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Local 3M plant has role in Space Shuttle program

A Space Shuttle was launched from Kennedy Space Center June 8, and 3M Abrasives Manufacturing Organization of Prairie du Chien played a part. On Monday, June 18, Jeff Champneys, a supply chain program manager for ATK Launch Systems, gave two presentations at 3M explaining 3M's role in the Space Shuttle Program.

ATK is an advanced weapon and space systems company based in Utah and is the world's largest Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) manufacturer.

"Thank-you," said Champneys to the approximately 80 employees gathered in the breakroom for the second presentation. "We at ATK would like to recognize 3M and the job you do, the part you play in the Space Shuttle Program."

Champneys explained that 3M supplies ATK with several abrasive products for cleaning the flight hardware components used on the RSRM's. In turn, ATK manufactures RSRM's for NASA and its Space Shuttle Program.

The Space Shuttle Program's RSRM is the largest solid rocket motor ever flown and the first designed for reuse, said Champneys. Manufactured and used in matching pairs, each RSRM generates 3.3 million pounds of maximum thrust during the first two minutes of every Space Shuttle launch and provides 80 percent of the thrust necessary to propel the Space Shuttle into Earth's orbit.

Many of the RSRM metal components are reused and must therefore be returned to a like new condition prior to each use. To accomplish this, the components are cleaned through spray-in-air, grit blast and abrasive surface conditioning operations.

3M products are also used on some RSRM tooling that have the same quality requirements as flight hardware. 3M products are used on reusable hardware in the refurbish process as well as in new hardware preparation. 3M products are generally used to remove markings, scratches, and contamination such as corrosion, old adhesives, etc.

Two specific uses are metal surface preparation of segment joints prior to the bonding of weather seals, which include factory joints at ATK and field joints at Kennedy Space Center.

Champneys said that 3M products are crucial to surface preparation and contamination control. "Your products are very good," he said. "We wouldn't use them if they weren't." Champneys said that 3M products are very effective and don't leave behind unacceptable amounts of abrasive material which are removed in a finalization process.

Champneys told the 3M audience several interesting facts about the Space Shuttle Program.

*The first U.S. Space Shuttle was launched on April 12, 1981. It was the first time solid fuel rockets were used for a U.S. manned launch.

*Since then, there have been 119 Space Shuttle launches as of June 8.

*Each stacked Space Shuttle booster is nearly the same height as the Statue of Liberty, minus the pedestal, but weighs almost three times as much.

*Each RSRM burns 4.5 tons of propellant per second, a total of 1.1 million pounds during its 120-second burn time.

*It takes only eight minutes for the Space Shuttle to accelerate to a speed of more than 17,000 miles per hour, which is almost 10 times faster than a bullet from a high-powered rifle.

*The main engine and solid rocket motor reach temperatures of nearly 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is higher than the boiling point of iron.

*During flight, each RSRM generates approximately 15.4 million horsepower, or as much horsepower as 38,500 Corvettes.

*More than 500 astronauts and scientists from around the world have safely ridden into orbit to explore, research, build, repair and foster international relationships.

At the end of his presentation, Champneys gave the 3M Abrasives Manufacturing Organization a framed depiction of how 3M products are used in the building each RSRM, along with a framed print of the oil painting "T Plus 30" by ATK artist Mark Waki. "T Plus 30" depicts the Space Shuttle Discovery as it completes its roll to heading, and begins its pitch over maneuver approximately 30 seconds after lift off from Kennedy Space Center under nearly 7 million pounds of thrust.

Quick actions save eaglets after nest tumbles down

On Saturday, June 2, strong winds blew down one of the 99 active bald eagle nests located on the McGregor District of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. While this occurrence is not rare on the Refuge, what followed was.

