S P R I N G 2 0 0 8

Is TAPS on the right path? It does matter which way we go!

TAPS Strategic Planning Session

July 12 & 13, 2008

What is the number one issue for Tennessee Land Surveyors?

What is your highest priority for TAPS ? How can it be achieved?

Talk to TAPS at www.taps-inc.com

Tennessee Association of Professional Surveyors607 W. Due West Avenue, Suite 96Madison, TN 37115-4420

615-860-9311Fax: 615-860-7177E-mail: tapsinc_@bellsouth.netwww.taps-inc.com

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T A P S S T R A T E G I C P L A N N I N G S E S S I O NJuly 12 & 13, 2008MONTGOMERY BELL INNMONTGOMERY BELL STATE PARK, Burns, TNtapsinc_@bellsouth.net M I D D L E E A S T C H A P T E R S H O O T O U TAugust 2, 2008The Cove at Concord Park, Knoxville, TNContact Brennon Garrett, brennon_garrett@excite.com865-809-6468

T A P S B O D M e e t i n gAugust 16, 2008CARNEGIE HOTEL, Johnson City, TN1-866-757-8277tapsinc_@bellsouth.net

T A P S 4 1 S T A N N U A L C O N F E R E N C E &T E C H N O L O G Y E X H I B I T I O NMarch 5-7, 2009EMBASSY SUITES CONFERENCE CENTER, Mur freesboro, TNtapsinc_@bellsouth.net

J O I N T M E E T I N G N S P S A R E A 3 & 4 G O V E R N O R S ,S T A T E B O A R D S O F D I R E C T O R S A N D S E M I N A R SAugust 15 & 16, 2008CARNEGIE HOTEL, Johnson City, TN1-866-757-8277Contact Jef f Miller, jamiller@mls-llc.com423-787-7878Brochure available online, www.taps-inc.comClick on Conferences & Meetings Link

T A P S F A L L B U S I N E S S M E E T I N G & S E M I N A R STO BE ANNOUNCED

Add to Affiliate Member List page 37K & M ProductsRon Kirkland3248 Patton Road, Franklin, NC 28734828-524-5905kmproducts@dnet.net

Member List Keith Wilson: rls1786 @yahoo.com page 36Brennon Garrett 865-809-6468 page 19Eddy Garrett 865-933-5622 page 19Jeff Miller jamiller@mls-llc.com page 26Steve Sanders Full page 30; add to Licensed Surveyors by County on page 39 - Davidson

Remove the following names from Licensed Surveyors by County as they are not licensed:

Robert K. Reed from UnicoiPatrick McLeroy from TiptonDerrick Story from Dickson

ddd i

Add KR38k

P l e a s e m a k e t h e f o l l o w i n g c o r r e c t i o n s t o y o u r d i r e c t o r y

n e wm e m b e r s

Bar t Lay - Smithvil le, TN

Steven Jones - Johnson City, TN

Dewey Durham - Dickson, TN

Daniel Oliver - Heiskell , TN.

Joe James, I I I - Mar tin, TN

Dale Cipar - Ashevil le, NC

Thomas Ore - Winchester, TN

Michael Henr y - Dickson, TN

Will iam T. Pomeroy - Woodbur y, TN

Ashley Berkley - Olive Branch, MS

Stephen Maholland - Pleasant View, TN

Matthew Mar tin - Chattanooga, TN

Rober t K. Reed - Er win, TN

Thomas Baumann - Cincinnati, OH

Michael Moore - Cottontown, TN

2

Tennessee AssociATion of ProfessionAl surveyors

SPRING 2008

Tennessee Associationof Professional Surveyors

607 W. Due West Avenue, Suite 96Madison, TN 37115

615-860-9311

Fax: 615-860-7177

E-mail tapsinc_@bellsouth.net

www.taps-inc.com

The Tennessee surveyor is pub-lished four times a year: January, April, July and October, by the Tennessee Association of Professional Surveyors (TAPS). Opinions ex-pressed by individual authors are not necessarily endorsed by the officers or Board of TAPS or the editors of this publication. Articles may be reprinted with due credit given to the author unless otherwise indicated at the beginning or end of the article.

Address ChAnges AndgenerAl Business

All notification for editorial matters, changes of address, membership inquiries and general TAPS business correspondence should be di-rected to Lori Medley, Executive Secretary, at the above address.

ConTriBuTions of MATeriAl

The Tennessee Surveyor welcomes contributions of articles and comments for publication. The editors would appreciate submittals to be type-written, double spaced, and preferably only seven paragraphs long (each paragraph should have a maximum of five or six sentences). The editors of The Tennessee Surveyor reserve the right to edit (after author notification) each article.

deAdlinesAdvertising and article copy deadlines are December 15, March 15, June 15 and Sep-tember 15.

AdverTising PoliCyAds should be camera-ready, black and white POSITIVE PRINT required—ad enclosed in a boxed line with line included in dimensions.

1/4 page - 5” x 3 1/2” - $80 per issue1/2 page - 5” x 7 1/2” - $120 per issuefull page - 11” x 7 1/2” $200 per issue

Business Card - $25 per issue

Inside This Issue

Allen Precision Equipment ....................................................................................... 800-241-6233Barnes Graphics ........................................................................................................ 615-944-5682Greenwell Land Surveys ........................................................................................... 423-477-4481Hayes Instrument Co., Inc. ........................................................................................ 931-684-0555ICM of Memphis ...................................................................................................... 501-982-7715K&M Products .......................................................................................................... 800-524-5905Kucera International .................................................................................................. 919-219-8808Photo Science ............................................................................................................ 859-277-8700Precision Products ..................................................................................................... 615-242-3762The Schneider Corporation ...................................................................................... 615-255-3535Tri City Blueprint & Supply Co. ............................................................................... 276-466-8880Tuck Engineering ...................................................................................................... 276-523-4669

Crow Friedman Group-Nashville ............................................................................. 615-383-0072Crow Friedman Group-Memphis ............................................................................. 901-820-0400E&O Liability Consultants, Inc. ............................................................................... 800-853-6133Earl Dudley Associates ............................................................................................. 615-885-1275EngineerSupply.com .................................................................................................. 800-591-8907Leica GeoSystems HDS ........................................................................................... 615-585-0689

The Tennessee Association of Professional Surveyors (TAPS) is dedicated to preserving the heritage of surveying; promoting the profession in Tennessee as the forum for developing ideals that advance the social,

professional and ethical conduct of all surveyors; and provide opportunity for educational, scientific, and technological advancement.

Sustaining Members

President Benny Moorman - Knoxville bmoorman@benchmark-assoc.comPresident-Elect Paul Henson - Selmer hensonsurv@aol.comVP/Conference Chair 07/08 Mario Forte - Chattanooga bpsincorp@aol.comVP/Conference Chair 08/09 Jimmy Cleveland - Brighton jcsurvey@netzero.netSecretary/Treasurer Mario Forte - Chattanooga bpsincorp@aol.comPast President Jay Caughman - Bartlett, jcaughman@allenhoshall.com

2008 Executive Committee

Affiliate Members

Inside This Issue2008 Legislative Report.................................................................................................................. 3Acts of Notice ................................................................................................................................. 5My First Experience Testifying ...................................................................................................... 9Surviving and IRS Audit .............................................................................................................. 11Appalachian Trail Hike ................................................................................................................ 14Conference Highlights ............................................................................................................16-22Surveyors Merit Badge ................................................................................................................. 23Career Day ................................................................................................................................... 25My Total Station Battery Has Alzheimer’s ................................................................................... 30

AdvertisersAllen Precision Equipment .......................................................................................................... 14Berntsen ....................................................................................................................................... 25Crow Friedman Group ................................................................................................................... 8E&O Liability Consultants, Inc. .................................................................................................. 10Earl Dudley, Inc. ............................................................................................................................. 4Hayes Instrument Co. .................................................................................................................... 6ICM ............................................................................................................................................. 16Leica Geosystems ......................................................................................................................... 12Trimble ......................................................................................................................................... 18

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Affiliate Members

Sustaining Members

2008 Executive Committee

3

2008 Legislative Reportby Jay C aughman, LegisLative Commit tee Chair

2008 Legislative Report

The 2008 Tennessee legislative timeframe has come to an end

without too many issues making head-lines. With that said, several pieces of legislation were introduced this year that would directly affect professional land surveyors both directly and indi-rectly. Here’s a brief overview of sev-eral bills that were introduced and how they progressed through the House and Senate.

SB0533 by Jackson, HB0330 by Tidwell surveyors - Authorizes land sur-veyors to remotely request and obtain land records from registers of deeds Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 13, Part 1 and Title 62, Chapter 18, Part 1. This bill was introduced in February of 2007 and was held over to the 2008 session. The bill made its way through the Industrial Impact subcommittee and the Utilities, Banking and Small Business sub-committee. It appears to be dead in the Senate general subcommittee for Commerce, Labor and Agriculture. No amendments were added.

