blogJan2006

Issues, trends, events, ideas and journalism from the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues

Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006

Study by Wal-Mart indicates meth abusers costing employers millions nationwide

The methamphetamine epidemic, which began in rural America and remains disproportinately rural, is taking its toll on corporate profit and loss statements nationwide.

"A recent study funded by the Wal-Mart Foundation determined that each meth-using employee costs his or her employer $47,500 a year in terms of lost productivity, absenteeism, higher health-care costs and higher workers' compensation costs," reports Erin Moriarity of MSNBC.

The study, conducted in 2004 in Benton County, Arkansas, the home of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., surveyed 2,934 workers at several companies about meth, notes Moriarity. Using an economic model, researchers calculated that one county's meth problem was costing employers about $21 million a year. A 2005 study of a neighboring county showed employee meth abuse cost employers $24 million a year.

Katherine Deck of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas, which conducted the study, told Moriarity, "People were absolutely shocked. The numbers are really big when you think about what $21 million means to a relatively small community."

Deck recommends employers educate themselves about meth and raise employees' awareness about the drug. She told Moriarity, "Employers everywhere certainly need to be aware of what's going on. It's a problem that is becoming dramatic very quickly. It's sneaking up on folks." (Read more)

Proliferation of meth labs causing farmers fertilizer problems, reports Ohio paper

Anhydrous ammonia fertilizes crops and makes methamphetamine, so the latter makes it a target for thieves. That, along with handling hazards, makes it unattractive to sell, reports the Mount Vernon [Ohio] News.

"Anhydrous ammonia is no longer available from any Knox County farm supply dealer," writes the newspaper's George Breithaupt. Jim Boyd of B&B Farm Service, the last area dealer to sell anhydrous ammonia, told Breithaupt, “It [security] was one of the factors — probably the final straw — but not the only one. We knew they’d [the thieves] been here. They’d leave tanks and leave valves open. Most everything they were into was empty. We were debating before that started to happen and I guess that was one of the things that pushed us.”

Knox County Sheriff David Barber told Breithaupt the proliferation of meth labs is becoming more and more of a problem in rural areas because of the relative ease of obtaining the anhydrous ammonia. He advises area farmers to bring the tank back in from the field and store it in a well-lit secure structure. (Read more)

Anhydrous ammonia can causes severe burns and damage the eyes and respiratory tract, notes Breithaupt.

Drugs, not poverty, are driving force behind crime, say East Tennessee officials

Sevier County, Tennessee, is finding that drug use is playing a much larger role in crimes of desperation than does poverty.

Detective Jeff McCarter told Jeff Farrell of The Mountain Press in Sevierville, "[With] most of the people we deal with on poverty-related crime, the money is going to support a drug habit." McCarter said methamphetamine, crack, oxycontin and similar pharmaceuticals are often the drugs of choice.

Sheriff Bruce Montgomery told Farrell, "If poverty is that bad, they don't have the resources to (commit crimes)." Montgomery added that "when poverty is really the primary issue facing local families or residents, they tend to focus on finding work or getting jobs that pay more." (Read more)

Sociologists like Lois Presser of The University of Tennessee are reevaluating the role poverty plays in crime rates. Presser told Farrell, there is some correlation between poverty rates and street crimes, but sociologists are considering what underlying factors contribute to that. "We have a boatload of theories," she said. "I'm a professor and I have things to lose, including intangibles ... like reputation. They [the poor] have fewer things to lose." The U.S. Department of Justice has also looked at the relationship between poverty and crime and one study found more domestic violence in poor households and in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Very small daily probes potential impact of Maytag leaving Newton, Iowa

When the 15,550 residents of Newton, Iowa, learned Dec. 22 about Maytag Corp.'s pending sell to rival Michigan-based Whirlpool, the town started wondering about the deal's impact. Just last year, Maytag had laid off employees, but still accounted for roughly 72 percent of the the county's manufacturing jobs.

The 5,476-circulation Newton Daily News, backed by its parent company, Shaw Newspapers, took a proactive approach to the possible impact of Maytag's sell. "Instead of hiring a full-time reporter from outside the newspaper, Editor Peter Hussman insisted that a local person cover the story. He took on that responsibility and the paper hired a full-time employee to assist in the newsroom. Shaw Newspapers and President Tom Shaw also funded the hiring of Steve Gray, managing director of the American Press Institute’s 'Newspaper Next' project and Inland past president, to facilitate the process of informing the public," writes Randy Craig for The Inlander, the periodical of the Inland Press Association.

In addition to a series, the newspaper hosted a community forum that attracted 100 people to examine the potential risks to the community should the sell be approved, the community’s strengths that will remain and avenues for continued economic prosperity.

"Perceptions have changed since the series began in August, Hussman said. The forum revealed the community had strengths beyond Maytag’s presence. The series showed that some signs of the economy remained strong even during the first onslaught of Maytag job reductions. These were things that the competing media outside of Newton failed to see or report," writes Craig. (Read more)

Mine-safety agency mulling new rules after recent disasters; regs rejected earlier

Federal mine regulators are considering safety improvements to help miners survive underground fires and explosions, after one of the deadliest months for coal mining in years. The proposals include mandatory caches of oxygen tanks and breathing masks inside every coal mine.

"The idea may have struck some miners as familiar, because it was. A similar proposal was put forward by the same regulators six years ago, only to be scrapped by the Bush administration shortly after it took office. And the oxygen caches were not the only proposed safety improvement to be withdrawn," writes Joby Warrick of The Washington Post.