Jim and Karen Teaser of McGregor were out in their houseboat with visiting family members on Tuesday, June 5. The Teasers regularly cruise the backwaters in their houseboat or pontoon, and they are familiar with an eagles' nest in Catfish Slough. But on that Tuesday, they noticed something unusual. Their grandkids were riding on top of the houseboat when they spotted some young eagles in water near the shore, clinging to bits of their fallen nest. The Teasers had been keeping an eye on that very nest, so they knew that somehow it had fallen, and the young eagles were in trouble. They turned the boat around and made another pass to get a better look. They could see that both young eagles were alive, and that an adult was keeping an eye on them from a perch across the river.

Karen Teaser used her cell phone to call the McGregor office of the of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and local Conservation Warden Burton Waters. But since the nest is in the Upper Mississippi National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, the FWS has jurisdiction.

Karen spoke with Clyde Male, assistant refuge manager, who called her back after he was alerted by FWS personnel about the situation. Karen was concerned that he understand where the fallen nest was located.

"After a couple of phone calls it was clear he knew where the nest was," Karen said.

Clyde Male was in the Cassville area that day, but with a series of phone calls he put together a team of FWS staff to respond to the young eagle's situation within a couple of hours. The team included Male, Seth Kettler, a seasonal maintenance employee, and his wife Chelsea, Neil Henkenius, a Biological Technician with the Refuge's McGregor District and Chandler Parsons.

The initial inspection of the eaglets revealed that the birds had survived the fall, but their further survival was dim. The two chicks who are about three months old had developed full feather coverage on their bodies, but lacked the fully developed feathers needed to protect them from the elements. The nesting material that the birds clung to was partially wet and floating in the water. While the water undoubtedly cushioned their fall and allowed them to escape injury from their wild ride from some 50 feet above, continued exposure to wet/cold water would eventually cause their death if left unattended.

Despite their lack of parental nest building skills, the Refuge crew built a new nest from 2 x 4s, wire mesh, and available sticks and grass. "It was not pretty," Seth Kettler admitted later, "but it worked."

The Teasers hung around to watch the nest building. "They really had some ingenious ideas on how to put it together," she said.

The newly constructed nest was located within feet of the old nest tree but much lower in the forest canopy. In addition to the nest, trees and brush had to be cut around the new nest to allow easy access by the adults tending the eaglets.

When the nest was completed, they carefully put the young eaglets back in the nest after gently drying them off.

"It was just a tender thing to watch. They even put a dead fish and an unfertilized egg back in the nest with them, just as it had been. It was like watching National Geographic. It was lovely, super," Teaser said.

Kettler reported that when he revisited the man-made nest the following day all "appeared normal, both chicks were visible and erect in the new nest bowl, with one adult next to the tree keeping a watchful eye on my passing." The Teasers have checked the nest too, and they noted that the adults have added some additional nesting material to their home.

Over the years, Refuge staff have periodically rebuilt eagle's nests, but it is not a frequent occurrence. Having the opportunity to save two young eagles is very satisfying, noted Refuge Manager Tim Yeager "It's one of those things where you feel like you've accomplished something," Yeager said.

Adult eagles have few natural enemies, and healthy birds are rarely the subject of predation. Eaglets, however, depending on their state of development, are susceptible to a host of predators. Within the Refuge great horned owls and raccoons have been known to rob the nests of young eaglets. Once on the ground, terrestrial predators such as fox or coyotes may kill the young. With this particular nest, the two eaglets were developed enough to fend off smaller predators by day, but without the aid of adult birds within the confinement of the nest, larger predators would eventually have a meal of the two.

Bald eagles typically use the same nest or an alternative nest year after year. Each season these nests have additional material added to them during courtship rituals and general home maintenance. Neil Henkenius is the individual responsible for eagle surveys within Pool 10. He indicated the Catfish Slough nest was three years old. Henkenius went on to say that eagle nests weighing as much as 2,200 pounds have been reported. "It's a wonder more nests don't tumble from their nest trees, it's like parking a small car in the top of a tree during a wind storm."

Assistant District Manager Male indicated that the decision to "reconstruct" the nest was based on observations of continued parental care of the chicks and their overall apparent good health. The only other option would have been to remove the chicks from the wild. Generally, when young eaglets are removed from the wild for rehabilitation or "saving" they are sentenced to a life in captivity. Young eagles must be taught to hunt by adult eagles if they are to survive in the wild. So removal from the wild is the absolute last resort.