SB1888 by Jackson, HB2118 by Tidwell, Niceley regulatory Boards - enacts the “Tennessee soil scientist licensing and regulatory Act.” Amends TCA Title 62 and Title 68, Chapter 221. By far, this piece of legislation drew the most attention from the land sur-veyors of Tennessee. TAPS was very interested in this for a number of rea-sons, as it would have combined the Land Surveyors Board with a newly created Soil Scientist Board. This bill has been introduced before, but only this year did it gain real momentum. Filed for introduction on February 8, 2008, it quickly moved through sev-eral committees, subcommittees and was voted on by the Senate govern-ment operations committee (passed 4-2). However, three separate amend-

ments to the bill were filed in an effort to clarify issues, both logistically and financially. TAPS was very active in following this bill and working with the sponsors to ensure the bill did not infringe on the rights of the land sur-veyors of Tennessee. The bill was finally taken off notice for the calendar in the subcommittee of Finance, Ways and Means on April 30, 2008. Expect to see this one return next year with the probability of passing.

SB4202 by Kyle, HB4201 by Odom regulatory Boards - revises the list of boards that are under the supervision of the division of regula-tory boards; revises meeting require-ments for motor vehicle commission; revises other various provisions gov-erning regulatory boards Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 13; Title 4, Chapter 29; Title 55, Chapter 17; Title 56, Chapter 1 and Title 62. This bill was “under the radar” this year and did not really ever get legs to go far. Administrative only, it would have changed a few things for land surveyors. Filed for introduction on January 31, 2008, it was eventually sent to the General Subcommittee of Government Operations where it will stay and most likely not progress any further. This bill would have required the director of the regulatory boards to “post a monthly discipline report” instead of “issuing a monthly press release” and requires that the busi-ness name of the person disciplined be included in the report as well as a brief description of the law and rules vio-lated. The discipline report would be posted on the division’s web site.

SB2935 by Stanley, Crowe, HB2752 by Coleman Property - enacts the “Tennessee Condominium Act of 2008.” Amends TCA Title 66. This bill did pass and was assigned to Public

Chapter Number 766 by the Secretary of State. Both the House, Senate and numerous subcommittees passed the bill overwhelmingly. This bill estab-lishes new provisions governing con-dominiums. This bill would apply to condominiums created within Tennessee after January 1, 2009. The bill will require a sufficient descrip-tion of the real estate and a survey or general schematic map of the entire condominium. Any certification of a plat or plan required must be made and signed by an independent regis-tered surveyor, architect, or engineer, or combination thereof.

SB3349 by Jackson, Ford, HB2412 by Buck, Tidwell, Coleman highways, roads and Bridges - Permits person who has been granted an easement for a private road to later petition for additional land along such road for the purpose of extend-ing utility lines to the enclosed land Amends TCA Title 54, Chapter 14. This bill did pass and was signed by the Senate speaker on May 16, 2008. If a person who has already been granted a petition for a private road determines that additional land is needed for the purpose of extending utility lines, including, but not limited to, electric, natural gas, water, sewage, telephone or cable television, to the enclosed land, such person shall file a new petition so requesting. The court may grant and direct a jury of view to lay off and mark an area for util-ity lines that is fifteen feet (15’) wider than is permitted by the provision of subdivision.

continued on p. 26

5

Years ago, making the transition from strictly construction survey-

ing to land surveying, I took employ-ment with a tactless, rude and crusty old surveyor who really had a mas-sive heart of gold. This fellow suf-fered from an affliction that, unfor-tunately, I’ve witnessed far too many times in our profession: optimistic procrastination. We all know how it goes. The client calls and the imme-diate response is, “Sure, we can get started on Thursday.” All along, the surveyor knows he is backed up two to three weeks and it’ll be at least a week before research can even be started. He just wants to secure the job. There was a ritual in our company, and to this day I’ve never quite fig-ured all the many angles of the eth-ics of this ritual. Once the poor wait-ing client reached the ultimate level of frustration, I would be sent out solo to placate the individual. This I did by merely visiting the site and indis-criminately tying orange flagging on absolutely everything visible from the street, including dogs and cats should they not be alert. Strange the satisfac-tion of the client this simple act occa-sioned. Now let’s leave the past and go back many more years to the past, past. In the years 1779 and 1780, the gentlemen,Dr. Thomas Walker and Colonel Daniel Smith, both of Virginia, ran the division line between the then states of Virginia and North Carolina. North Carolina appointed Richard Henderson and William B. Smith to watch out for her interests. Henderson and Smith quit early on, leaving Walker and the other Smith to complete the task. For a little per-spective, 1780 was the year Benedict Arnold deserted to the British at the time of our deep involvement in our country’s revolution. The survey began in the moun-tains of what is now East Tennessee

Acts of NoticeSome Intrigue on the Kentucky/Tennessee Border by C. barton Crat tie, Ls

and proceeded west along the southern line of what is now Kentucky. Their original instructions were to cease sur-veying upon reaching the Tennessee (Tenasa) River. The lands west of that river was recognized as sovereign of the Chickasaw Tribe. Colonel Smith kept a fairly detailed journal over the course of the sur-vey. On Thursday, March 23, 1780, he writes how at 10 o’clock he was joy-fully surprised to see the Tenasa River. After nearly eight months out, the ter-minus of this 36 degree, 30 minute line of latitude had finally been met. On the 24th, the party headed home. His entry for April 7 says “horses not all found. Received a letter from the Governor to go to the Falls of the Ohio [present day Louisville, KY] on a particular business...” The official report of the survey by Walker and Smith states, “When we had returned homewards about 160 miles, we met with orders from his excellency, the Governor, to do another piece of ser-vice, which we suppose he has made you acquainted with.” Thus, a mys-tery begins. What possibly could be so important a task as to detour the gen-tlemen from their return after so much time out suffering the hardships they had endured? Part of the orders was to rendezvous with Colonel George Rogers Clark (Billy’s older brother by 18 years) on the Ohio River. The next few weeks were spent recruiting a guard to go to the Falls, settling various accounts in conjunction with the State Line sur-vey and more traveling by land and waterways. On April 23, Smith cuts his foot and must now cope with this for the remainder of the assignment. Arriving at the Falls on the 25th, they find they have missed Colonel Clark by 11 days; he had gone downstream to a new fort under construction on the Mississippi River.

Smith and the others accepted an offer to travel by flatboat with a Captain Killer or Killen. Raining and misting much of the time, the leisurely float was anything but enjoyable. Nursing his now infected foot, Smith writes, “If paper was plenty I would attempt a description of our unfavor-able situation with a Xantippe of a Landlady, something like Petruchio of Shakespear or Nabal for a Landlord their dirty children leaky boat, drunk-ennes &c. But I am by no means equal to the task.” On May 3, they eventually found Clark at the old Fort Jefferson, a site on the Mississippi River about five miles south of the mouth of the Ohio River. While in this vicinity, over the next week Smith’s entries talk of run-ning lines to determine the width of the river and observing (for latitude) all day on May 10. On May 11, they determined they were 3 minutes and 19 seconds into Virginia (north of the 36 degree, 30 minute line). Then “from this point of the island, we ran east to the main land where I marked a buck eye elm and sugar tree, then south 3 miles, 265 poles; thence west 106 poles to the river, 96 of which we marked. New land is forming here, nothing to mark but cotton trees...” That night, they “lay in the wet with-out fire,” beginning the journey home the next morning. Why mark the line from the Mississippi River east for 1,500 feet, then load up the canoe and head home? In a letter written 35 years later, the now General Smith finally shone some light on the mystery. Smith writes to a Judge Humphreys: “On our arrival at the French Lick [present day Nashville] were received a letter from the Governor of Virginia, directing us, as the Spanish Governor Galvez

continued on p. 7

Acts of NoticeSome Intrigue on the Kentucky/Tennessee Border

7

was then conquering the Natchez country and the adjacent parts from the British, to go to the Falls of the Ohio to Colonel Clark and apply to him for a guard; descend the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to the proper latitude and there make marks and give all the publicity to the claims of Virginia that far south. This duty we performed and then returned home.” The new Governor of Virginia, (replacing Patrick Henry the summer of 1779) Thomas Jefferson penned the letter to Smith and Walker on January 29, 1780. In it he said in part, “As we propose this Spring to take pos-session of and fortify some posts as near the mouth of Ohio as the ground will admit, it becomes very impor-tant for us to know the exact latitude thereabouts.... You will first find the point at which our Line strikes the Mississippi or Ohio, and fix it by some lasting immoveable natural mark if

there happen to be any on the spot, or if not, then by its course and dis-tance from some such natural mark, noting such course as corrected from the errors of variation, and the dis-tance reduced to horizontal mea-sure.” Jefferson closes with an offer no 18th century Virginian could refuse: “The disappointment will therefore be of the greatest moment should you decline the Service.” Sixteen years later, now President Jefferson will issue much the same order to Andrew Ellicott to be accom-plished while underway to survey the International Boundary between Spain (Florida) and the United States (Georgia). (See Woodfill’s reports of the 1997 and 1998 Surveyors Historical Society Rendezvous in the July/August, 1997; July/August, 1998; July/August, 1999 issues of “Professional Surveyor” magazine. ...[T]here make marks and give all the publicity... So, upon orders