A review of agency records shows the administration abandoned or delayed implementation of 18 safety rules proposed in the closing months of the Clinton administration. The Mine Safety and Health Administration has revived at least two of the dropped proposals in the wake of deadly accidents at the Sago and Alma mines in West Virginia, writes Warrick. Ken Ward Jr. also reports on the MSHA developments in today's Charleston Gazette. (Click here to read Ward's story)

In addition to the proposal to require caches of oxygen tanks, MSHA is again considering expanding the number of mine rescue teams available to respond to disasters. A similar proposal to beef up rescue teams was scrapped by the agency in 2002, agency records show. MSHA acknowledged dropping Clinton-era safety proposals to pursue its own regulatory agenda, but an agency spokesman told Warrick the commitment to safety has not diminished. (Click here to read Warrick's storyt)

N.Y. Times spotlights closure of Courier-Journal bureaus, especially Hazard

The closing of The Courier-Journal's bureaus in Hazard, Paducah and Elizabethtown, Ky., reported here last month, got a close examination yesterday from New York Times media reporter Kit Seelye.

"The paper is shifting its resources to Louisville's growing suburbs, following a national trend of enhancing local coverage, and it wants to build its presence online," Seelye writes. "Newspapers across the country are retrenching, redeploying their employees and resources while they try to ride out what they hope is a temporary slump but one made all the more worrisome as readers and advertisers migrate to the Internet. These strategic decisions, about what to keep and what to cut, determine which regions and which issues receive attention and which do not." In this case, coal mining, which needs more coverage, will get less.

"The Hazard bureau . . . is closing just as the coal-mining industry is resurgent and mine safety issues are back in the news," Seelye wrote after a trip to Hazard. Former state and federal mine-safety regulator Tony Oppegard told her, "In this climate, you need a watchdog like The Courier-Journal all the more. The Courier-Journal has really been the voice for people in Kentucky who don't have a voice otherwise."

Courier-Journal executives told Seelye that mining issues would be covered by reporters in Louisville. Special-projects reporter R. G. Dunlop, who was the Hazard reporter in 1978-86, told her, "It's hard to have your ear on the ground when the ground is 200 miles away." He added, "We will bring less expertise to the table when the time comes to cover issues in Appalachia, if we choose to do so at all."

Another Hazard bureau alum, C-J Editorial Director and Vice President David Hawpe, told Seelye his section is recruiting writers around the state to spotlight issues beyond the metro area. "Breaking-news stories are not the issue," he said. "The issue is will we have the contacts, the eyes and ears ... . If we don't do a good job, our historic connection with the rest of the state will fall apart." (Read more)

Near Kentucky's eastern tip, Marty Backus, publisher of the thrice-weekly Appalachian News-Express, recalls "when the big dailies used to be plentiful around here. Papers from Ashland, Huntington, Louisville, but all have pulled out of our area. But don't worry, we're here to provide you with the news happenings in Pike County and with some news from Kentucky. We're here to stay with you, Pike County!" (Read more)

Officials closing loophole that allows overweight trucks on Kentucky coal-roads

While the Courier-Journal has abandoned its presence in Eastern Kentucky, the Lexington Herald-Leader is still there with veteran reporter Lee Mueller, who has covered coal-related issues for decades and this week did a story that appears to have prompted the closing of a loophole for heavy coal trucks.

"Kentucky transportation officials have stopped issuing permits that allow coal trucks with extra axles to exceed state weight limits on Eastern Kentucky highways. The decision, announced after highway officials met with Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement agency officers, will let die a little-known exemption that state attorneys agree should never have been issued, said Doug Hogan, a spokesman for the Transportation Cabinet," writes Mueller, who did a story about the loophole in yesterday's paper.

Hogan told Mueller, "This was just a blanket approval, basically, to be overweight and that's an approval we are rescinding immediately and there will not be any additional approvals in April when the existing permits expire." Hogan also told Mueller that fewer than 30 permits will be affected, and that he did not know when the cabinet decided to begin issuing the truck-axle exemptions. The numbers increased from one in 2000 to 19 in 2005.

The provision was included anonymously as a committee substitute in Kentucky's 1986 law that already allowed coal trucks to haul 46,000 pounds, or 23 tons, more than the 80,000-pound federal weight limit on other trucks. More than 2,900 of those permits have been issued, writes Mueller. (Read more)

You heard it here first: USDA proposal for China to process poultry for U. S.

The Associated Press is now reporting what The Rural Blog first reported Nov. 29, that the Department of Agriculture wants to allow shipments of poultry that have been processed in China into the U.S. Thousands of birds and several people in China have died from bird flu.

The U.S. does not accept live poultry imports from countries where the virulent bird flu strain is present, and it still would not under the new proposed policy. [But] critics of the plan want the proposal dropped, and the U.S. industry says allowing the shipments could create safety concerns with consumers, writes AP's Libby Quaid.

China would process poultry slaughtered in the U.S. or in other countries from which the U.S. accepts poultry. Senator Tom Harkin, who is on the Senate Agriculture Committee, told Quaid "it is not wise" to allow processed poultry imports from China right now. National Chicken Council spokesman Richard Lobb told Quaid, "The timing is a mystery to us. We did not seek this rule. We're not objecting to it, but we didn't support it, either." (Read more) For The Rural Blog's initial item, click here.

Landfill lighting homes, powering community with methane-recovery project

A Missouri landfill project has given new meaning to the adage "One man's trash is another man's treasure."