"The Teasers' did the right thing by contacting officials with the Refuge," said Assistant District Manager Male. "Because of the Teasers, today we have the potential to add two more wild eagles to the Refuges eagle population. And who knows, they may be the eagles that some visitor will see that forms that life long image of this wild place we all call 'the Refuge'."

For additional information contact the District Manager, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (563) 873-3423.

This report was compiled using some press material supplied by the FWS.

River Bluffs saga ends in debt and disillusionment

Early this spring Denise Schneider, the only employee of River Bluffs Resort, packed up her office. James Daughtry, 81, principal of the company, is living in his California home. Reportedly, he has spent very little time in the area in the past year.

Schneider announced to the media in April that a Texas buyer would purchase the development site shortly, but according to the Clayton County recorders office, there has been no sale of any parcel of the River Bluffs property.

After years of lawsuits, delays and acrimony between the developer and area residents, and between residents themselves, the controversial development seems to have sputtered out entirely.

In the wake of the bulldozers and the rhetoric lies dozens of acres of stripped and eroding land and a stack of legal documents filed in the Clayton County Courthouse from contractors to the project seeking their pay.

Pollution case

Currently, the Iowa Attorney General's office is reviewing a case against River Bluff for stormwater runoff pollution into Sny Magill, a protected trout stream which the property drains to. Penalties will likely be levied against River Bluff for the degradation of the stream later this year. Two contractors at the site, P.A. McGuire, of Highland Wis., and C.J. Moyna, of Elkader are also named in the pollution complaint. No further information from the Attorney General's office was available at this time.

Big Debt

In the files of the Clerk of Courts office there are five liens and a pending lawsuit against River Bluff for unpaid debt. And many parcels of the River Bluff Resort property appeared on the Clayton County delinquent tax list. Not including the mortgage on the property, interest and penalties on money owed to contractors and the as-yet undetermined fines to be meted out by the State of Iowa, River Bluffs Resort is in debt to the tune of at least $876,000, and possibly more.

The P.A. McGuire Co. has three liens on file with the courthouse. One, dated June 20, 2006, seeks $301,074, another filed last year on August 18, seeks a payment of $487,000. A third, dated April 17, 2007, is for $466,422. It is not clear if all of the liens are in effect, or if one supersedes another, or if the company has received partial payment. The Courier Press's calls to P.A. McGuire to clarify the situation were not returned. If all the liens are in effect, River Bluffs may owe the company a total of $1,254,496.

Another major contractor for the company, Planning Design Build of Madison, Wis., is taking more aggressive action to secure $360,900 plus interest that River Bluffs signed a promissory note for last year. Last week, Attorney Davin Curtiss, of the law firm O'Connor and Thomas, of Dubuque, filed a motion in Clayton County Court for a summary judgment on the matter on June 14. Previously the company had filed suit for payment last January 23. River Bluffs responded by denying their case.

The summary judgment, if accepted by the judge, allows the company to collect on the debt immediately instead of waiting until a February, 2008, trial date. A date for a hearing on the summary judgment has not yet been set.

Planning Design Build's logo appears on the Highland Bluff Web site, which is still operational. The company apparently did much of the planning and layout for the proposed hotel-waterpark development.

Two other smaller payment actions seek $16,800 and $6,026.

In the Clayton County Delinquent tax auction held June 18, options were purchased on two parcels in Giard Township and 12 parcels in Mendon Township. In the auction, buyers pay off the tax and purchase the option on the debt; they receive 18 percent interest on their investment. If the tax debt remains unpaid after one year and nine months, bidders have an option to take possession of the property. After that, the delinquent owner still has 90 days to redeem the debt and retake possession of the property. Just what the future is for the River Bluffs parcels remains to be seen.

River Bluffs Resort could not be contacted to respond to any questions. They no longer maintain a business telephone line. The Courier Press did contact their local attorney at Schuster and Mick of Guttenberg, but he had no comment.