Acts of Notice, cont. from p. 5 of Governor Jefferson, the honor-able Smith was told to go out and tie orange flagging anywhere and every-where any Spaniard floating up or down the Mississippi River could not help but see. One might still question the ethics of this act but as illustrated, there at the least, is precedence.

resource MaterialsDaniel Smith’s Journal and Walker

and Smith’s Official Report to the Virginia House of Delegates as found in “Four Steps West” com-piled by James W. Sames III, 1971 and published by Kentucky Association of Professional Surveyor and Tennessee Association of Professional Surveyor.

“Daniel Smith, Frontier Statesman” by Walter T. Durham; published in 1976 by the Sumner County Library Board

Roger Woodfill’s reports as above mentioned. l

9

Ithink what must be the most loathed job to many surveyors is tes-

tifying as an expert witness. I’ve met some surveyors who really enjoy tes-tifying, but many appear to avoid it if possible. It is another one of the aspects of the profession that has fasci-nated me since I began learning about the legal aspects of surveying in col-lege. So when I heard that there was a mock trial being held at the Tennessee Association of Professional Surveyors 40th Anniversary Conference and Technology Exhibition, I was excited. I thought that this would be a great experience for me to learn about another one of the many responsibili-ties of professional surveyors. Well, to my surprise, I was asked to play the part of one of the expert witnesses in the trial. gary Kent, who wrote the script for the trial and was to host it, asked if I would like to be a part of the event. I jumped on the offer because I would get to learn about not only what goes on during a trial but also what it feels like to be under the bright lights of scrutiny that most surveyors are placed under at one time or another in their careers. However, my experience wouldn’t be quite the same as what professional surveyors go through since my script was written for me (at least that was what I thought until the day of the trial). I played the part of the plaintiff ’s surveyor who, in my opinion, did not do a very good job of applying the accepted common law precedence in performing a boundary retracement survey. The case dealt with a bound-

My First Experience Testifyingby ashLe y rose-naLin

My First Experience Testifying

ary line dispute as well as adverse pos-session. (I won’t give away too much of the story line in case some other state professional societies decide they would like to have Mr. Kent host a mock trial at their conference.) All the participants in the trial arrived about an hour early for the session. It was here that we met for the first time. I met the plaintiff and the plaintiff ’s attorney with whom I would be working. The attorney was very excited and wanted to win badly because he hadn’t actually partici-

pated in a trial for almost 20 years. He informed me that he had found some extra evidence that he wanted admit-ted over and above what was written in the script to help our case, since Mr. Kent had left the outcome for a jury of surveyors’ spouses to decide. So in the hour before the trial was to begin, the attorney and I were going over where in the script we could work in this extra evidence. This trial appeared to be differ-ent than official trials because it was altered to be a learning experi-ence, although the overall sequence of events followed pretty closely what would happen in an actual courtroom. The judge explained the attorneys’

approaches, her own interpretations, how most judges view the proceedings, what they look for in a good expert witness, as well as the overall process. Throughout the trial, she also enter-tained many questions from the audi-ence. One question that stood out to me was asked by an audience mem-ber about various trials in which he had testified. His question was why the expert witnesses were remaining in the courtroom during the proceed-ings, because every case he had tes-

tified in he was under the impres-sion that he was not allowed in the courtroom except when he was tes-tifying. She said he was most defi-nitely allowed in the courtroom. (I may have reworded a bit in the above ques-tion, but I believe that was the over-all intent of the question and her answer.)

The judge also addressed the audience of surveyors as to what it is like to interpret the testimony of the expert witnesses as someone who knows little to noth-ing about how we attempt to retrace boundary lines. She also explained some of the general qualities she sees repeatedly in a good expert witness: They have the same qualities of a good teacher because they can explain how they interpret what they find and how they analyze the deed to come to their final decision as to where the location of the boundary is based on the evi-dence they are presented with. All in all, she herself was a very good teacher throughout the mock trial.

continued on p. 29

11

An audit is a formal examination of your income tax returns by the

Internal Revenue Service. The pur-pose is to look for instances of fraud or inaccurate tax returns. Small busi-nesses are audited three times more often than individuals. And if you are audited, the taxman will most likely focus on your auto, travel and enter-tainment deductions. Thus, to avoid audit problems with Uncle Sam, keep good records. IRS studies show that poor record keeping, rather than over-deducting, causes most small busi-nesses to lose an audit. There are three different types of audits done by the IRS. The mail audits asks you to explain some-thing, or requests additional informa-tion. The interview audit will ask you to take your records and returns to an IRS office for review. And the third, the field audit, is the most common type of audit of small businesses. The auditor comes to your office, or the office of your attorney or accountant, and reviews your records in person. If you have been selected for an auditor, tell your attorney or accoun-tant immediately and ask them to attend the audit. IRS agents like working with professionals because they speak the same language. IRS auditors will review your tax returns, receipts, logs and anything you used to compute your tax returns. Specifically, they will examine four areas: 1. income. Income to the IRS is all money received, no matter how is is derived. The auditor will want to make sure you reported all your income and will ask to look at bank statements, sales records, alimony receipts, pension income, and tax refunds among other requests. 2. deductions. Over-deducting is the big red flag that causes your return to be audited. You must have all receipts ready, as well as all canceled checks, credit card statements and anything else you need to back up your deduction.

Surviving an IRS AuditSurviving an IRS Audit 3. Previous returns. The IRS agent will also look at previous and subsequent returns to determine any pattern of abuse—whether other adjustments or similar deductions have been made. 4. Previous Audits. If you have been audited before, the IRS agent will examine those results too. After the audit, the IRS agent will send you a copy of the report, call the “Revenue Agent’s Report.” It explains the agent’s analysis and will list any additional money you may owe the IRS. After that, you still have options. You can sign the waiver enclosed with

the report, pay any tax you owe, and be happy it is over. Or if you disagree with the amount, you can pay the tax and then apply for a refund. Another option is to request a hearing with the IRS Appellate Division for a compre-hensive review. You can reduce the anxiety asso-ciated with IRS audits by being pre-pared. Have a great team of profes-sionals on your side and keep detailed, organized records noting the reasons why you did what you did. l

Provided by the National Federation of Independent Business, the nation’s leading small business advocacy association, with off ices in Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals. www.nfib.com

Six red flags: Keeping your tax return from the attention of the IRS

1. Don’t be a rounder. Be careful about deductions with a lot of neat zeros, such as advertising, $10,000; business mileage, 12,000 miles; insurance, $5,000. “The odds are that advertising will be $9,937, and business mileage will be 12,362,” says Patrick Astre, an enrolled agent and author of This is not your Parent’s retirement. “Too many improbable round numbers tel the irs this business owner has not been keeping records as required and is making up numbers.” 2. Don’t be miscellaneous. A large number of deductions reported as “miscellaneous” may suggest that records and receipts weren’t kept properly. “in my practice, i never use the category ‘miscellaneous,’” Astre says. 3. Do your business and personal finances separately. “commingling funds is a red flag for the irs,” says Bernard Bandish, executive vice president for tax resolution firm JK Harris & company, north charleston, sc. “your business could end up being classified as a hobby with serious tax consequences.” 4. Do be careful if you rent your office. The irs looks closely at anyone who owns a schedule c business, pays rent and also receives rent income on schedule e, notes David rachford, cPA and president of rachford & co., santa Barbara, cA. The problem? if the schedule c company is paying rent to the owner or the owner’s spouse, it’s not okay to pay rent in order to lower self-employment income. “if you want to lower self-employment income, consider using a corporate entity structure like an s-corp,” rachford says. “Properly structured, the corporation is a separate legal entity and may pay rent to an individual.” 5. Do pay officers enough. stanley foodman, a Miami-based forensic accountant, says beware of unreasonably low officer salaries in s corporations or management fees in place of officer salaries in c corporations. “While there is no hard and fast rule here, we suggest that 50 percent of profits before considering officer salaries is probably a good number as a starting point,” said foodman. 6. Don’t deviate from normal deductions. Home office, mileage and business lunch deductions pique the interest of the irs. The agency keeps a range of normal deductions for specific tax brackets and types of businesses, says ralph Havens, an enrolled agent and the director of licensed taxpayer representatives at JK Harris & co. “if you deduct $5,000 for business lunches, but the average for your tax bracket is $1,500, expect a call from the irs.”

