13, 20, and 27. A number of special events are planned, and dads get their free day on Father's Day.

Visit the museum's Web site at [www.foxtrolley.org] or call (847) 697-4676 for more information. - Nicole Brooks, The Elgin Courier News

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VOTE AGAIN ON LIGHT RAIL

KANSAS CITY, MO -- By November of next year, Kansas Citians should have the opportunity to vote on a light-rail plan that substantially revises the blueprint sponsored by Clay Chastain. That plan had unfortunate problems including inadequate financing and impractical specifications.

Councilman Ed Ford is right in suggesting the issue should be placed on the ballot during a large-turnout election.

The time frame now under consideration may seem lengthy, but complex issues must be resolved.
The Area Transportation Authority, designated by the City Council as project sponsor, hopes to largely finish the needed studies by next spring.

Key decisions include the route and financing. Since the future trains are expected to mostly run in city streets rather than separate rights of way, planners must work out practical but knotty problems including traffic-management and underground utility relocation.

Another question is whether the initial system should offer single-vehicle “fast streetcar” circulator service, or typical light-rail service with two or three cars and connections to a source of suburban commuters. The answers all will involve trade-offs.

On the route, however, planners should strive for the straightest possible path through downtown. - Editorial Opinion, The Kansas City Star

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MOTHER JONES PLAYED KEY ROLE IN 1917 STREETCAR STRIKE

BLOOMINGTON, IL -- Mother’s Day brings to mind famous “mothers,” such as Mother Earth and Mother Teresa.

There’s also Mother Jones, the “mother” of the United States labor movement who played a pivotal role in the bitter Bloomington streetcar strike of 1917.

Photo here:

[www.pantagraph.com]

Caption reads: Charged with restoring order during the bitter 1917 Bloomington-Normal streetcar strike, Illinois militiamen stand ready at the northwest corner of the old McLean County Courthouse. (Chicago Daily News negatives collection, courtesy of Chicago Historical Society)

Mary Harris Jones was born in 1830 in Cork, Ireland, and her family emigrated to the United States when she was a young child. She became a teacher and dressmaker but lost her husband and four children to the Memphis yellow fever epidemic of 1867.

Eventually, “Mother” Jones, as she came to be called, developed into a battle-hardened union organizer who crisscrossed the nation to rally labor in its often-bloody struggle to earn recognition and concessions from Gilded Age robber barons. She also rallied public opinion against the cruelest abuses of laissez faire capitalism, such as child labor.

Thus it’s no surprise that in the summer of 1917, 87-year-old Mother Jones found herself in Bloomington urging striking street railway workers to fight, in the literal sense of the word, for their union rights.

Horse-drawn streetcars first plied Bloomington streets in 1867. The electric era arrived in 1890, and during its heyday, the railway operated an expansive system that not only connected downtown Bloomington to downtown Normal, but also reached deep into residential neighborhoods.

Times, though, were tough for the motormen conductors and other workers of the Bloomington & Normal Railway & Light Co. Back in 1904, a six-month strike ended in defeat. Their last pay raise came in 1914. Now, in 1917, Superintendent D.W. Snyder refused to collectively negotiate with the disgruntled employees frustrated over long workdays and low pay.

The strike began in late May, and Snyder responded by bringing in out-of-town “detectives” to prevent strikers and their supporters from vandalizing company property or intimidating “scab” hires and veteran employees who remained on the job.

As the strike dragged on, the dispute narrowed to one of union recognition. With the implicit and explicit blessing of city leaders, including the local courts, Snyder remained obstinate in his refusal to meet, let alone negotiate with, union representatives.

On July 5, Mother Jones delivered her fiery call-to-arms at the old Turner Hall on South Main Street. The Pantagraph sent cub reporter James D. Foster to cover the speech. “What are you going to do?” Foster recalled Mother Jones shouting to the crowd. “Are you a damn lot of yellow dogs? Go out and get ’em.”

The crowd poured out of the hall and, by happenstance, came upon the Park St.-S. Main St. car. The conductor and a hired detective were “beaten about the face, head and shoulders.” Brandishing a gun, motorman Frank Hart fled to a nearby shanty. Once disarmed, he was kicked and stoned by the mob.

During the long night, the strikers and their supporters broke the windows of the railway’s powerhouse and headquarters and ransacked a second streetcar. Remarkably, no one was killed; six people were injured.

The next day, some 1,400 Illinois militiamen from Peoria and Chicago arrived to restore order. Most of them encamped on the old courthouse lawn.

The unrest, typical of the era’s rough-and-tumble clashes between labor and capital, drove management to the negotiating table. The railway company soon agreed to accept a unionized work force, a wage increase of about 35 cents a day and a reduction in the workday.

Mother Jones passed away on Nov. 30, 1930, at the age of 100. She is buried at the Union Miners’ Cemetery in Mount Olive.

Several days after her passing, Foster, the former cub reporter who was by then was an editor for the Associated Press, recalled that summer night in 1917. “I have not always agreed with her, nor her fights,” he wrote. “But her passing takes from life and from the news columns one of the most picturesque and noble women this country ever had. She was honest in her beliefs and right or wrong, she knew how to ‘go out and get ’em.’ ”

Happy Mother’s Day! - Bill Steinbacher-Kemp, The Bloomington Pantagraph (Bill Steinbacher-Kemp is Archivist/Librarian of the McLean County Museum of History)

THE END