Barges and workboats of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are moved into place near the U.S. 80 and Interstate 20 bridges over the Mississippi River Monday morning as the Corps’ mat-sinking unit prepares to set out on a 4-month assignment to place about 250,000 concrete squares on the banks of the river to control erosion. The crew of about 350 employees sets out annually during the river’s low-water months to place the mats throughout the Lower Mississippi River. Each of the mats is about 100 feet square. (Meredith Spencer*The Vicksburg Post)