14

sunday 2/10/084PM Newfound Gap (5045 feet) to Icewater Shelter ((5920 feet) 25ºF Ox (GA-ME 99) and Moonshadow (GA-ME 03) helped me with shuttles up to NFG. After a few pictures and good-byes, I started north in a stiff wind and temps at about 25 degrees F. I esti-mated the winds at maybe 20 mph. I found a handy chart on the NOAA site for using visual signs like how the trees are moving, for esti-mating wind speed. Most of the trail was clear but some ice remained. I slipped and did a solid face plant on a patch but was none the worse for the body slam. Just as I got started I met Jaws, who I hadn’t seen in 2 years. The AT is always calling its children back to the hills. Tonight, Jaws and I are camping together. We are the only two on the mtn. It is now 7:30 PM, so I’ll zip up the sleeping bag and call it a night.

Monday 2/11/0810ºF at 7:00AM warming to about 50F at noon Icewater to Tri-Corner Knob (5919 feet) The morning dawned clear, windy and cold. My lit-tle thermometer showed +10ºF. After coffee and grits I was backed and on my way. The first mile was slow going because the trail was a sheet of ice. By midday I was down lower and the sun had dried up the trail so the rest of the day’s march was easy. I stopped near Pecks Corner shelter for lunch. I was out of water so I melted icicles. I enjoyed

Appalachian Trail HikeDiary of Lamar PowellAppalachian Trail HikeDiary of Lamar Powell

continued

this little exercise as much as I enjoyed being in the sun and out of the wind. Two inches off the ground it was 50

degrees F. In the wind it was only about 35º F. From 12:00 to 1:00 PM I rested and ate lunch. As I reflected on my melted ice, I began to think about comments I’ve heard. There are those who brag about “beating the mountain.” I find this amusing. We humans often give a human face to an object we wish to conquer. The moun-tains are just hills. They do not compete with us. How foolish we are to think we can over-come a hill. If we are prepared we can hike the mtn. trails and return to tell about it. If we fail to respect the conditions then we can die. The mtns. are not human so they show no favoritism.

I was out of water and all the springs were frozen. My task was to adapt to the conditions

at hand. So I melted ice to refill my bottle. I was quite sat-isfied with my solution and I hefted my pack with a smile. If the mountains have human characteristics, humor must be on the list. About a quarter mile down the trail I found a free-flowing spring! What a hoot. Mountain 1, Hopeful 0. I walked 12.6 miles today. Good night. Tuesday 2/12/0825 degrees F, very windy. Tri-Corner to Davenport Shelter (2600 feet) Today was wind day! Crossing Mt. Guyot I had to lean with true determi-nation into the wind so as not to be blown off the trail. My little weather NOAA chart reads, “39-46 mph: wind generally impedes walking.” Weathermen have a real sense of humor. I’m sure the gusts were exceeding 50 mph. There were trees and limbs being pushed down all day. At one point I saw the ground rising up because a tree was leaning with the wind. The root ball was wide and flat like a saucer. I guess nearby trees were holding that tree up. Coming off Guyot I noticed the wreckage of an aircraft. The few steel parts were well rusted and the OD paint was faded. The parts were twisted and torn by the impact. I hope the pilot/crew were able to eject, but somehow I fear

15

they didn’t. An odd sadness overshadowed me as I surveyed the site. The paint was almost surely military and some-thing in me reached out to those GIs. I think I’ll take a nero at Standing Bear Hostel tomorrow.

Appalachian Trail Hike, cont. me. She was so young and foolish and knew no better than to say yes. Boy! am I glad she did. After all this time she is still my girlfriend and my sweetheart. All alone tonight, Jaws had to push on to get to Hot Springs on Saturday before the little post office closes. The moon is so lovely on the unmarred snow around the shelter.

Wednesday 2/13/0835 degrees F, snowy nero day Today was a “nero” or near-zero day, meaning I only hiked abut 3 or 4 miles to Standing Bear Hostel. Hiking low mileage makes a near zero or nero day. I stopped at the hostel to get my “drop box.” In hiker-ese, a drop box is a box of resupply items, mainly food, which a hiker mails ahead so he doesn’t have to go into a town to resupply. The day started with just a little snow, but the weather report called for snow all day. Cold and wet—not the best day for hiking, so I decided to keep the stove in the bunk-house warm. It worked! Thursday 2/14/08Sunny and cooooold! Standing Bear to Roaring Fork Shelter (4629 feet) 15.9 miles By the time I had been hiking 45 min-utes my fingers were numb. However, as I climbed Snowbird Mtn. the sun started warm-ing up nicely. At noon ice and snow were fall-ing off the trees and every bit seemed to go right down my neck. On such a lovely day it is just not possible to be upset, so I walked along singing and worshiping. At 2PM I stopped for lunch because I was too tired to go on. Expecting to make better time I only packed one liter of water so I ended up eating a lot of snow. Getting to the top of Max Patch Mtn. was a task but I made it and then it was smooth sailing to the new Roaring Fork Shelter. It was 41 years ago tonight that I asked Diana to marry

friday 2/15/08Temp unknown; Roaring Fork to Deer Park (2330 feet) 16 miles

By 07:45 I was packed and on my way. The air was frosty but I didn’t make the connection that I was at 4629 feet until I arrived here (Deer Park). I check my little ther-mometer only to find it is broken. How could it fail me?! It is only 19 years old, almost 20! Well, old or new, the mercury column is in multiple pieces.

Tonight I am foot sore and dog tired. In 2 days I have covered 32 miles. I am amazed at this because most hik-ers need 3 weeks to build up to a 15 miles day. I guess all the prep I did to get ready for this hike served me well. Nonetheless, this pace will cost me if I’m not careful. In the morning I’ll walk the last 3 miles into Hot Spring and I’ll check the 7 day forecast and adjust my gear accordingly. I think I also need new boots. Mine are more worn than I realized. I’ve come to recognize by the stresses I feel in my ankle when I need new boots. In ‘03 I foolishly waited too long to replace my boots and I think I caused permanent injury to my foot. Nothing so bad that I can’t hike but I sure know it when I let the wear get ahead of me. I can’t wait to get to H.S. I’ll take a nero there and then see if I still need more time off to recover from my long days. l

Highlights from the ConferenceJeff Miller, Committee Chair of the Year - Education

Jim Wiles, Lifetime Achievement Award

Terry Greenwell, Fellow Member

Award

Bart Crattie, Surveyor of the Year

Jay Caughman, Member of the Year

Paul Henson, Director at Large

Award

Jimmy Cleveland, Young Surveyor

of the Year

Highlights from the Conference

Jim Helton, SW Chapter, 2006 Recipient, presents Alvin Cook, SE Chapter, the Chapter President of the Year Award

Robert Taylor, 2005 Recipient, presents Michael Fulghum the Ernest Davis

Shining Star Award

Bart Crattie, 2006 Recipient, presents Jimmy Cleveland the Newsletter

Article of the Year Award

Jeff Miller presents Honorary Membership to Dr. Keith Johnson, ETSU

18

Charter Members In Attendance

Jim Wiles

Jim Wiles

David Gibsonfreddie Alley Doyle caffey John Kohl rex northcutt eugene olmstead Herb Pitts

Dan saxon Tom White

Past Presidents In Attendance

Jay caughman Keith craft Jackie Dillehay rod foy Mike frye Terry Greenwell David Mathews

Galyon northcutt rex northcutt Tom White

Fellow Members In Attendance

freddie Alley Joe connelly Mike frye

Conference

Highlights

19

Now that I have recovered from my moment of euphoria, I would like

to thank everyone—members, chap-ters, the ladies auxiliary, the PAC—who so generously donated to my special “definitely a surprise” 20th Anniversary with TAPS gift. I felt like I had chosen the million-dollar case or won the lottery. I could have danced on the tabletops and done cartwheels I was so excited! As most of you know, I am not much of a limelight or behind-the-microphone person. I am sure that I caught some of the attendees off guard with my eupho-ria. The only words I could think of at the time were the three words my family uses when good things come along unexpectantly…My boys would say SWEET! My husband would say OUT OF SIGHT! and I would say TOTALLY AWESOME! When you have been allowed the privilege of working with an orga-nization as long as I have been with TAPS, you become very familiar with the lives of the members and the his-tory of the organization. Together you go through good and bad financial times, the pride of a son or someone you mentored becoming active in the surveying profession, weddings and divorces, babies being born, the pass-ing of loved ones, sickness and health, the debates and the handshakes, the highs of success and the lows of defeat. When people ask me what it is like to work with land surveyors. The first thing that pops into my mind isthat they are “down-to-earth people” who take great pride in their profes-sion. I cannot think of anyone who I have had the opportunity to get to know or work with who has had noth-ing but the best interest of the sur-veying profession at heart. I am most grateful for the Ladies Auxiliary, a great group of spouses, who are just as diligent. I have worked with 13 differ-ent presidents, attended over 80 TAPS Board of Directors meetings and I get

