US Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District, Vol. 4, Issue 3, Spring 2013

Headwaters Update

Something special’s happening at Yough LakeSee pages 8-9

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US Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District

Col. Bernard R. LindstromDistrict Commander

Public Affairs Chief

Sheila Tunney

EditorCarol E. Davis

Layout & DesignDan Jones

Public Affairs Office412-395-7500

www.lrp.usace.army.mil

Headwaters Update is a quarterly pub-lication of the U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers, Pitts-burgh District. It is produced for electronic distribution by the Public Affairs Office. Views and opinions expressed in the Head-waters Update are not necessar-ily those of the Department of the Army or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Submissions may be sent to CELRP-PA@ usace.army.mil for consideration in upcoming editions. Stories sub-mitted should be in a Word doc-ument format. All photographs should include a caption and be high resolution (at least 4x6 inches and 300 dpi).

In this IssuePage 3 - Bring your Child to Work Day at Crooked CreekPage 5 - Shenango Lake celebrates at Penn State Earth FestPage 8-9 - Yough hosts 41st Annual Special Rec DayPage 12 - Suzanne Estock receives National Land Manager AwardPage 14 - Corps takes to the streets for water safetyPage 19 - District employees honored at FEB awards

On the CoverPA Fish and Game employees stocked the outflow area at Youghiogheny and a pond nearby with trout from Reynoldsdale State Fish Hatchery. (Photo by Sheila Tunney, PAO)

The purpose of this message is to emphasize the importance of safety in our day-to-day operations.

Why is safety important? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of hap-

piness is a constitutional right of every citizen of the United States.

More importantly, safety is im-

portant because we, the Pittsburgh District, value life.

The safety of our employees and those who visit our facilities should be of the utmost concern for you, our su-pervisors, and the entire district Team.

So, your safety, and the safety of the public we serve is very important.

To emphasize how important safety is, the district is initiating a safety campaign plan. The campaign plan includes a new safety slogan, a restat-ing of our safety goal, and the estab-lishment of a district safety council to identify and drive a few actions that we may take to improve safety man-agement and oversight.

These actions, along with your at-titude towards individual safety, will make Pittsburgh District the most suc-cessful in the Nation.

District Engineer stresses safety during visits

‘Success is no accident’

See Success, on page 4

Col. Bernard Lindstrom, District Engineer, and his wife, Cara, speak with Maintenance Chief Don Fogel during a visit to Elizabeth Locks and Dam.

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eyes just about popped out of her head.”“I had the opportunity to show her two things she had

never seen before. Now that’s cool,” Hawkey added.Coincidently, Maggie’s fourth-grade science class is

learning about dam uses and construction.For Maggie, learning about dams in school was one

thing, but seeing one first-hand was, as she described it, “pretty cool and really big.”

“Maggie is a smart girl that isn’t afraid to ask questions, and I could tell she was really interested,” Hawkey said.

Take Your Child to Work Day is an educational program that evolved from Take Your Daughter to Work Day a few years ago when it started including sons.

Last year, Isler brought his eldest son to work, but this year was Maggie’s turn because he said he wanted her to appreciate the environment and learn some science.

Next year, Isler plans to bring his youngest child to work.“This program teaches work ethics,” Isler said. “I always

tell my children that I’m not going to support them the rest of their lives. This program reinforces the principle that with a little bit of blood, sweat and yes, tears, -- you get a great reward in the end. Plus, they get to experience what their parents do to make their lives easier. I think this program is great.”

Maggie Isler works with Park Ranger April Hawkey to take water samples. Maggies visited Crooked Creek Lake as part of Bring Your Child To Work Day.

Story by Bob Isler, Crooked Creek Lake and Carol E. Davis, PAO

Most days, parents run out of the house for work and leave their children to attend school, but April 25 was not like most days for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District employee.

Bring Your Child to Work Day is an event designed to open the eyes of children to the opportunities that await them in today’s workforce.

This year, Crooked Creek Lake hosted Maggie Isler, 10, daughter of Bob Isler, a district maintenance worker.

Maggie was exposed to the daily efforts of project per-sonnel, and was very excited to have an opportunity to come and spend the day with Ranger April Hawkey.

“Months ago, Bob asked me if Maggie could spend the day with me,” Hawkey said. “Maggie is at the age where she wants to learn. All I had to do was make it somewhat interesting.”

Having Maggie participate in the program was important to Isler, but it was just as important to have her spend the day with the right ranger.