"Randy Haggard fires up a massive boiler [that] sits inside a shack at the county landfill. Within moments, the shack is filled with a whine as pressure rises in the boiler, creating steam that cranks a turbine to a 525-kilowatt generator. The electricity will be pushed onto Empire District Electric Co.’s grid, the first time electricity will be provided to the Joplin utility from a [trash-to-cash] landfill methane project," writes Adam Bednar of The Joplin [Mo.] Globe.

Haggard told Bednar the idea struck him as he was watching the flame used at the site to burn off excess methane caused by the decomposition of waste at the landfill. Clyde Longan, who installed and maintains the boiler, told Bednar, "There was a lot of energy just burning off into the atmosphere."

Generating electricity from methane is not unique to the Newton-McDonald County Landfill, notes Bednar. Other operations are using landfill methane to heat schools and businesses, or selling the power generated by the rotting coffee grounds, newspapers and other materials, he writes. Jim Hull, solid waste management program director for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, told Bednar, "It’s something that most landfills, if it’s not already on their plate, are considering it. "Haggard predicts that the sale of electricity will pay for the $150,000 in setup costs within a year, writes Bednar. (Read more)

Connected in crisis: Ideas to resolve emergency-call problems of Internet phoning

If you live in an area covered by 911 service, you probably take it for granted, but that's not how it has been for the first few years of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services, writes David Radin, technology reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Emergency phone service in rural areas is an especially critical issue.

"If you use VoIP to connect your phone to the Internet instead of using a standard phone line, your call might have been forwarded to the 911 switchboard -- or it might have gone to an administrative number at a local police or public service department. If it went to the latter, you might have reached a voice mail box and your message might not have been heard for hours -- hardly a good solution for time-critical emergency situations," writes Radin.

Radin notes that "despite the warnings of the VoIP services ... that they didn't offer your father's 911 service, people didn't realize that there was a significant difference between their VoIP 911 and traditional 911. So problems have resulted. A woman in Deltona, Fla., blamed Vonage because her baby died after the woman was unable to reach 911 assistance. In Texas, a girl was unable to obtain emergency aid by dialing 911 after she saw her parents shot by an intruder."

This has prompted the FCC to require VoIP vendors to provide an equivalent to traditional 911 in order to connect their calls into the public telephone system. "The vendors have been implementing the orders so your 911 calls now should go to the proper 911 switchboard," writes Radin. (Read more)

Hitchhiker's guide: Thumbing becomes one man's necessity, journey, cause

For many, especially military personnel and thousands affected by the Great Depression, hitchhiking was a necessity of life through much of the last century, when a waiving thumb was a widely accepted ticket to ride through the vistas of rural America. For one suburban Washington, D.C. man, transit has become his cause.

John Schindel, a 40-year-old construction site foreman, is a hitchhiker. "Since a drunken-driving conviction a decade ago that left him unable to drive to sites around Washington, he has relied on the kindness of strangers and neighbors who see the vest and working man's lunchbox and feel moved to share their nice, warm cars with a musty-smelling stranger," writes Michelle Boorstein of The Washington Post.

In the 10 years since he was declared a habitual offender, Schindel has depended on hitchhiking to get to his job site, wherever it is in the area. Schindel has to decide each morning "whether to stick with the ride or to try to connect with some other patch on his quilt of transportation methods," writes Boorstein.

And, Schindel has become an unelected statesman for carless, struggling exurban workers, lobbying for bus service everywhere from the Stafford County supervisors' meetings and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's recent Fairfax transportation forum to the Pentagon slug line, notes Boorstein.

Known as "Hitchhike," Schindel has ridden with assistant Redskins head coach Joe Bugel, and three men who were about to rob him before he bailed out into a snowbank at 35 mph. "He has been spat at, yelled at, swerved around -- deliberately, he believes -- and been the target of flying bottles. He has become more grateful for what he has but also more ruthless, confronting people at neighborhood picnics who don't pick him up," writes Boorstein. (Read more)

Jim Amoss of Times-Picayune chosen Editor & Publisher's 'Editor of the Year'

Jim Amoss, editor of The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, is Editor & Publisher's 2006 Editor of Year.

"In an unprecedented 10-page profile for the February 2006 issue, E&P's Mark Fitzgerald reveals that Amoss is being honored for directing his newsroom in its remarkable coverage 'before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina hit' in New Orleans last August," writes Greg Mitchell of Editor & Publisher.

The story recalls the newspaper's extensive past reporting on the city's vulnerability, especially the "Washing Away" series by reporters John McQuaid and Mark Schleifstein that predicted with eerie accuracy the horrific consequences of poor emergency preparedness planning by local, state, and federal governments.

Times-Picayune journalists accomplished all this, E & P notes, despite being forced to evacuate their newsroom and produce a paper on the fly with help from two other Louisiana dailies. Amoss, E & P writes, "has presided over the final burial of a reputation for mediocrity that dogged the paper for so long." (Read more)

Rural Calendar: Entry deadlines for three media contests TODAY

Feb. 1: Deadline for entries in Inland Press Association non-daily contest

The Inland Press Foundation invites non-daily newspapers to enter the Nation’s Best Non-Daily Newspaper Contest. This contest recognizes non-daily newspapers’ efforts in producing high-quality editorial material; presenting innovative, attractive packaging of that material; and serving their communities effectively as a source for news and information.

The contest is open to all U.S. newspapers published for general circulation at least weekly but not more than three days per week. There will be one award in each of three circulation categories: Under 5,000; 5,000 to 10,000; Over 10,000.