A Moment of EuphoriaA Moment of Euphoriaby Lori medLe y

a new boss at the fall business meeting each year. I look forward to the new leaders to come and the progressive changes they will bring for the survey-ors in Tennessee. Not everyone is cut out to be a leader and it takes all kinds of skills from all kinds of people to make an organization successful. Last but definitely not least, I would like to tell all the members who have been so faithful in supporting their professional organization how much it is appreciated. Your investment is used to advance, promote, and protect the surveying profession. The major-ity of goals that are accomplished for the surveying profession at some point or time were suggestions from the chapters. I know that it has been said many times and in many ways, but involvement starts by coming to your chapter meetings. This is where lead-ership is elected for the local and state representatives of your area. It is their responsibility to report chapter con-cerns and acitivities to the TAPS board of directors. Committees are charged to come up with suggestions as to how to address these issues. The commit-tee then presents their suggestions. The board of directors then votes on which direction they should proceed. The majority vote determines the best way to accomplish resolving the issues. It is also the responsibility of the chapter leadership to keep their chap-ter members updated on the progress being made at the state level. At the spring conference nominees for each state office position—Presi-dent Elect, Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, Directors at Large, and NSPS Governor—are presented to the TAPS board of directors for approval. These nominees come from the chapter. The approved nomi-nees are then placed on a ballot and enclosed with the summer newslet-ter mailing. Ballots are counted at the fall business meeting and the new offi-cers are sworn into office. The direc-

tor-at-large is responsible for representing all chapters in your region, their members as well as non-members. The directors are required to report on the activities and concerns for that region. They are also responsible for one TAPS approved seminar to be held in your region. The NSPS Governor represents the surveying profession in Tennessee at the national level. They are responsi-ble for attending all meetings, present-ing the position that the surveyors in Tennessee have on issues that involve surveyors from across the country and reporting back to the TAPS board of directors the progress being made at the national level. We have seen in the past two years that TAPS is definitely a mem-ber organization and cannot func-tion without their participation, sup-port and input. It is the responsibil-ity of TAPS members to take a few moments and really consider their vote for officers and constitution changes, voice progressive opinions and sugges-tions to TAPS President, their chapter representatives, respond to polls and forums on issues that arise. All these items allow their state organization to move forward in resolving these issues. I challenge each of you to become involved at whatever level you feel comfortable. The more you partici-pate, you will realize that just about everyone had some doubts or was a lit-tle uncomfortable at first or even still as to whether they would fit in or be able to contribute. It doesn’t take long to figure out that you are all working to accomplish the same results for your profession of land surveying.

“There is strength in numbers…it takes more than just wearing the same hat or title. Commitment, respect and passion are what make a successful team.” l

20

Allen PrecisionBerntsen international inc.carlson softwarecontinental Aerial surveyscrow friedman Groupe&o liability consultantseagle Pointearl Dudley inc.eTsuextreme logosfAro TechnologiesGrW Aerial surveysHayes instrument companyicM K&M Productsl.i. smith & AssociatesMuseum of surveyingnova copynsPsPhoto sciencePrecison Productsrowe Professional service companiesseco Manufacturing companysewall companyTuck Mapping solutions

special thanks to:Crow Friedman Groupco-sponsor of friday exhibitors reception

Hayes Instrument Companylanyards

Middle East Chapterrulers

Thanks to the following exhibitors for supporting our conference this year:

21

Brad Thomas, RLS, of Barge Waggoner Sumner and Cannon, Inc. (BWSC), received the Dan Barge, Jr., Award of Merit at the company’s annual meeting in Nashville on April 12. The award is given to an employee annually after a call for nominations from employees firm-wide. The award

recognizes an individual for distinctive performance in a situation in which he has demonstrated extraordinary ini-tiative or capability, beyond the normal requirements of the position, in furthering the interests of the firm. “Brad was spending days in the field, and nights and weekends on his project to deliver everything to the cli-ent by the due date,” said Judy Judson, RLS, Brad’s super-visor. “He made every meeting that was requested, and every deadline, some of which seemed impossible to meet. BWSC is lucky to have someone with these standards and dedication to the client and the company.” As a Registered Land Surveyor, Brad processes field work done by the field crews, produces finished drawings

Brad Thomas Receives Service Awardof a variety of survey types including ALTA/ASCM land title surveys, state standards boundary surveys, topographi-cal surveys, GPS control surveys, and various surveys for airports. He is adept in the latest laser scanning technol-ogy being utilized in the field, and he creates 3D models from data generated by this equipment. Brad has a Bachelor of Science degree in Surveying and Mapping from East Tennessee State University, and became a Registered Land Surveyor in Tennessee in 2007. He lives near Lebanon, and grew up in Nolensville, TN. Brad is a member of the Tennessee Association of Professional Surveyors where he serves as treasurer of the TAPS Middle Chapter. Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon, with headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, is an employee-owned engineer-ing, architecture, planning, landscape architecture and sur-veying firm with 11 offices located in Tennessee, Alabama, and Ohio. Celebrating more than 50 years of service, BWSC is among the top 250 engineering and design firms in the United States with approximately 400 employees. Visit BWSC’s web site for more information: www.barge-waggoner.com. l

Conference Highlights

The ladies Auxiliary program of flower arranging and cake decorating was a big hit. Dawn Duclos displays her decorated cake.some very special guests

showed up at the 40th Anniversary icebreaker reception hoping to seek out advice from TAPs past presidents on what it takes to be President. John Mccain (Jim Boyer) and Barak obama (Bart crattie) and Hillary clinton (Jim r. Helton)

The Journey Is the Destination – Norming & PerformingPart 2 of TAPS history will continue in the summer edition.

22

Blast From the Past – Charter Members

15th Anniversary

25th Anniversary

30th Anniversary

“Thanks to everyone who attended TAPS 40th Anniversary Conference.” Your participation and support is greatly appreciated and contributed to another successful conference.”

–benny moorman, taPs President and mario Forte, viCe President & ConFerenCe Chairman

23

One would think that after Bart Crattie was awarded “Surveyor of the Year” by his TAPS peers he would

just be content to place the award on the mantle, light a pipe, snuggle under a warm blanket on his recliner next to the fire place, relax while whiffing the aroma from his glass of Jack Daniel’s on the rocks, and read the latest exciting issue of “Clark: On Surveying and Boundaries.” But alas, no. He insists on injecting his energy and passion for the surveying profession on others. I have to admit it’s infectious. I had the privilege, along with co-volunteers Bob Taylor and robert Cabreras, to work with Bart on the Scouts Surveying Merit Badge program, which was held at a local high school just outside Chattanooga on May 3. Bart has been doing this for years, so it’s nothing new for him, but for the rest of us, it sure was an eye-opening experience. Bart brought a few instruments with him for the day—total stations, levels, data collectors, chains, rods, field books and scale rules for everyone, etc. It certainly helped having several surveyor volunteers, which allowed more time for instruction and demonstration. I for one had no idea how detailed and frankly, hard, the program was. Get this—in eight hours, the scouts, aged 13-16, would learn and do the following:• Learnaboutcommonsurveysafety,firstaidissuesand

potential hazards and dangers.• Learnabriefhistoryinmeasurement,datacollectionand

instrumentation.• Performreconnaissanceonafive-sidedlot(atraverseset

within the school parking lot).• Learnandthendemonstratesettingupatotalstation

over a control point, observing a back sight and turning an angle and distance to the next traverse point.

• Gatherallthetraverseinformationintheirfieldnote-books and draw a scaled map of the survey, which included a couple of topographic side shots to trees. The error of closure for the map must not be more than 5 feet (scaled).

• Performalevellooptodeterminetheelevationofallcorners (which means they had to learn to set up a level and learn to read the rod, take field notes and compute the data).

• Researchadeedonaparcelofland.

• WriteaMetes&Boundsdescription of the lot surveyed.

• LearnaboutGPSandothersur-veying applications.

