Thecity1.com continues a feature series to showcase original stories and story endings by young writers and to inspire others to write. The age range for submitting is eight to 16. No horror/violent stories will be accepted.
Writers must submit their first and last name, age, and a phone contact. None of this information will be published. Therefore, writers must submit an original pen name to be published.
Writing will be posted on thecity1.com Home Page and Facebook. Email stories to webmaster@thecity1.com.
This unfinished “Who’s to Blame?” story allows viewers to vote for the guilty person, using a poll on the Home Page. The poll ends Friday, August 2, 2019. The author will finish the mystery using the culprit with the most votes. On Saturday, August 3, the complete Who’s to Blame? story will be published.
This is “Lock and Dam Mystery” by Violette Lumière du Soleil.
Kaitie Renolds and her dad were visiting Upper Mississippi River Lock and Dam No. 13. He works for the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, who operate the Lock and Dam system.
“Look at the size of that barge!” Kaitie exclaimed. “It has to be more than 20 feet high!”
“Yup,” her dad replied. “Pusher tugs are very tall. They push the heavy barges on the river.”
“That’s way cool. How do the locks work?” Kaitie asked.
“Well,” Mr. Renolds explained, “the river level on one side of the dam is higher than the other. So, when the barge comes into the lock, they close the gate and raise or lower the water level, so it’s the same height as the river level on the side the barge needs to exit. Then the gate will open, and the barge will leave.”
Suddenly Kaitie and her dad noticed that the water level had stopped rising in the lock. Something was wrong!
“Let’s check it out,” said Kaitie. They hurried inside.
Every room in the Control Station has an emergency stop button. Every room has smoke detectors that stop the water flow when they are set off. Only three people were present when the lock stopped filling. Who’s to blame? Vote for one culprit on the Home Page poll.
- Captain: the very tired Captain was nodding off in the control room.
- Co-Captain: the clumsy, phone obsessed Co-Captain was in the break room, waiting to relieve his boss.
- Cook: the untalented cook was in the kitchen burning a sandwich for the Captain.