“Maggie reminds me a lot of April, they’re both intelli-gent, love the outdoors and love nature,” Isler said. “That’s why I asked April to spend the day with Maggie. I knew she would be a good influence on her.”

Maggie assisted Hawkey in completing various tasks, including collecting water samples, conducting safety inspections of the facility’s recreational sites, and what Maggie called the high-points of her day, observing one of the resident bald eagles flying and feeding her two eaglets.

Additionally, Maggie, who likes black and white cows or belted galloway cattle, saw them for the first time while passing a cattle farm riding from one site to the next.

“You never know when or where kids are going to learn,” Hawkey said. “I could hear her whisper ‘whoa’ the first time she saw the eagle flying back to the nest. Then, ‘I can see two,’ when we confirmed there were two eaglets in the nest. But, when she saw the cows, her

Crooked Creek hosts Bring Your Child to Work DayThe future workforce

Photo by Bob Isler, Crooked Creek Lake

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To kick off our new safety cam-paign plan, the Pittsburgh District rec-ognizes that “Success is NO accident.”

By definition, if we have an ac-cident then we are not successfully accomplishing our mission.

Success doesn’t just happen, it takes effort. This is a fact for our most complex missions and you, the valued employee.

For many of our most complex missions (construction, diving, opera-tions, maintenance repair, and public service) providing a safe environment requires detailed planning, thorough preparation, and precise execution by a well trained, technically competent, and mission focused team.

The Activity Hazard Analysis is our tool to do this. It leads us through hazard recognition, identification, prioritization, and control.

For every individual, being suc-cessful in your daily routine and tasks requires you to think ahead, identify hazards, and put controls or conditions in place that mitigate the risk of a haz-ard becoming a safety incident.

You are our most valuable resource. So, please apply this thought pro-

cess daily, so you can be personally successful. Unrecognized hazards that are out of control will lead to acci-dents.

This is why “Success is NO Acci-dent.”

To assure our success, we have set a goal in our campaign plan. Our goal is to reduce lost time accidents and pub-

lic fatalities in the Pittsburgh District by 50 percent during this fiscal year.

In 2012, we had 7 lost time acci-dents, and 7 public fatalities.

“Learning happens when behavior changes.”

So, I challenge you to be vigilant as an individual and work together as a team to change this behavior.

The time is now to reduce our lost time accidents and public fatalities. Setting a clear 50 percent goal will be tough to achieve, however, I am confi-dent that it is a worthy goal to set and that you are willing to adopt this goal to be successful. In addition we are going to take collective and individual action to reach our goal.

To help us achieve this goal the Pittsburgh District has established the Pittsburgh District Safety Steering Committee, and I challenge everyone to take PRIDE in their workplace area.

First, The Pittsburgh District Safety Steering Committee will develop actions to improve the safety manage-ment and oversight within our organi-zation.

These actions will require a team effort and in most cases, resources to implement. Another initiative that is even more important is the personal initiative to take PRIDE in your work-place.

PRIDE stands for Personal Respon-sibility In a Desired Environment.

Recently our district has had vari-ous accidents related to housekeeping and poor workplace conditions.

Remember, Success in NO Acci-dent.

So, I call on you to take a per-sonal effort to change this behavior and take action NOW! Take PRIDE in your area. We should all expect support from all of our employees to establish and maintain a safe, unclut-tered environment throughout the district.

So, take a personal interest and PRIDE in your workplace. Remem-ber, Success is NO Accident, and these actions will help us achieve success.

Last but certainly not least, I personally encourage each of you to adopt an attitude of gratitude.

It is clear to me from my visits across the district that our team is mis-sion oriented and safety conscious.

We not only care about each other, but we also care about our mission. That passion breeds success.

A successful mission starts and ends with a positive attitude.

A positive attitude greatly influenc-es our behavior, and safe work behav-ior is the most critical factor in every successful task and mission.

So, once again, thank you for tak-ing the time to read this message. I encourage you to remember that Success is NO Accident; that safety is important because we value life; and we are collectively taking action to change behavior; and I ask you to do the same.

So, do an Activity Hazard Analysis, Take PRIDE in your area, and have an ‘Attitude of Gratitude.’

If we pull together in these areas alone, we will be successful, because Success is NO Accident!