All this in eight hours! I don’t know about you, but I went to uni-versity and studied surveying for four years and it took me several days just to learn how to set up the instru-ment properly over a point. These kids picked it up like a duck to water. (Note to TOPCON: I, along with the kids,

learned how to use a laser plummet today and I must say it’s a lot more fun than the opti-cal one. However I would prefer if you had an external button to push and turn on the laser, rather than searching through a couple of menu screens on the instrument panel for the “on” switch. Even the kids found that odd too).

A couple of things about the whole day I found truly amazing: The kids were won-derful to work with. There was so much to take in and learn, in just one day, and they did remarkably well. There’s truth in the saying that “kids learn when they are having fun,” and

these kids had a great time and learned a lot. They loved getting out of the classroom and working with the instru-ments. The other thing I found amazing was how enlight-ened the kids became about the surveying profession. Obviously great instruction and mentoring from Bart, but it was more than that. I could definitely see one or more of these kids considering a career in land surveying. The kids learned to respect the instruments and treated them with a lot of care, understanding the value and impor-tance of proper handling pro-cedures. They learned the importance of maintaining clear and legible field notes, and how the equipment obser-vations related to the maps they prepared and elevation calculations. The Surveying Merit Badge was definitely earned by all the kids that day. I was very proud of their accomplishments. What a great way to introduce a young generation to our profession. I highly recommend this rewarding experience to all surveyors. It’s a very simple way to promote our profession. I know for sure I’ll volunteer to do this again next year. By the way, the traverse the kids observed had a 2-second angular error and 0.14’ linear error. Not bad. Not bad at all. Good work, Bart and his volunteers. l

Surveying Merit BadgeSurveying Merit Badgemario g. Forte, rLs

25

On April 30, I had the unique opportunity to participate

in “Career Day” at Ramer Junior High School located in Ramer, TN. Ramer Junior High School is part of the McNairy County school sys-tem. Having gone K-12 through the McNairy County school system myself, it was an honor to be able to give back to a local school and repre-sent the surveying profession at the same time. Some of the other partici-pants included an accountant, educa-tors, a pharmacist, a radio DJ, a local trucking company and the military. I spoke from 9:00 to 11:00, giving four presentations to one group of sixth-graders, one group of seventh-graders and two groups of eighth graders. I began each presentation with a heavy emphasis on education. I went over the procedures necessary to become a Registered Land Surveyor with extra emphasis on the Surveying degree program at ETSU. I first out-lined the education requirements from Categories I, II and III of the “Blue Book.” I then outlined the 14-hour national exam and 2-hour state spe-cific exam. The students were over-whelmed by the education require-ments to be a surveyor. I tried to emphasize that we do a lot more than just measure from point A to point B. Next, I spoke on the different types of equipment utilized in my business which included a robotic total sta-tion, data collector, GPS and level-ing equipment. The students were quick to recognize the leveling rod as something they had seen before. A few others mentioned that they had seen a surveyor on the side of the road using one of those “camera things” before but they did not know what it was used for exactly. I asked them how much they thought one of those “camera things” cost. I got answers that varied from $200 to $10,000. No one could believe the $30,000 price tag attached to such an item. So they

Career DayCareer Day

asked, “What else does it do besides take pictures?” I explained the theory of light constancy, reflectivity, prism constants, temperature, refraction and barometric pressure. After they woke up, they said, “So basically you push a button and it tells you the angle and distance.” I agreed, “Yes, that is exactly what it does.” I also included a picture of miscellaneous items such as the iron locator, corner markers, cutting tools, safety cones and flagging. Lastly, I showed a picture of my office and the different items that are necessary to produce a hard copy of a survey which included computers, software, print-ers and plotters. I also included the internet as a necessary tool in the life of surveyor because of the vast online resources that we use each day. I included pictures of my work truck, cargo trailer, boat and four-wheeler. They were quick to notice the four-wheeler. The students thought I had a great job once they found out that I get to ride a four-wheeler all day. “Not quite,” I explained, “but sometimes the job requires the use of a four-wheeler.” The boat stumped them a little bit. I further explained that the boat is a piece of equipment that you hope you do not have to use too often. Next, I wanted to make the survey-ing profession interesting to them. I went into a detailed analysis of who and what a surveyor is by explain-ing the diversity in the surveying pro-fession. I drew a “dart board” design with the surveyor being the bulls-eye. Surrounding the bullseye are many different categories or profes-sions that we draw from each day. I included professions such as doc-tor to bandage the minor cuts, sprains and poison oak we incur. I included a lawyer to explain our disposition in court, title research and legal issues. I included psychologists to explain how I once talked a .357 out of a woman’s hand and explain that you never really

owned the 10 acres on the other side of the fence. Other professions included accountant, archeologist, forensic sci-entist, genealogist, engineer, marketer and politician. When you think about it, we really are blessed with the diver-sity in our profession. I told them that I enter a new office and workplace every day. That is why I love surveying and chose it for a career. I gave ample opportunity for the students to interact with me, come up and see the display and examine the sample surveys that I brought. They asked about a million question which I treated with equal respect. A question that may seem trivial to a surveyor may just be the reason a particular student decides to become the next genera-tion surveyor. Of course, every group wanted to know “how much does a survey cost” and “how much money do I make.” I went into detail concerning the procedures for completing a sur-vey and tried to attach a price compa-rable to the work involved. I explained that sometimes surveyors work by the hour and sometimes by contract. For the sake of inspiration, I told them that surveyors can easily make over $50,000 per year and even more in pri-vate practice. I think a few were ready to apply to ETSU right then. Lastly, I had to plug TAPS. I told them about the importance of giv-ing back and protecting the profession which provides your livelihood. No matter what we do for a living, it is our responsibility to govern ourselves. If we don’t, someone else will do it for us. This is what has inspired me to serve on the Board of Directors for the past eight years and maintain an active role ever since I became a member twelve years ago. I explained the important

by PauL C. henson, taPs President-eLeC t

continued on p. 26

26

works that we do legislatively to protect the surveying profession. I talked about involvement in a local chapter also. In conclusion, I would encourage any surveyor to seize the opportunity for participating in a Career Day at a local school. Once I was asked, I never hesitated to be involved. We complain every day because our clients do not understand what we do. EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE. I consider it time well spent any time that we can increase public awareness regard-ing the surveying profession. How else will we be able to maintain deserved respect from the public? Increased public awareness results in a new genera-tion of educated clients. It might even be enough to encourage a few to pur-sue a career in surveying. The ultimate compliment would be to offer one of these young students a job one day and be reminded that something I said during a thirty-minute presentation contributed to their decision. I would like to say thank you to Ramer Junior High School for the oppor-tunity to share with your students during “Career Day” about the surveying profession, and a very special thank you to Mrs. Tena Rowsey who personally invited me. I am already looking forward to next year. l

Career Day, cont. from p. 25

SB3838 by Bunch, Ramsey, HB2509 by Mumpower Civil Procedure - Clarifies cer-tain requirements relative to set-ting apart an easement or right-of-way for ingress and egress to land-locked property. Amends TCA Title 54, Chapter 14, Part 1. Generally, if a person’s land is surrounded by the land of another person who refuses to allow a private road to allow the enclosed person to pass to and from the enclosed land, then a county court, upon petition, must appoint a jury of view to visit the premises and mark a road through the refusing person’s land. Amendment #2 replaces the requirement that an objection must set out a substitute quantity of land in metes and bounds with a requirement that the person making the objection must prepare a plat that contains an alternative route to the one identified by the jury of view, which plat must be served on all parties and filed with the court within 30 days of the objection.

SB2946 by Haynes, HB2759 by Bibb Planning, Public - lowers number of days within which regional plan-ning commission must approve or disapprove plat before plat is deemed approved from 60 days to 35 days. Amends TCA section 13-3-404. Transmitted to Governor for action on May 13, 2008. Amendment #1 changes the time within which regional planning commission must approve or disapprove a plat before plat is deemed approved to be 60 days after the initial consideration of the plat by the planning commission meeting in a regularly-scheduled ses-sion, unless at the end of the 60-day period there is a holiday or an unex-pected, interceding event that closes municipal or county government offices and thus affects the normal computation of the 60-day period. In such cases, this amendment provides that the plat must be approved or dis-approved after the interrupted 60-day period at the next regularly-scheduled meeting of the commission.

This amendment also requires that a plat filed with the appropriate offi-cials of the planning commission be placed on the agenda of the planning commission within 30 days of the fil-ing or the next regularly-scheduled planning commission meeting after the 30-day period. The applicant may waive this requirement.

Bill information for SB4089 Abstract: eminent domain - requires an approval process by a planning commission and a govern-ing body before a public agency may exercise eminent domain. Amends TCA Title 29. This bill was intro-duced on January 31, 2008 and was eventually assigned to the House subcommittee of Civil Practice and Procedure. This bill is going nowhere for this year.