Winning newspapers will be honored at Inland’s Weekly Newspaper Conference Feb. 23-25 at the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront. First, second and third-place awards will be presented for each category. Each of the following judging criteria will be given equal weight:

Quality of Writing and Reporting: In news, features, sports, columns, business, entertainment, enterprise projects, editorials and other types of stories. Readability, clean copy, strong headlines, and stories that maintain the readers’ interest while provoking thought and emotion will be valued.
Story Selection: Breadth and depth of community coverage, intensity of local focus and commitment to adding value for the reader. Judges will look for fresh treatments of tired subjects and stories that offer guidance, possible solutions, helpful explanations or sources for additional information.
Design and Presentation: Quality of graphics, photography, layout, typography and other art elements, and how they work together to enhance readership and the dissemination of information.
Community Focus: Features, special sections or niche publications, news packages, editorial series and other newspaper services that increase the value of the paper to its readers and community. Judges will look at ways the newspaper advances the public good.

A newspaper’s entry will consist of three issues: one issue of the newspaper from each of two specified weeks, and one issue that will be the entrant’s choice. Pre-selected weeks are April 3-9 and July 3-9, 2005. The entrant’s choice can be any issue published in 2005.

Entrants must also fill out an entry form and provide a short narrative in support of their entry. Forms are available from the Inland Web site, www.inlandpress.org. Go to the File Gallery and select “Current Contests.” An entry fee of $15 will be required for Inland member newspapers; $25 each for nonmembers. Make checks payable to Inland Press Foundation. For more information, contact Elaine Lange at Inland, (847) 795-0380 or e-mail elange@inlandpress.org.

Entries must be received by Feb. 1. Entries should be sent to: Inland Press Foundation, ATTN: Non-Daily Contest, 701 Lee St., Suite 925, Des Plaines, IL 60016. For an entry form, click here.

Feb. 1: Nomination deadline for Eugene Cervi 2006 award, honoring editor

The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors is seeking nominations, justification for nomination, and biographical information for the organization's Eugene Cervi 2006 Award.

If you know of anyone in your state or province who might be deserving of ISWNE's Eugene Cervi Award, you can contact Chad Stebbins at the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors at
Missouri Southern State University, 3950 E. Newman Road, Joplin MO 64801-1595.

The Eugene Cervi Award was established by ISWNE in 1976 to honor the memory of the late editor of the Rocky Mountain Journal in Denver. It recognizes an editor who has consistently acted in the conviction that "good journalism begets good government."

The award recognizes consistently aggressive reporting of government at the grassroots level and interpretation of public affairs, writes Stebbins. Letters of nomination along with a biographical data sheet must be sent by Feb. 1. For more information, go to the Web site and click on Contests.

Feb. 1: Nominations due for Spadaro Awards for media arts and technology

One of the Jack Spadaro Awards is given annually to recognize the best documentary on Appalachia or its people. The award recognizes the producer for outstanding work in film, video, television, or radio. Eligibility and technical requirements for nominations are available from Jack Wright at 740-597-3080 or jwright@ohio.edu. Complete nomination materials are due Feb. 1, 2006.

A second award, the e-Appalachia Award, is given annually to an outstanding Web site that provides insight on Appalachia and its people, or provides a vital community service to Appalachians. Nominations should be made to: Roy Silver at 606-589-3139 or at rsilver@uky.edu before February 1, 2006.

Monday, Jan. 30, 2006

N.Y. Times spotlights closure of Courier-Journal bureaus, especially Hazard

The closing of The Courier-Journal's bureaus in Hazard, Paducah and Elizabethtown, Ky., reported here last month, got a close examination today from New York Times media reporter Kit Seelye.

"The paper is shifting its resources to Louisville's growing suburbs, following a national trend of enhancing local coverage, and it wants to build its presence online," Seeyle writes. "Newspapers across the country are retrenching, redeploying their employees and resources while they try to ride out what they hope is a temporary slump but one made all the more worrisome as readers and advertisers migrate to the Internet. These strategic decisions, about what to keep and what to cut, determine which regions and which issues receive attention and which do not." In this case, coal mining, which needs more coverage, will get less.

"The Hazard bureau . . . is closing just as the coal-mining industry is resurgent and mine safety issues are back in the news," Seeyle wrote after a trip to Hazard. Former state and federal mine-safety regulator Tony Oppegard told her, "In this climate, you need a watchdog like The Courier-Journal all the more. The Courier-Journal has really been the voice for people in Kentucky who don't have a voice otherwise."

Courier-Journal executives told Seelye that mining issues would be covered by reporters in Louisville, but special-projects reporter R.G. Dunlop, who was the Hazard reporter in 1978-86, told her, "It's hard to have your ear on the ground when the ground is 200 miles away." He added, "We will bring less expertise to the table when the time comes to cover issues in Appalachia, if we choose to do so at all."

Near Kentucky's eastern tip, thrice-weekly Appalachian News-Express Publisher Marty Backus recalls "when the big dailies used to be plentiful around here. Papers from Ashland, Huntington, Louisville, but all have pulled out of our area. But don't worry, we're here to provide you with the news happenings in Pike County and with some news from Kentucky. We're here to stay with you, Pike County!" (Read more)

Canadian miners escaped catastrophe, retreated to 'safe rooms' until rescued

Seventy potash miners took to safe rooms as refuge from an underground fire at a potash mine in the province of Saskatchewan until rescue crews were able to bring them back to the surface this morning, reports Tim Cook of The Canadian Press. "Officials breathed a huge sigh of relief as they were able to extinguish the blaze and determine all the workers were safe and healthy," writes Cook.