Success, from page 2

For activities to teach children about the importance of water safety visit:

www.bobber.info

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Berlin Lake recycyles fish lineStory by Steve Rutkowski, Berlin Lake

In an effort to reduce the neg-ative impacts to wildlife from the improper disposal of fishing line along the shoreline of Berlin Lake, rangers have built and installed multiple fishing line recycling bins around the lake.

The recycle bins will be rou-tinely checked and emptied by rangers throughout the upcoming year, and the collected line will be sent for recycling.

Photo by Shane Berry, Berlin Lake

By Jason Cote, Shenango River Lake

Shenango Lake Park Ranger Jason Cote attended Penn State Shenango’s Earthfest 2013 to promote the purposes and ben-efits of Shenango Lake, April 13.

Questions were answered about water quality, common fish species found in Shenango Lake, and recreation opportuni-ties available at the lake.

District biologists shared vari-ous fish and salamander samples for the Corps’ display which generated a lot of interest.

Other features of the event included educational programs, activities for children and fami-lies, live music, artists’ market, computer recycling drive, and information on local businesses and organizations which are environmentally conscious.

Photos courtesy of Penn State Shenango Earth Fest

Earth Fest 2013Shenango rangers, biologists promote Corps, missions

Park Rangers took part in Penn State Shenango Earth Day events where they talked to visi-tors about recreation and the benefits of the dam.

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By Christine Renzoni, Tygart Lake

North America’s smallest falcon has taken up residence in Tygart Dam. Two American kestrels are currently using an inactive drain pipe as a nest-ing site on the dam.

The pair was first noticed in March, perching on one of the old

A pair of American kestrels looks out over Tygart Lake. The male is on the left, easily distinguished by the slate blue on his wings, brighter colors, and smaller body size.

American kestrels find home in unused drain pipe at Tygart Lake

osprey nesting platforms. After observing the pair in the

same spot multiple times the decision was made to put out a trail camera to catch them in action.

To date, the pair has filled the camera with hundreds of images from their daily activities.

American kestrels are found in

West Virginia year round and favor open areas with few trees.

Kestrels nest in cavities and rely mainly on old woodpecker holes, hu-man built structures, and nest boxes to raise their young.

Their diet consists mostly of in-sects, small rodents and songbirds.

For more Information about all of our missions and projects visit:

www.lrp.usace.army.mil

Trail cam photo

Big bird house installed at Mosquito

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By Eric Schreckengost, Mosquito Creek Lake Several of Mosquito Creek Lake’s dedicated volunteers have completed their latest innovative project: a chimney swift tower. The tower was fabricated by volunteers--with the exception of the roof, which was donated by Trumbull Vinyl and Siding. The tower was in-stalled in March, and we eagerly await the arrival of our new migratory bird tenants at Mosquito Creek Lake. Chimney swifts are considered near threatened because of the loss of suitable man-made habitat. Due to the swift’s leg structure, they are unable to land directly on the ground or perch. Therefore, they cling to the sides of walls, making chimneys an ideal habitat.

Watching these birds return to a chimney at dusk is truly a site to see. The tower is located on the west side of the dam next to Route 305. For information on Chimney Swifts and towers visit http://www.chimneyswifts.org/ .

Volunteers, Trumbull Vinyl help protect threatened chimney swift population with new home

Volunteer Coordinator Loyd Marshall (left) stands beside the 15-foot chimney swift tower he and other volunteers constructed at Mosquito Creek Lake. Photo by Irene Marshall

Ranger Jason Bowers from Tionesta Lake participated in a 2013 Earth Day event at the Polk Center in Franklin, Pa., April 18. Bowers explained

the importance of water safety and handed out water-safety

promotional items. More than 500 participants

attended this year’s event.

Tionesta Lake attends Polk Center Earth

Day event

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Ranger April Hawkey leads a boogie session for the kids during Special Rec Day.

Corps employees from around the district, Bobber the Water Safety Dog

and volunteers greet participants of Yough Lake’s 41st Annual Special

Rec Day.

Ranger Matt Slezak hoists a young par-

ticipant from the wagon after a hay ride

around the Outflow Rec Area.

Photo story by Sheila Tunney, PAO

Youghiogheny River Lake hosted its 41st annual Special Recreation Day on May 9. The event provides outdoor recreation for children and adults with special needs.

Yough Ranger Emily Potter coor-dinated the event in conjunction with the Confluence Lions Club. Volunteers from the region, including high-school students, Cub and Boy Scouts, first responders, Corps employees, retirees and family members, were supported by contributions from local businesses and groups.