SB3874 by Kilby, HB3955 by Mumpower Planning, Public - requires plats filed in the registers office to include total acreage and/or the square foot-age shown for each individual lot Amends TCA Title 66, Chapter 24. Another bill actively followed by TAPS. This bill would have required the Register, in order for recordation, to express an opinion of a map, plat

or survey to distinctly show all works and figures necessary for clear and accurate determination of all metes, bonds, bearings, calls, easements or other information sought to be shown with sufficient clarity for reduction or reproduction. Recorded subdivi-sion plat, plats of any type or nature must also include total acreage and the square footage shown for each indi-vidual lot. This bill was introduced on January 31, 2008, made its way through several House and Senate subcom-mittees and was eventually taken off notice for the calendar in subcommit-tee Local Government of State and Local Government on April 2, 2008. It’s done for this year.

SB2401 by Harper, HB2436 by Moore highways, roads and Bridges - Prohibits issuance of a permit for the construction of a residence within 500 feet of a mapped highway without an environmental study. Amends TCA Title 54, Chapter 18, Part 2. This bill prohibits the issuing of a building permit for the construction of a resi-dential building within 500 feet of a mapped or abandoned highway unless the applicant has conducted an envi-ronmental study regarding the dangers

Legislative Report, cont.

continued on p. 29

27

Judy Judson, RLS, of Barge Waggoner Sumner and Cannon, Inc. (BWSC), has been named Vice President. She has 22 years of expe-rience with the survey department at BWSC’s Nashville office, and has been department manager since

2005. She manages three field crews with state-of-the-art surveying equipment such as GPS and robotics. Judson’s career with BWSC began in the Planning Department in 1986, and has continued to grow along with the rapidly changing techniques and practices in the surveying field. She was trained by Wendell Talley and Harold Fulghum, two long-term, notable surveyors with the firm who recently retired. She has become adept in the latest 3D laser equipment, which enables surveys to be produced more efficiently and accurately than with con-ventional surveying techniques and equipment. Judson studied pre-engineering at Middle Tennessee State University, and Surveying Practices at Nashville

State Community College. She is a Registered Land Surveyor in Tennessee, and is active with the Tennessee Association of Professional Surveyors, where she served as past president of the TAPS Middle Chapter. Originally from Winter Park, Fla., Judson currently lives in Rockvale, Tn., where she served as president of her subdivision’s homeowners association, and is a current member of the Architectural Review Committee. Judson has worked with Habitat for Humanity through the Women in Construction Organization, and supports the United Way and Junior Achievement. Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon, with headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, is an employee-owned engineer-ing, architecture, planning, landscape architecture and sur-veying firm with 11 offices located in Tennessee, Alabama, and Ohio. Celebrating more than 50 years of service, BWSC is among the top 250 engineering and design firms in the United States with approximately 400 employees. Visit BWSC’s web site for more information: www.barge-waggoner.com. l

Judy Judson, RLS, Elected Vice President For Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon

29

and costs involved with the placement of such a residential building. This bill was introduced in December of 2007 and made its way through sev-eral subcommittees. Eventually it was withdrawn from the Senate and is longer active.

Overall, TAPS, through the effec-tive work of Jay West, the legisla-tive committee, PAC committee and Board of Directors, effectively staved off several items that would have adversely affected the profes-sional land surveyors of Tennessee. This is one of the many benefits of TAPS to its members and land sur-veyors of Tennessee. Only by increas-ing our membership numbers can we continue to watch for and lobby for or against legislation that directly, adversely or not, benefits the land surveyors of Tennessee. If you see proposed legislation that you don’t agree with, call your representative, attend your local TAPS chapter meet-ing and express your ideas. More importantly, if you feel there “ought to be a law” that would benefit land surveying, let us know. Legislation starts from the grass roots. Allow your membership in TAPS to benefit all land surveyors by channeling your legislative ideas through us. l

Legislative Report, cont.

While I was testifying as an expert witness for the plaintiff, I was afraid the defendant’s attorney would notice our addition to the script and add to his line of questioning. In the original script there was to be no re-cross examination of me, but due to our surprise addition he did decide to re-cross examine me. I got to feel just a little bit what it is like to be a licensed surveyor in the hot seat, and I’ll tell you it wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be, so I stuck to “yes” and “no” answers. It gave me a whole different respect for surveyors who have testified as expert witnesses. It appears that attorneys are good at twisting words and doing everything in their power to discredit your testimony as an expert witness. After each witness was finished testifying, the floor was opened for questions from the audience, which ranged from questions about the trial at hand to ques-tions for the judge and attorneys. It was by far the most interactive learning ses-sion I have ever attended or been involved in. After the trial was over, all the attendees were so excited to speak with the participants and tell them that this was the most interesting and informative session that they had ever attended at a conference. The judge was also quick to note afterwards that in her profession they considered any continuing education course to be successful if everyone stayed awake and no one was reading magazines or a newspaper, which no one appeared to be doing during this event. All in all, I would recommend any sur-veyor, surveyor-intraining, or student who gets the opportunity to attend a mock trial most definitely do so! l

Reprinted with permission of the author and Professional Surveyor magazine.Ashley Rose-Nalin is a recent graduate in land surveying and geomatics engineering from Perdue University and began her surveying career in June 2007 with the The Schneider Corporation in Nashville Tennessee.

Testifying, cont. from p. 9

Jeff Miller presents lamar Powell with a plaque for his completion of the Tennessee portion of hiking the Appalachian Trail.

David Holland presents TAPs the Milestone Award for

completing their portion of the Appalachian Trail. Jeff Miller accepts the award on

TAPs’ behalf.

Promoting Land Surveying In Our Schools

Career With No Boundaries

www.lsrp.com/lseducation.html

www.nspsmo.org/trig_star/index.shtml

SCHOLARSHIPSwww.taps-inc.com

30

How many times have you heard the phrase, “My battery pack is

holding a memory”? Being in the bat-tery business, this is something we hear all the time. This term is used to explain the tendency of a recharge-able battery to remember the point up to which it was discharged over sev-eral cycles, before full discharge was attained. Subsequently, the battery behaves as if this point is the point of full discharge. This is a generally mis-understood phenomenon and a term often misused to explain various bat-tery problems. There are many sci-entific and theoretical explanations for why rechargeable batteries behave poorly at times. But in a practical sense, these problems can be analyzed and addressed without having to have a degree in chemical engineering. So if your battery has “Alzheimer’s,” based on the explanation above, it’s a good thing.

“Memory Effect” is essentially caused when a rechargeable battery is recharged to full capacity and then used in the field to a point where the battery never reaches full discharge before being placed on recharge again. For argument’s sake, let’s imagine a battery being a container of sugar, where you fill it up and then use what you need before refilling it again. If you constantly use only the top por-tion of the container and refill it with new sugar, the remaining portion you have not touched in a while begins to get stale. The same is true for a bat-tery. The remaining charge, that you never allow the instrument to access, over time starts to stagnate.

Initially, the charge in a battery is at a uniform voltage throughout the cells. The voltage begins to drop immedi-ately after removal from the charger. If all the charge in the battery is not consumed before recharging, the por-tion that is left unused continues to

My Total Station Battery Has Alzheimer’s…and That’s a Good Thing!

by arthur dias, b.sC.

drop in voltage and becomes “stale.” Eventually, the voltage in this “stale” portion drops so low that when your instrument is finished gobbling up all the “fresh” charge, it hits this “stale” portion like a brick wall. The instru-ment is confronted with a sudden drop in voltage, at a level below the “low battery” indicator threshold. The bat-tery cannot power the instrument now without being recharged again.

The only way to recover the perfor-mance of the battery is to somehow remove that “stale” charge in the bat-tery and restore a fresh new charge. Unfortunately, some total station man-ufacturers have designed their instru-ments and chargers in a way that makes it almost impossible to correct this problem. Chargers with a “dis-charge” function built in may not work to correct the problem at this point either. The low voltage point of stale charge will also cause the discharge operation to cease prematurely, leaving the stale charge still in the battery. In a case like this, a battery service shop with the proper equipment can analyze the battery, remove the stale charge and solve the problem.

Trying to live with the problem will only make it worse and can actu-ally ruin the chances of correcting the problem at all. Just like the con-tainer of sugar example, eventually this stale part will become so solid and entrenched in the battery that it will permanently ruin that part of the bat-tery and diminish its ability to accept a usable charge again. What also appears to happen is that the portion of the battery that is able to receive fresh charge now goes through many rapid cycles and in effect “wears out” that portion of the battery prematurely. You are now left with a container of hard-packed stale sugar at the bottom, with the top part of the container so worn out that it can barely contain the

new sugar that you keep replenishing it with.