Mosaic Company, a U.S.-based firm, operates the mine about 130 miles northeast of the provincial capital of Regina. Rescue teams wearing breathing apparatus rotated shifts every few hours in the mine. About 20 hours after the event began, the fire was finally put out and work was begun on clearing the smoke so the miners could be brought out safely, reports Cook.

"The miners, who had been on shift since 7 p.m. on Saturday night, reported smoke and then headed for the safe rooms, sealed-off areas that can be as large as 15 meters by 45 meters and have an internal supply of oxygen that lasts up to 36 hours, along with food, water, chairs and beds," writes Cook. (Read more)

West Virginia governor gaining national largess from coal mining deaths, actions

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin's handling of back-to-back coal mining tragedies has caught the attention of a nation and a region, and political observers "with his caring, compassion and commitment to action," reports The Associated Press.

Marty Backus, publisher of the thrice-weekly Appalachian News-Express in Pikeville, Ky., praised Manchin in a column yesterday and joined those who are saying he could be a national figure. "There will be one rising star as a result of the recent disasters in our mining communities," Backus writes. "Right now, he has the highest rating of any governor in the United States. His citizens give him an 80 percent approval rating, and if the national Democratic Party is looking for a new hero then they need to keep an eye on Manchin." (Read more)

AP's Vicki Smith writes, "The first-term Democrat ushered a landmark mine-safety bill through the state Legislature, then went to Washington to urge federal lawmakers to do the same." Donald Boylen, a retired coal miner, told Smith, "I'm a Republican, but if I ever meet the man, I will shake his hand because he has done a great job." Manchin spent nearly 90 hours with miners' families over three weeks, first at Sago where 12 coal miners were killed, then at Aracoma Coal's Alma No. 1 mine in Melville, where two died, notes Smith. Boylen told Smith, "There's governors who came and left, but he came and stayed."

Republican U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito has given Manchin the title "comforter in chief," and praised him for an "excellent political response." Manchin, writes Smith, "plays down his newfound popularity, saying he'll use it to improve education and job opportunities for West Virginia families." He told Smith, "I'm very honored by this, but I think it's something that should be used very constructively for our state." Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, told AP that Manchin could make an appealing vice presidential candidate in 2008. (Read more)

Newspaper notes shame of 16 deaths to prompt mine safety actions

The Appalachian News-Express, noting the push for mine safety legislation at record speed in West Virginia followed by similar actions and proposals in other states, observes with a critical pen, "It's a shame it took the deaths of 16 miners to make it happen."

The newspaper details the tragedies in Sago and Mellville, W.Va. and at Fords Branch near Pikeville, where the 16 miners were killed. The newspaper opines, "We at the News-Express can't help but be thrilled that state and federal officials are finally giving serious attention to the topic of mine safety. We also appreciate the hard work of the Office of Mine Safety and Licensing. We can see they are taking their jobs seriously."

The editorial concludes, "Collectively, these efforts have the potential to change the entire industry - for the better. We just hope that as the memory of these most recent mining disasters fades, the desire to improve safety for our miners doesn't fade right along with it." (Read more)

Loophole lets loose larger, leviathan trucks on Kentucky coal-haul roads

Because of a newly disclosed provision in Kentucky's extended-weight law, the state Transportation Cabinet
has begun issuing new permits to trucks with extra axles that raise the existing weight limit from 126,000 pounds to at least 152,000 pounds.

"The new development has dismayed some Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement officers while it frustrated some veteran coal haulers," writes Lee Mueller of Lexington Herald-Leader.

Trucker Elzie Kesinger, 55, of Sitka, referring to a crackdown on overweight trucks that started in 2004, told Mueller the effort has made highways safer for everyone while reducing costs for heavy-load haulers. He added, "It seems like every time we get something good going, they want to change it." State Rep. Hubert Collins, D-Wittensville, veteran chairman of the state House Transportation Committee, asked, "Does this mean they can just keep adding axles?"

A top transportation official told Mueller he did not know how many new permits. A transportation official said a subsection of the 1986 law apparently allows coal trucks to haul an extra 20,000 pounds above existing weight limits for each new axle added to a truck bed. Kesinger told Mueller some 22-wheel coal buckets have already been turned into 28-wheelers. (Read more)

Rural homelessness puts victims out of sight, mind, says poverty center

Rural homelessness is the invisible kind, say experts. Shelters are few and far between. Public services are spare. Homeless people in rural areas are more likely to be sleeping in cars, campers, crowded or dilapidated structures, or on the couches of friends and relatives, reports Caitlin Cleary of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

According to the Rural Poverty Research Center, the rural homeless are more likely to be women, married with children, currently working and homeless for the first time. The Rural Poverty Research Center is an institute spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which examines the causes of rural poverty and helps to shape public policies concerning the issue.

Often thought to be an urban phenomenon, homelessness is an issue even in such places as rural Bedford County, Pennsylvania, where cows outnumber people, notes Cleary. Angelo Donia, a transitional housing case manager for Somerset County's Tableland Services, told Cleary, "It's rough around here. They're not considered homeless because they're not sleeping on a storm grate. You won't believe the places I pull these guys out of."