Lions Club, Volunteers make day special for many young people

Corps employees from around the district, Bobber the Water Safety Dog

and volunteers greet participants of Yough Lake’s 41st Annual Special

Rec Day.

Ranger Matt Slezak hoists a young par-

ticipant from the wagon after a hay ride

around the Outflow Rec Area.

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Resource Manager Brian Luprek, volunteer Camryn Slezak and Bobber the Water Safety Dog await participants for Yough Lake’s 41st Annual Spe-cial Rec Day.

Left, Ring toss and other small carnival games were part of the fun dur-ing Special Rec Day.

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By Kathryn Fatula, Berlin Lake

In preparation for the recreation season at the Mill Creek Recreation Area, Ber-lin Lake’s maintenance personnel have been working hard to revitalize the user areas. Most of the work focused on safety concerns such as containing wooden structures with exposed nails in the playground. Old structures were dismantled and removed. To ensure a soft landing, recycled tire mulch was placed and a new swing was installed.

Berlin preps for fun times and a safe summer

Tygart Lake Rangers Christine Renzoni (left) and Mike Estock (right) partnered with Save the Tygart Watershed Association and 20 volunteers to spend four hours cleaning up the West bank shoreline and West Hill Cove, April 20, at the lake in celebration of Earth Day. The group picked up more than 60 bags of trash and 22 tires.

The Ohio Department of Natural Re-sources West Branch State Park, in partnership with MJ Kirwan Dam, held their annual Multi-Jurisdictional Water Safety Council Meeting, March 19, at the Resource Manager’s Office Conference Room. In attendance were MJ Kirwan Resource Manager Doug Krider and Park Ranger Julie Stone along with represen-tatives from ODNR Watercraft, State Parks, and Forestry, Ohio Emergency Management Agency, Ohio State Patrol, Ravenna Police and fire departments from Edinburgh, Ravenna, Charlestown and Paris Townships as well as members of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.

M.J. Kirwan Lake hosts Water Safety Council Meeting

ing and hiking the West Penn TrailFor the past seven years, the

group has participated in service projects at Conemaugh Lake, and has used the area to teach and prepare its Scouts for a lifetime of character and service.

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Blairsville Boy Scouts learn

about service, environment at Crooked Creek

Boy Scouts from Blairsville, Pa., vis-ited Crooked Creek Lake. While there, the 14 Scouts and three Scout lead-ers cleaned and repaired existing bluebird nesting boxes. They also installed seven new boxes and performed main-tenance on fruit trees. (Photos by Scout Master Dan Bukosky.)

By Mark Keppler, Crooked Creek Lake

Under the leadership of Scout Master Dan Bukosky, 14 scouts and three assistant Scoutmasters partici-pated in an environmental steward-ship outing on Bow Ridge as part of their Earth Day activities. The group cleaned and repaired existing Bluebird nesting boxes, and installed seven new boxes they had construct-

ed during the winter months. Additionally, the Scouts performed

spring maintenance on fruit trees and completed repairs on the protective fencing in the physically-challenged hunting areas at Bow Ridge.

The Scouts spent two nights camp-

Earth Day

Youghiogheny Lake Ranger Suzanne Estock explains the signs of a successful wood duck hatch to volunteer Mike Thompson.

By Sheila Tunney, PAO

It’s no wonder Youghiogheny Lake’s Natural Resource Specialist Suzanne Estock received the Take Pride in America’s Federal Land Manager Award in October 2012. She has been involved in volunteer efforts beneficial to the Corps and caring for public lands for more than 30 years. And her combined efforts with volunteer missions have resulted in more than 10,000 hours of service. “This award is great for the ‘Yough,’ combined with the project of the year award they won last year,” said Southern Area Ranger Rick Miller who nominated Estock. “All of our people are doing some really great things, which can make it challenging to determine which person to nominate. Volunteer pro-grams affect the whole project and the whole team.” One of the programs involving volunteers and bolstered by Estock was getting data loggers installed on the lake’s nine main tributaries. The data loggers measure tempera-ture, conductivity and flow into the Youghiogheny reservoir--one of the most pristine, mountain spring fed lakes in the Pittsburgh District. She coordinated with the Mountain Watershed Association (MWA), who oversees the Yough-iogheny RiverKeepers Program, in order to obtain the equipment and recruited volunteers to install it. The volunteers have been down-loading data on a recurring basis since November 2011. “We were concerned about the health of the lake because of increased development in this area of southwestern Pennsylvania. A stream monitoring program would

