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	The Windsor Star Windsor, Ontario, Canada 05 Jan 1982, Tue Page 8. Authority employs tug for river ice-breaking. Star Chatham Bureau CHATHAM - The Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority will station a tugboat at the mouth of the Thames River for flood prevention work. Authority manager Jerry Campbell made the announcement Monday, saying the Sarnia-based tugboat Glenada will arrive at Lighthouse Cove about noon Wednesday. The tug will be used during the annual ice breakup to control flood-causing ice jams. Campbell said the boat will likely ply the river between Lake St. Clair and Prairie Siding. The boat has been retained for $5,000 plus a guaranteed minimum of four days work, bringing the estimated total cost to $20,000. WE HAVE three to four days advance notice from London when their ice will be moving through this area, Campbell said. We don't think it will need any more than four days. Campbell said the tug owners, Sandrin Brothers of Sarnia, claim the tug will break up to one metre (three feet) of ice. Campbell warned winter sports enthusiasts to stay clear of the channel created in the lake by the tugs arrival Wednesday morning. The natural resources ministry will pay 65 per cent of the ice-breaking venture. The balance will be picked up by the authority's member municipalities. Campbell said the Glenada will be docked at the federal dock near the lighthouse.
	The Windsor Star Windsor, Ontario, Canada 07 Jan 1982, Thu Page 2 CAPT. PETER COLUMBUS at the wheel of the ice-breaking tug, Glenada, near the Thames River mouth. Bulletin!: Columbus sighted on Thames. Story and photo by Randy Moore Star Chatham Bureau LIGHTHOUSE COVE She's 27 metres (87 feet) long, weighs 130 tonnes (135 tons) and is powered by a V-16, 1,400 horsepower diesel engine. These are the specifications of the tugboat Glenada which skipper Peter Columbus thinks will be able to break the ice near the Thames River mouth. And get rid of it as long as the wind doesn't blow it back. His vessel sailed to Lighthouse Cove Wednesday, to be docked there this winter in anticipation of the spring thaw. ITS JOB IS to keep the mouth of the Thames River clear of ice jams, which cause dams on a sandbar about 600 metres (about 2,000 feet) from shore. Water backed up as a result of these dams caused flooding of thousands of Kent and Essex County properties the past two years. "We draw seven feet (about two metres) of water, so as long as there's water over the sandbar, we should have no problem," said Columbus, who has been skipper of the boat for the past four years. COLUMBUS HAS used his tug to keep the Sarnia harbor clear of ice and has no doubts about the vessels capabilities. It doesn't break up ice in the conventional manner by slicing it with a reinforced hull, but uses its wake and waves generated by its motion to break up the leading edge of a jam. LTVCA Chairman Mike Wilson said the boat is able to break ice up to about a metre (3.2 feet) thick.
	The Windsor Star Windsor, Ontario, Canada 15 Mar 1982, Mon Page 9 Top photo caption: ON STANDBY MOST of the winter, the ice-breaking tug Glenada was ready to spring into action Sunday on ice buildup at the mouth of the Thames River. The tug cleared a path about 60 metres (200 feet) long in the 50-cm (20-inch) thick ice on the temperamental river. Thames icebreaker halts flood threat if sun keeps shining Star Chatham Bureau Danger of another severe flood of the Thames River is past - if it doesn't rain. Jerry Campbell, Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority (LTVCA) administrator, said Sunday the danger of flooding is over for the time being unless there is significant rainfall in the next two days. Weather forecasts call for rain Tuesday. High water points Saturday and Sunday came at Indian and McGregor Creeks, the scene of past floods. Campbell said the water level at one point had almost reached the 180-metre (590-foot) elevation. But, he said the authority does not expect higher water levels this year than last. St. Clair Region Conservation Authority (SCRCA) chairman Charles McEwen said there is no immediate danger of flooding and tugboat icebreaking operations are precautionary. ICE-BREAKING operations at both conservation authorities are going full steam. The Glenada, a Sarnia-based tug under contract to the LTVCA,, moored at Lighthouse Cove dock over winter months, began operations Saturday and continued all day Sunday in an attempt to break ice at the mouth of the Thames River. Icebreaking is being attempted to ensure better water flow and prevent backup from ice jams. The tug is to break ice up river, perhaps as far as the Prairie Siding Bridge. CSRCA has hired an ice-breaking tug from St. Clair, Mich., to begin today to free ice at the mouth of the Sydenham River and work its way to Wallaceburg. A large crowd gathered at Lighthouse Cove to see the the Glenada in action Saturday. The tugboat tried for four hours to break ice 50 cm (20 inches) thick in the harbor area. At the day's end it had cleared about 60 metres (200 feet) after battling its way towards Lake St. Clair, pitting its hull against the sheet ice while at full power. McEWEN SAID Dresden, Wallaceburg, Dover Township and Chatham Township municipal officials requested on the weekend that the ice-breaking begin. That tug has also been on standby over the winter. McEwen said the service will be paid for under an agreement the municipalities have with the authority. He said it was not known how soon today the tug would be in operation because the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad requires at least eight hours notice to operate its swing-bridge across the Sydenham River.
	The Windsor Star Windsor, Ontario, Canada 22 Mar 1982, Mon Page 6. Photo caption: JERRY ABRAM, of Pain Court, clears chunks of ice from the centre of Dover Township's River Road after flood waters receded into the Thames Sunday. Riverfront residents mopping up Story and Photo By Dave Miller Star Chatham Bureau CHATHAM - Flooding in Dover Township had eased by late Sunday, as water retreated across the River Road back into the Thames River. Residents along a 10-km (six-mile) stretch of the river began to clean up after 1,500 acres of farmland were flooded early Saturday, flooding basements and causing some to leave their homes. Officials at the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority (LTVCA) are warning residents to remain cautious until the flood warning is lifted, however. There were unconfirmed reports that as many as six families fled their homes, although OPP and Dover Township officials said no evacuation was ordered at any time. The LTVCA said late Sunday the ice jam had been reduced to about one-half km (one-third of a mile) and showed little signs of stirring up the flood. JACK ROBERTSON, resource manager for the LTVCA, said much of the floodwater was diverted after the embankment to a relief drain was dug open by a crane at two points near the Jacob Sideroad, allowing water to escape along the McFarlane Relief Drain into Lake St. Clair. Floodwater spilled into the drain and followed its westerly course to another outlet into the lake. He said a three-km (1.8-mile) ice jam, which caused Saturdays flooding when it lodged near Prairie Siding, moved another five km (three miles) downstream later Saturday, with no repeat of backwater flooding when it jammed again near St. Peters Church, still 10 km (six miles) from the mouth. Sunday, the jam was about three km (1.8 miles) closer to the mouth after drifting further downstream. THE TUGBOAT Glenada, under contract to the LTVCA this winter, experienced overheating problems Saturday. slushy ice clogged intake valves used to cool the engine. The tug remained tied up Sunday. The situation was assessed and it was felt it was not beneficial to be used with the jam in its present position, Robertson said. The Sarnia-based tug had worked on an intermittent basis, Robertson said, attempting to break up some of the ice at the mouth of the river and did make some limited progress up the river. See RIVERFRONT, Page A4