The rural homeless might be invisible, but their ranks are growing, notes Cleary. Social service agencies in predominantly rural counties report drastic increases in requests for aid from the Homeless Assistance Program and other services. In just one county, she notes, the number of people receiving HAP aid has risen from 165 in 1996-97 to 685 in 2003-04, according to state Department of Public Welfare statistics. (Read more)

Bizarre funeral protests by anti-gay group prompt legislation in five states

At least five Midwestern states are considering legislation to ban protests at funerals including those of Iraq war casualties, because demonstrators say the deaths are God's punishment for U.S. tolerance toward gays.

The protests are by Rev. Fred Phelps and members of his Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church. "Though the soldiers were not gay, the protesters say the deaths, as well as Hurricane Katrina, recent mining disasters and other tragedies are God's signs of displeasure. They also protested at the memorial service for the 12 West Virginia miners who died in the Sago Mine," writes Kari Lydersen of The Washington Post.

Kansas state Sen. Jean Schodorf, who has proposed legislation, told Lydersen, "The families weren't able to bury their loved ones in peace. We felt pretty strongly that we needed to do something about it."

Kansas has a law banning demonstrations at funerals, notes Lydersen, but Schodorf said the law is vague and hard to enforce. "The new proposed bill would keep protesters 300 feet away from any funeral or memorial service and ban demonstrations within one hour before or two hours after a service," writes Lydersen.

Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Oklahoma are looking at similar bills. Proposed legislation in Indiana would keep protesters 500 feet from funerals, and make a violation a felony punishable by a three-year prison term and a $10,000 fine. State Sen. Anita Bowser told Lydersen, "These people are ... waiting for someone to do battle with them so they can go to court and win. They want a big liability case to pursue. I don't think they actually give a diddly wink about the arguments they're making." (Read more)

Eastern Kentucky women turn tragedy into cause, push for tougher ATV laws

Two Pike County, Kentucky, women, spurred by incidents in their families, want to end the state's No. 1 ranking for All Terrain Vehicle deaths in the nation, reports the Appalachian News-Express.

Linda White of Turkey Creek lost her two-and-a-half year-old grandchild. DeAnna Parker, a Virgie resident, had a nephew seriously injured in an ATV crash, notes Stanley. The two have started a petition asking for stricter safety standards and they have 85 signatures. White told wrter Rachel Stanley, "The laws need to be changed, or a lot more children will die.”

Two ATV safety bills are before the Kentucky General Assembly, including one that would require children under 16 wear helmets. Another bill would prohibit children 16 and under from driving ATVs. That measure would also require all operators to wear helmets. Similar bills have failed in past years. Parker told Stanley she believes politicians haven't supported previous efforts because "they'd lose a lot of votes because a lot of people have four-wheelers." (Read more)

Michigan farm battle features chemical-free growers, 'Frankenfood' advocates

A battle is brewing in Michigan over legislation that pits natural, chemical-free crops against genetically engineered seeds. The bill addresses questions about food safety and who should regulate it. The legislation aims to prevent local governments from barring the planting of seeds, including genetically modified crops, reports David Eggert of The Associated Press.

"Five California counties and cities have restricted growing genetically modified organisms since 2004. Fourteen states have since passed laws pre-empting similar measures. . . . Up to 85 percent of U.S. soybeans are genetically modified along with 45 percent of corn. It's estimated that 70 percent of processed foods on U.S. grocery shelves contain genetically modified ingredients. Critics worry that so-called 'frankenfoods' pose allergy risks to humans, contaminate the natural ecosystem, lead to more chemical spraying and create other unknown, long-term health dangers," writes Eggert.

Douglas Gurian-Sherman, senior scientist at the Washington-based Center for Food Safety, says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lets the agricultural industry decide how to test the safety of genetically modified seeds. "It is a classic case of the fox guarding the hen house," said Gurian-Sherman. Since there are few federal regulations, he told Eggert, "the state and local jurisdictions are necessary to protect the public and send a message to Washington that they need to do a better job." (Read more)

Illegal immigrants rush to Tennessee for driving certificates, allegedly bribe officials

"Tennessee's driving certificate for illegal immigrants isn't valid as a form of ID, but people are paying hundreds of dollars on the black market and traveling hundreds of miles to get one," reports Duncan Mansfield of The Associated Press bureau in Knoxville.

Tennessee has issued 51,000-plus certificates since it became the first state to offer them in July 2004, but not every certificate has gone to someone living there. Two recent federal stings exposed shuttles bringing South and Central American immigrants from as far away as New Jersey to state licensing centers in Knoxville, where immigrants used fake residency papers to get certificates. A third bust last week revealed a conspiracy in which prosecutors say state license examiners in Murfreesboro accepted bribes to provide illegal immigrants with driver's licenses and certificates without testing, writes AP.

Tennessee's system is being considered a model for handling "non-conforming drivers" under the Real ID program enacted by Congress that will set a national standard for driver's licenses by 2008. Applicants must provide two documents, such as utility bills or a lease, to show they live in Tennessee, and a Social Security number or a sworn affidavit if there is none. They also must pass an eye exam, a driving exam and a road test.

"What we tried to do in Tennessee was to recognize that there are people who may be legally here but they are not completely documented," Gov. Phil Bredesen told reporters. Driving certificates were created in 2004 to satisfy homeland security concerns, notes Mansfield. (Read more)

Appalachian Confederated Tribes seeking to preserve ancestors' way of life

The Appalachian Confederated Tribes are trying to restore a heritage that survived while others were scattered westward during the government's program to clear the way for Southern settlements.

"In 1838, while other American Indians were being rounded up and herded westward along 'The Trail of Tears,' Lee Vest's Monacan forefathers were hiding out in the rugged terrain along the border of Floyd and Montgomery counties in Virginia, a place so isolated that no decent white person would want to live there," writes Jessica Fischer of the Kingsport, Tenn. Times-News.