allow us to get a pulse on river conditions. I got the idea that this might be something that would work,” Estock said. She said her boss, was im-mediately on board with the idea. She then contacted the MWA and Pittsburgh District Biologist Rose Reilly, who oversees water quality testing on the district’s 16 lakes. After that, Estock said, everything just fell into place. Reilly, she said, was instrumen-tal in getting more equipment and providing in-depth expertise on water quality monitoring. “The Yough is the first lake in the district—possibly division or further --to have all of its tributar-ies monitored,” said Miller. “It’s a big deal!” The monitors were central in determining the cause of a fish kill at the lake in September. (Read sto-ry at http://tinyurl.com/bk45lq8.) Results of testing in the lake and from the data loggers on the tribu-

taries, confirmed the fish kill was not caused by a human source of pollution. “We don’t have the personnel to achieve our environmental mission without the help of volunteers,” Miller said. Estock has been the project’s volunteer coordinator for the past seven years. Her efforts extend to other major volunteer events, in-cluding cleanup for National Public Lands Day, installation of wood duck boxes around the lake and the project’s annual Special Recreation Day, which has been held for the past 41 years. “It’s one of the better parts of my job. It gets me out of the office more, and it’s nice to get to know people this way,” she said. “They come from all walks of life…for-mer ministers, executives, home-makers…it runs the gamut.” Many of them, she said, are retired or near retirement age and are looking for ways to give back to society.

Yough Ranger receives Land Manager Award

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Paul Surace (right), Structural Design Section, explains some of the challeng-

es with maintaining the dam’s nearly 80-year-old gates to Jim Ferrochie (left)

of Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey’s office and Joe Spanik, Beaver County Commissioner and Port of Pittsburgh

Commission Board Member.

Lockmaster John Dilla (facing crowd) leads Beaver Co. officials, media and navigation stakeholders on a tour of Montgomery Locks and Dam, Potter Township.

Photos by Sheila Tunney, PAO

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By Sheila Tunney, PAO Employees of the Pittsburgh District Army Corps of Engineers not only wore their life jackets to work on May 17, they took a lunchtime walk in them to the city’s Market Square for a photo with the Coast Guard and Bobber the Water Safety Dog. The event was in conjunction with “Wear Your Life Jacket to Work Day” and “Ready! Set! Wear It!” events sponsored by the National Safe Boating Counsel. The Corps and Coast Guard made use of the events to promote water and boating safety throughout the upcoming recreation season. The events also ushered in National Safe Boating Week, May 18 to 24. Pittsburgh and the surrounding suburbs have one of the highest percentages of recreational boats per capita in the state, and this fact does not escape the attention of Pitts-burgh District Commander Bernard Lindstrom. “Be safe and alert. Water is not just a recreational area, it is also a life-threatening medium where people can get hurt,” Lindstrom said. Wearing a life jacket, he said, is definitely a requirement for boating in the rivers and lakes in our region. “For safety and water safety specifically, the theme that

the team put together for this year is ‘Success is no Acci-dent.’ What that means is if we are actually thinking about what we’re doing, then we should be successful and staying alive and staying accident free,” he said. In 2012, there were seven deaths from drowning at Pittsburgh Corps lakes and navigation facilities. Nationally, Coast Guard statistics for the same period show there were 4,515 accidents that involved 651 deaths, 3,000 injuries and approximately $38 million dollars of damage to property--all as a result of recreational boating accidents. Locally, Coast Guard Commander Lindsay Weaver, who heads the service’s watch in Southwestern Pennsylvania,

explained what’s behind most of the acci-dents. “Really the leading factor is not wearing a life jacket, but the other top five primary contributing factors in boating accidents are: operator inattention, operator inexperience, improper lookout, machinery failure, and excessive speed,” Weaver said. Alcohol use is also a leading factor in boat-ing accidents, she stressed. Many boater safety courses are free or in-expensive, she said, and are available locally from the Coast Guard or Coast Guard Auxil-iary volunteers. “We want people to have a great time, be out there on the water and just really enjoy ev-erything. The biggest thing that can save lives is wearing your life jacket,” Weaver said. And with Wear Your Life Jacket to Work Day, the Corps and Coast Guard in Pittsburgh hope to ensure success is no accident and show how easy it is to possibly save a life.

