Ratliff named Memphis District Employee of the Month

On June 20, six U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Memphis District employees received length of service certificates presented by Maj. Gen. Michael Wehr, Mississippi Valley Division Commanding General. Pictured left to right, are Memphis District commander Col. Michael Ellicott, Kim Lewis (30 years of service), Teresa Martinez (35 years of service), Jack Ratliff (30 years of service), Robert Fletcher (25 years of service), Jackie Whitlock (35 years of service), Hugh Coleman (35 years of service), and Maj. Gen. Wehr.

Pictured, from left to right, (front row) Donny Davidson, Memphis District’s Engineering and Construction Division chief; Bill Gardiner, Luhr Bros., Inc. (contractor); Randy Chamness, Lower Mississippi River Committee (LOMRC); David Goin, LOMRC; Col. Michael Ellicott, Memphis District commander; (back row) Del Warfield, Memphis District Construction Branch; Preston Snyder, River Engineering Section; Daimon McNew, Memphis District’s Caruthersville Area Office area engineer; Steve Kuykendall, Caruthersville Area Office; Zach Cook, Memphis District’s Channel Improvement Project manager; Jacob Allen, Caruthersville Area Office; Jack Ratliff, Caruthersville Area Office; Houston Castle, Luhr Bros., Inc.; and Brandon Breckenmeyer, Luhr Bros., Inc. (AUG 2018)

Drainage District No. 48 Scour Repair Project final inspection On Jan. 16, the Memphis District conducted its final inspection of contracted work on the Drainage District No. 48 Scour Repair Project. The project repaired erosion that occurred in two separate locations along the east bank of the St. Francis River Levee in Dunklin County, Missouri. Work on the $1,433,000 project was completed by D.W. Mertzke General Contractors and managed by the Memphis District in partnership with Drainage District No. 48 of Dunklin County. IN THE PHOTO: From left to right, Mark Broughton with Donald Bond Construction; Memphis District’s Josh Giannini, Jacob Allen, and Bryan Putt; Chrissy Henderson and Rod Yowell representing D.W. Mertzke General Contractors; Jack Ratliff and J.R. Holloway, Memphis District; and Donald Bond of Donald Bond Construction together give the project a thumbs-up.

The Ramsey Creek Scour Repair project, which began on July 17, 2018, repaired a bank scour that threatened the integrity of the Little River Headwater Diversion Levee near Scott City, Missouri. Bank scour is the washing-away of bank soil and other materials by the force of natural water current. The Ramsey Creek bank scour could have potentially caused a breach in the Little River Headwater Diversion Levee, which is a flood control structure that protects nearby communities, lands, and infrastructure from flooding. The scour repair halted further bank erosion and potential damage to the levee, eliminating the threat of a levee breach and flooding. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District managed the project in partnership with the Little River Drainage District as the project’s sponsor. The prime contractor, completing the work on the project, was D.W. Mertzke General Contractors along with sub-contractor Donald Bond Construction . Representatives from each of the organizations gathered at the project site on Aug.15 to conduct the final completed work inspection. Pictured, from left to right, are Grayson Holt, Memphis District (project designer); Mark Games, D.W. Mertzke, (prime contractor); Chrissy Henderson, D.W. Mertzke; Mike Clark, Memphis District (project inspector); Donald Bond, Donald Bond Construction (sub-contractor); W. Dustin Boatwright, the Little River Drainage District’s executive vice president and chief engineer; Daimon McNew, the Memphis District’s Caruthersville Office area engineer; Mark Broughton, Donald Bond Construction; and Jack Ratliff, Memphis District (project lead civil engineer). Eric White, not pictured, was the Memphis District's operations project manager.

Left to right: Tom Atkins, Memphis District; Glenn Baker, McCray Drilling, LLC (subcontractor); Percy McDonald, President of A Rock Construction Company, Inc. (contractor); Jimmie Roby, Project Manager for A Rock Construction Company, Inc.; Robert Staten, Project Manager for A Rock Construction Company, Inc.; Mark Broughton, Donald Bond Construction, Inc. (sub-contractor); Jacob Allen, Memphis District, and Jack Ratliff, Memphis District gives the project’s kick-off a thumbs-up.

On June 7, the Memphis District held its 2019 harbor dredging season pre-work meeting with contractor Inland Dredging Company, LLC at the District’s Ensley Engineer Yard. The District and contractor discussed the dredging of all 10 harbors in the Memphis District boundary. IN THE PHOTO, from left to right, Kody Moore and Jack Ratliff, Memphis District; Tim Dyer and Boyd Heaton, Inland Dredging; Vickie Watson, Memphis District; Jeff Freeman and Justin Slater, Inland Dredging; Wade Channel, Memphis District; Elise Clinton and Willie Ford, Inland Dredging; and Ben Baddour (rear) and Danny Hunt, Memphis District join in giving the dredging season’s start a big thumbs-up.

On Jan. 16, 2019, the Memphis District conducted its final inspection of contracted work on the Nimmons Scour Repair Project. The project repaired a scour that occurred near the west bank (right descending) of the St. Francis River Levee in Clay County, Arkansas. Work on the $237,000 project was completed by C&M Contractors and managed by the Memphis District in partnership with the St. Francis Drainage District. IN THE PHOTO: From left to right, Memphis District’s Bryan Putt, Jacob Allen, and Jack Ratliff; Shaun Bass, C&M Contractors; Josh Giannini, Memphis District; Charlie Bass, C&M Contractors, J.R. Holloway, Memphis District, and Steve Kuykendall, Memphis District together give the project a thumbs-up.