"But their struggle to survive didn't end with Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act, which forced the Cherokee nation and other tribes east of the Mississippi River to give up their lands, their homes and many of their
possessions and migrate to present-day Oklahoma," writes Fischer.

Members of the Confederated Tribes, including Chief Lee Vest, gather regularly near Kingsport to keep alive the traditions of their ancestors. Oppressed by laws that prohibited them from graduating high school, voting and even owning land, Vest's family and other Native Americans often found it easier to hide their heritage than to embrace it, notes Fischer. Vest told Fischer, "If you were part Indian you could own land, but if you were Indian you could not." (Read more)

Half of Arizona county's inmates used meth, reports Flagstaff newspaper

A survey by Coconino County, Arizona, jail staff reports 50-plus percent of the local inmates have used meth.

"Especially of concern to local law enforcement is that 57 percent of the inmates surveyed who use meth do so several times a week, every day or more than once a day. Additionally, more than 55 percent of the inmates have gone through some kind of treatment in the past for alcohol or drug addiction," writes Larry Hendricks of the Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff.

Sheriff Bill Pribil told Hendricks his office recently conducted the survey of 227 local inmates in the jail in order to give hard statistics to the newly formed Meth Task Force for the county, notes Hendricks.

Law enforcement officials have reported meth has been on the rise over the past few years and is becoming a serious problem in Coconino County, notes Hendricks. "The high property crime rate in Flagstaff and throughout the county has been directly linked by police officials to substance abuse -- primarily alcohol and meth. But officials have been unable to back up the opinion with hard numbers, and so the task force is working, through the help of a grant from the governor's office, to acquire those numbers," he writes.

Pribil told Hendricks, the survey results "mean that a significant portion of the population in the county jail have a tendency to use alcohol or illegal drugs. It reinforces for me that we need to have a comprehensive in-custody treatment program with aftercare for when people re-enter the community." (Read more)

Small Flagstaff newspaper takes on big tasks covering Arizona with staff of five

The Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff has a David vs. Goliath attitude. The newspaper is "committed to succeeding in an industry where giant media organizations wield formidable power," covering its beat with a a staff of just five, reports ANAgrams, the publication of the Arizona Newspaper Association.

Sun Editor Randy Wilson told ANAgrams, "As a daily ... we're trying to keep up to the level of the corporate giants and succeed." Wilson stresses "his biggest, almost daily challenge is serving his coverage area with his five-member team," writes ANAgrams. "We're a fairly small paper in a big market," said Wilson. The Daily Sun has a circulation of 11,462.

Wilson says they're looking for an education reporter who would cover not only K-12 but the city's largest employer, Northern Arizona University.

Punished for parody, student sues school; ACLU says posting protected

A Pennsylvania high school senior who was transferred to an alternative school as punishment for parodying his principal on the Internet is suing the district, arguing it violated his freedom of speech.

"Justin Layshock had used his grandmother's computer and the Web site MySpace.com to create a phony profile under the principal's name and photo," writes Paula Reed Ward of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The site asks questions, and Justin filled in answers peppered with vulgarities, fat jokes and, to the question "what did you do on your last birthday?" the response: "too drunk to remember." School officials questioned the teenager about the site and he apologized to the principal, writes Ward.

Justin was suspended for 10 days and transferred to an alternative program typically reserved for students with behavior or attendance problems, according to the lawsuit. He also was banned from school events, including tutoring and graduation ceremonies. Witold Walczak, Pennsylvania Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union, told Ward, "The school's punishment affects his education. In this critical last semester, Justin's opportunities to gain admission to college may be irreparably damaged."

According to the lawsuit, Pennsylvania State University notified Justin his application had been put on "a registration hold." The lawsuit states, "It is unknown how or why the university had received this information, since it is supposed to be confidential under federal-student-privacy laws." The Hermitage School District declined comment. The lawsuit seeks Justin's immediate reinstatement to his regular school. A hearing for a temporary order is set for today, writes Ward. (Read more)

Rural Calendar: Entry deadlines for three media contests tomorrow

Feb. 1: Deadline for entries in Inland Press Association non-daily contest

Entries must be received by Feb. 1. Entries should be sent to: Inland Press Foundation, ATTN: Non-Daily Contest, 701 Lee St., Suite 925, Des Plaines, IL 60016. For an entry form, click here.

Feb. 1: Nomination deadline for Eugene Cervi 2006 award, honoring editor

The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors is seeking nominations, justification for nomination, and biographical information for the organization's Eugene Cervi 2006 Award.

Feb. 1: Nominations due for Spadaro Awards for media arts and technology

Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 28-29, 2006

W.Va. mine laws prompt consideration of similar ones in other coal states

"The West Virginia Legislature's speedy passage of mine-safety reforms last week is prompting mining agencies and companies in Pennsylvania and elsewhere to consider similar measures," reports Cindi Lash in Sunday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"The new law requires mines to stockpile and mark emergency oxygen supplies, to attach them to 'lifeline' cords from work areas to the surface, and to install systems to track and communicate with miners," Lash notes. "It also requires mine companies to notify authorities of serious incidents within 15 minutes and sets penalties for failure to comply. Left unclear is how much the changes will cost."

In addition to Pennsylvania, "Officials in Ohio, Utah and Kentucky also were reviewing the West Virginia legislation," Lash reports. "On Thursday, an Alabama circuit judge ordered regulators to reinspect some underground and surface mines and to study the use of communication and tracking devices and emergency oxygen supplies for underground miners."