Corps hits the streets for water safety

Corps employees and guardsmen from the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Pitts-burgh circle around Bobber for a Ready! Set! Wear it! photo.

Bobber greets children from a city daycare facility. (Photos by Dan Jones, PAO)

Wearing your life jacket can save your life

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Photo by Luke Houston, Tionesta Lake

On April 15, approximately 1,600 assorted brown and rainbow trout were stocked in Tionesta Creek near the Outflow Camp-ground in preparation for the recreation season.

Stocking upTionesta preps for rec season

Even Pirates

wear life jackets!

Coast Guard Auxiliary keeps boaters safe at LoyalhannaPhoto by Thomas McAfoose, Loyal-hanna Lake

On May 5, the Coast Guard Auxiliary conducted courtesy water vessel safety inspections for the public at the Bush Recreation Boat Ramp Area at Loy-alhanna Lake. The team conducted about 25 inspections. The event was a success.

Robert Brandenstein, Coast Guard Auxiliary, inspects a boat as part of a courtesy public

safety inspection, May 5,

By Christine Renzoni, Tygart Lake

Eddie Grimes has been fish-ing Tygart Lake for 60 years. Like many fishermen, he has many big fish stories to tell, but this may be the biggest of all.

On his first cast of the day using a crank, Grimes pulled up something unusual -- a 16 inch smallmouth bass with a tiny orange tag sticking out of it.

Upon closer inspection, he realized it was one of Cabela’s Million Dollar Fish Tags. Grimes considered just throwing the fish back, but

Million-dollar fish taleCabela’s tagged fish caught at Tygart Lake

Eddie Grimes shows off his winning fish and the tag that may win him a million dollars!

ultimately decided to bring the live fish to Tygart Lake’s office to see what exactly the tag meant.

After some research, Grimes discovered the fish’s numbered tag was recorded, and could be used to enter a contest. Grimes’ prize for his catch will be announced on July 7. Until then, he will have no idea what he has won, but he is eligible for a variety of prizes ranging from a million dollars to a Cabela’s gift card.

This is the second year Cabela’s has sponsored the contest, Fish for Millions. Organizers stocked lakes and rivers with tagged fish that are each worth specific prizes. The premise is simple: catch specially tagged fish and win prizes.

After posing for a few pictures with the bass, Grimes released his prize catch back into the lake.

By Steve Rutkowski, Berlin Lake

Berlin Lake staff along with local first responders and the Portage County Sheriff’s office performed a mock drowning and swimmer in distress exercise, May 11. The exercise was designed to sharpen participants’ rescue skills for the upcoming recreation season.

Participants in the exercise included U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District, Berlin Center Volunteer Fire Department (VFD), Deerfield VFD, Ellsworth VFD, Brimfield Police Dept., Ravenna Fire Department, Aurora FD, Streetsboro FD, Atwater VFD, Mantua VFD, and the Portage County Dive Team.

Berlin Lake

Local officials conduct mock

drowning

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By Joella Zaffino, Tionesta Lake

Tionesta Lake Park Ranger Jason Quinn, and Summer Ranger Lauren Ohler, participated in Tidioute Charter School Field Day at the Tionesta Fish Hatchery, May 14.

Groups of students from various grades visited several educational sta-tions, with presentations on fishing given by Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commis-

Tionesta rangers have a field daysion; birds, mammals and black bears given by the PA Game Commission, water safety by Quinn with Ohler as Bobber; and a tour of the fish hatchery.

Students, teachers and teacher’s aides were divided into five groups and rotated through five- to 20-minute sta-tions.

The field day event lasted four hours and approximately 196 people partici-pated.

By Julie Stone, Photo by Evan Skornick

Col. Bernard Lindstrom, Pittsburgh District commander, was presented a West Branch State Park T-shirt by Doug Krider, resource manager, during his visit to Michael J. Kirwan Dam, April 23.

Lindstrom spoke with project staff that included Herb Stottlemire, maintenance mechanic; Jim Tomazin, maintenance worker; and Julie Stone, park ranger, before touring the dam site area, the control tower and visitor center.

The commander was accompanied by Sam Wag-ner, outdoor recreational planner, and Evan Skor-nick, Northern Area operations project manager.

Kirwan Lake hosts District Commander

Think before

you sink.

Wear your life jacket!

visit bobber.info

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By Joella Zaffino, Tionesta Lake

In conjunction with Bring Your Child to Work Day, several Tionesta employees’ children were engaged in educational activities which included a tower tour, Blue Bird boxes, and a water safety presentation. The children also painted Water Safety stencils on roadways near the boat launch.