Here are several things that can be done to avoid this problem. Some I am sure you have heard before, but they are still worth repeating.

•Always fully discharge the bat-tery each time you use it in the field. Number all your batteries and learn the run time of each one through reg-ular use. If you still carry enough battery power with you for the next day’s work, wait and use that all up before recharging again. Always avoid recharging any batteries that have not been fully run down.

•At the first sign of a sudden decrease in performance, set that battery aside until returning to the office. At the office, put this prob-lem battery back into the instrument and set the instrument on a heavy bat-tery demand operation (like “track-ing mode” measuring against a prism). Now run the instrument to the point where it shuts off on its own from lack of battery power. Wait five min-utes and repeat the procedure. Repeat this until you feel the instrument has drained as much as possible from the battery. Now put the battery on charge (preferably a slow charge, if your charger has that setting).

•if storing the instrument away for a week or two, do not recharge the battery until the night before it is needed in the field again.

•if storing the instrument for a month or two, or even longer, charge up the battery before storage and then once a month until the storage period is over. Every second month, fully discharge the battery before recharging.

•Always let the battery reach room temperature before recharging. Excessively cold batteries will resist being charged and actually fool auto

continued

My Total Station Battery Has Alzheimer’s…and That’s a Good Thing!

31

shut-off chargers into thinking the battery is fully recharged when in real-ity it is not. When the battery is not allowed to fully recharge over many cycles, you may end up with the same problem as the “memory effect.”

Within the last few years, many instrument manufacturers have switched to Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) cells in their battery packs instead of the old industry workhorse, NiCd. The main advantage of NiMH cells is their ability to hold much more charge in the same size cell as the equivalent NiCd and they are more environmentally friendly as well. NiMH cells have also been touted as not having the memory effect prob-lem of the NiCd cells. However, our experience has shown that this is not always the case. Although they may resist the effect from taking hold as easily as NiCds, the same maintenance procedure should be followed—always fully discharge the battery before recharging again. NiMH cells also have one big drawback compared to their NiCd counterparts—their inter-nal resistance is higher.

The internal resistance of a cell will govern how readily it will accept a charge when applied, and how easily it will release that charge while main-taining its voltage when required to do so. Internal resistance also explains why NiMH battery packs sometimes get much warmer during recharge than NiCds. Since internal resistance is a problem that gets worse with the age of the cell for both NiCd and NiMH, designing the instrument and charger to meet these demands is a difficult balancing act, with some manufactur-ers having done a better job at it than others.

A NiMH charger that is designed to charge the battery in a 10- to 14-hour period will always do a better job of topping up the battery than a charger that is designed to do it in 2 to 3 hours. The internal resistance of the

battery will always force the charger to apply a higher voltage during recharg-ing to overcome the resistance. This resistance is more pronounced during a fast charge procedure than during a slow charge. Eventually the charger is forced to such a high voltage that it assumes the battery is recharged and shuts off, never recharging the battery to its full potential. As the NiMH battery gets older, the problem gets worse. It is always best, if your field working procedure allows for it, to choose a slow overnight charger cycle. Many OEM chargers for NiMH cells offer both fast and slow charge cycles. Also, chargers that monitor the inter-nal temperature of the battery dur-ing a fast charge seem to do the best job of recharging the NiMH batteries quickly.

Another point worth mentioning is the idea of replacing old NiCd cells in a pack with NiMH cells, during a re-cell procedure. This is only recom-mended if you have just that one bat-tery to run your instrument. You must also be prepared to accept that NiMH cells do not maintain original per-formance through as many cycles as NiCd cells. But since the NiMH cells start out with the ability to hold much more charge than their NiCd coun-terparts, the advantages of the NiMH

cells are still something worth consid-ering. Unfortunately, your old NiCd charger may never properly recharge the NiMH cells to their full poten-tial because it was not designed for the different requirements of the NiMHs. Even at less than 100% performance, however, the greater capacity of the NiMH cells will generally be realized if that battery is properly maintained from the beginning. In reality, though, many users will just add this NiMH battery into a mix of other NiCd bat-teries being carried into the field for the instrument. Our experience has found that in short order,the NiMH battery will get “lazy” and settle into a performance that is no better than if it had been re-celled using NiCd cells. The advantages of converting to NiMH cells over the original NiCd cells would be lost, not to mention this “misfit” battery pack now has a dimin-ished life cycle. The final bit of advice I can give is similar to the advice that we often get from our own doctor: Batteries stay healthier through regular exercise on a daily basis! l

Arthur Dias is a founding partner of Dias & Dias Electronics and www.surveybattery.com. His company has been repairing battery packs for sur-veying equipment worldwide for over 11 years now.

Battery, cont.

Pioneer Land Grants, Traces, Roads and Pioneer Stations in the Central Valley

of the Cumberland River

July 26, 2008TSLA Auditorium9:00-11:00 a.m.

www.reference.tsla@state.tn.us

Reservations can be made via e-mail to workshop.tsla@state.tn.us. Patrons can also register by telephone by calling 615-741-2764.

Seating is limited, so please reserve your space now. No registration fee.

S P R I N G 2 0 0 8

Is TAPS on the right path? It does matter which way we go!

TAPS Strategic Planning Session

July 12 & 13, 2008

What is the number one issue for Tennessee Land Surveyors?

What is your highest priority for TAPS ? How can it be achieved?

Talk to TAPS at www.taps-inc.com

Tennessee Association of Professional Surveyors607 W. Due West Avenue, Suite 96Madison, TN 37115-4420

615-860-9311Fax: 615-860-7177E-mail: tapsinc_@bellsouth.netwww.taps-inc.com

AFFILIATE - NATIONAL SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL SURVEYORS

AFFILIATE - AMERICAN CONGRESS ON SURVEYING AND MAPPING

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Let us know your new address.

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PAIDNashville, TN

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u p c o m i n g e v e n t s :

d i r e c t o r y c o r r e c t i o n s :

T A P S S T R A T E G I C P L A N N I N G S E S S I O NJuly 12 & 13, 2008MONTGOMERY BELL INNMONTGOMERY BELL STATE PARK, Burns, TNtapsinc_@bellsouth.net M I D D L E E A S T C H A P T E R S H O O T O U TAugust 2, 2008The Cove at Concord Park, Knoxville, TNContact Brennon Garrett, brennon_garrett@excite.com865-809-6468

T A P S B O D M e e t i n gAugust 16, 2008CARNEGIE HOTEL, Johnson City, TN1-866-757-8277tapsinc_@bellsouth.net

T A P S 4 1 S T A N N U A L C O N F E R E N C E &T E C H N O L O G Y E X H I B I T I O NMarch 5-7, 2009EMBASSY SUITES CONFERENCE CENTER, Mur freesboro, TNtapsinc_@bellsouth.net

J O I N T M E E T I N G N S P S A R E A 3 & 4 G O V E R N O R S ,S T A T E B O A R D S O F D I R E C T O R S A N D S E M I N A R SAugust 15 & 16, 2008CARNEGIE HOTEL, Johnson City, TN1-866-757-8277Contact Jef f Miller, jamiller@mls-llc.com423-787-7878Brochure available online, www.taps-inc.comClick on Conferences & Meetings Link

T A P S F A L L B U S I N E S S M E E T I N G & S E M I N A R STO BE ANNOUNCED

Add to Affiliate Member List page 37K & M ProductsRon Kirkland3248 Patton Road, Franklin, NC 28734828-524-5905kmproducts@dnet.net

Member List Keith Wilson: rls1786 @yahoo.com page 36Brennon Garrett 865-809-6468 page 19Eddy Garrett 865-933-5622 page 19Jeff Miller jamiller@mls-llc.com page 26Steve Sanders Full page 30; add to Licensed Surveyors by County on page 39 - Davidson

Remove the following names from Licensed Surveyors by County as they are not licensed:

Robert K. Reed from UnicoiPatrick McLeroy from TiptonDerrick Story from Dickson

ddd i

Add KR38k

P l e a s e m a k e t h e f o l l o w i n g c o r r e c t i o n s t o y o u r d i r e c t o r y

n e wm e m b e r s

Bar t Lay - Smithvil le, TN

Steven Jones - Johnson City, TN

Dewey Durham - Dickson, TN

Daniel Oliver - Heiskell , TN.

Joe James, I I I - Mar tin, TN

Dale Cipar - Ashevil le, NC

Thomas Ore - Winchester, TN

Michael Henr y - Dickson, TN

Will iam T. Pomeroy - Woodbur y, TN

Ashley Berkley - Olive Branch, MS

Stephen Maholland - Pleasant View, TN

Matthew Mar tin - Chattanooga, TN

Rober t K. Reed - Er win, TN

Thomas Baumann - Cincinnati, OH

Michael Moore - Cottontown, TN