Kids rule the show at Tionesta Lake

Ranger Jason Quinn explains the significance of Blue Bird boxes to, Aiden Quinn, Alexia Bowers, Jena Wilson, and Joella Zaffino as Ranger Jason Bowers watches the presentation.

By Joella Zaffino, Tionesta Lake

Tionesta Lake hosted a Reward Field Day Event for West Forest Elementary students, grades 3-6, who par-ticipated in Dodge Diabetes, May 15.

Dodge Diabetes is a diabetes awareness initiative funded through the Forest County Diabetes Awareness Coalition as part of a multi-state activity grant received from Appalachian Health. The initiative was introduced to Forest Area schools/students in an effort to promote and incorporate healthy eating and exercise into current life-styles to reduce the risk of acquiring juvenile diabetes.

The goal for the group was to walk 26.2 miles, the dis-tance from West to East Forest and the number of miles in a marathon.

Twenty-eight West Forest Elementary students and two adults walked over 2,000 miles by participating in local and school sponsored walking events.

The students were rewarded for their efforts with a Tio-nesta Lake Field Day that included a T-shirt, healthy lunch, and a better understanding of diabetes.

Tionesta Lake Project Manager Rodney Daum began the field day event with a diabetes fitness presentation that em-

Tionesta supports diabetes awareness

phasized the importance of healthy eating and incorporat-ing walking/exercising in daily activities. Additionally, he shared personal challenges and accomplishments he has had as a diabetic with the children.

Tionesta Lake Ranger Jason Quinn provided a tour of the control tower, and Summer Rangers Sean Weaver and Lau-ren Ohler presented water safety tips to the group. Before their departure, the group hiked several lake trails, and gath-ered in the Outflow Pavilion for lunch.

Nancy Yergin, Forest County Diabetes Awareness Coali-tion and Lynn Espin, Warren/Forest County Link, coordina-tors of the Dodge Diabetes initiative for local youth and se-niors, toured the tower with Daum later that afternoon.

Thirty-one participants attended the event.

Tionesta Resource Manager Rodney Daum (above) talks to students about challenges he faces as a diabetic. Above Left, Range jason Quinn gives the student a tour of the Control Tower.

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KUDOS Federal Executive Board Award Winners

Professional EmployeeSILVER

James M. WilliamsBRONZE

Ronald Gadomski

Supervisor/Manager in a Professional Series

BRONZERichard Sprunk

Jeffrey Toler

Administrative EmployeeBRONZE

Sandra PetreTammy Symanowicz

Supervisor/Manager in an Administrative Series

SILVERMark Catullo

Technical EmployeeBRONZE

Jeffrey Watkins

Trades & Crafts EmployeeGOLD

John Mack

BRONZEEdward Perian

Outstanding TeamSILVER

East Branch Dam Safety Modification Team

BRONZEAsset Management Place in

Service Team

Contribution to Science/ Information Technology(Non-

Medical)BRONZE

Joseph DeLucia

Lower Mon Project, Leetsdale Site

Cultural Resources Team

Service to the PublicSILVER

T.J. Fichera

BRONZEJoshua Shaffer

Chairman’s AwardSILVER

Inland Navigation Design Center Proposal Team

Runum, nos Ahabem vis hum terum Romnes! Seris consi

coera mo in virmihi, clus adet C. Vivehebatus, nuntidi enihi-

cat, unis.Torticonsus diendit. Ex sul vis; essenam iamdiem sce

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Headwaters Snapshots

Col. Bernard Lindstrom, district commander, presented Command-

ers Coins to Loyalhanna/Conemaugh Maintenance Leader Don

Bucco, Project Assistant Mary Ann Wylie and Maintenance Leader

David Johnson at Conemaugh on May 21.

Shenango Lake Ranger Kyle Kraynak helped clear a

one-acre plot in preparation for a tree planting by the

Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Chestnut Tree

Foundation (PA-TACF) that planted 210 American and

Chinese Chestnut Trees in the Shenango Recreation Area.

Cindy Smith, contracting chief, and Sherrie Plonski, deputy for small

business, speak with potential contractors during the Dynamic

Networking for Small Business event in West Virginia in March.

Col. Bernard Lindstrom presented Harry Friend and Marvette Hancock with Glass Castle awards in recognition of their efforts while deployed to Afghanistan