Massey Energy Co., which owns the West Virginia mine where two miners died recently, did not return Lash's phone calls inquiring whether its mines in other states would implement provisions of West Virginia's new law. International Coal Group Inc., owner of the Sago Mine, said it has used text-messaging devices in Illinois mines and "intends to implement improved technology at all of its mines." (Read more)

Text-messaging devices for miners, in new W.Va. law, were nixed by feds

The Mine Safety and Health Administration rejected a proposal two years ago "to give coal miners text-messaging devices that could warn them of underground fires and explosions," reports Ken Ward Jr. of the Sunday Gazette-Mail in Charleston, W. Va.

With such "personal emergency devices" that transmit through rock, the 13 miners trapped in the Sago Mine "could have been told it was safe for them to just walk out after a Jan. 2 explosion. If workers at the Aracoma Alma No. 1 Mine three weeks later had had text-messaging devices, they could have been warned sooner of a dangerous fire that killed two workers," Ward writes, adding that "Only 19 of about 800 underground U.S. mines use PEDs, according to MSHA records."

The devices will be required under a law fast-tracked through the West Virginia legislature last week, "but MSHA already could have acted to accept text-messaging proposals that labor and industry officials made after a major mine disaster in Alabama" in 2001 that killed 13 miners and was blamed on "poor emergency management," according to an MSHA investigation.

The Australian manufacturer of the text-messaging devices asked MSHA to consider requiring them, and some coal-company officials in the West endorsed them, but MSHA declined, saying the device "is generally effective and encourages its use. However, since technology is constantly changing, newer systems that may be as, or more, effective than the PED may be developed.” (Read more)

Consol Energy has reported mixed results with the devices, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. For a report on "Covering Coal," a conference held for Appalachian journalists on Nov. 18, click here.

Lots of fines at Kentucky coal mines go unpaid, Courier-Journal reports

Most of the major fines levied against operators of underground coal mines in Kentucky in the last 10 years remain unpaid because of bankruptcies and a lengthy appeals process, reports James R. Carroll of the Washington bureau of The Courier-Journal.

"Since 1995, Kentucky mines have been assessed nearly $4.7 million in fines of $10,000 or more, according to government data. The Kentucky mine operators have paid almost $1.9 million of those penalties," the Louisville newspaper reports. "Nearly $1.7 million in penalties that can no longer be contested remains uncollected from Kentucky mine operators, according to records" of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. "And $1.1 million in fines is still being contested."

Tony Oppegard, a former top mining official in the under Democratic administrations at the state and federal level, told Carroll MSHA "doesn't have the political will to collect the fines when they're not paid." The agency declined requests for an interview but issued a statement saying it is "committed to fully enforcing our nation's mine safety and health laws, including the collection of fines assessed for violations."

"Oppegard said the government needs better tools to police delinquent companies, such as a computer system to alert regulators to delinquent payments when operators apply for new mining licenses," Carroll reports. Bill Caylor, president of the Kentucky Coal Association, told him the appeals process should be speeded up. "That would benefit everybody," he said. (Read more)

Two-thirds of small businesses in rural areas have no terrestrial broadband

A survey by Hughes Network Systems and Survey.com, of 250 small businesses nationwide, found this month that two of three small businesses in rural areas have no terrestrial, high-speed Internet access.

"HNS, based in Germantown, Md., provides satellite broadband Internet access worldwide -- a [costlier] option that residents and businesses in rural areas sometimes pursue because they don't have terrestrial DSL [digital subscriber phone lines] or cable access," reports Melanie Brooks of Inc.com.

HNS Marketing Vice President Peter Gulla "blames the lack of broadband Internet use among small businesses on the fact that it's difficult for these businesses to learn about their Internet access options," Brooks writes. "According to research conducted by the Small Business Administration in March 2004, the majority of small businesses use dial-up services to connect to the Internet."

Why aren't more on DSL? "Telephone service providers must add special equipment to their existing phone hubs to enable DSL," Brooks writes. "The equipment isn't cheap, which keeps service providers from upgrading in rural areas," because of the areas' lower population density.

Small rural businesses "are at a competitive disadvantage because they can't use the same applications" as businesses with high-speed Internet, Josh Holbrook, an analyst with the Yankee Group, a research firm based in Boston, told Brooks.

The Colebrook Development Corp., a volunteer community organization in northern New Hampshire, "is taking matters into its own hands," with federal funds and local, private grants, Brooks reports. "The CDC is building a wireless broadband network in Colebrook, a border town with Vermont and in close proximity to Maine. Larry Rappaport, a Colebrook selectman and manager for the wireless project, said that the CDC is two months away from launching the five wireless hubs in the area."

Across the state line, in northern Vermont, a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Small Business Development Center, to 12 towns as part of a two-year study to see how small businesses would improve with broadband access. One, the historic Lyndon Freighthouse in Lyndonville, has a gallery, ice-cream parlor, restaurant, gift shop and a Starbucks, all with wireless Internet, which the owners say is a magnet for customers. (Read more)

Columnist says auto plant closings should chase workers to small towns

Ford Motor Co.'s closing of 14 plants and elimination of up to 30,000 jobs shows there is no future for workers at big-city auto plants, so " It is time for those workers to think about moving to small towns," writes business columnist Don McNay in Sunday's Richmond (Ky.) Register.

"The exodus used to be from Appalachia to bigger cities," McNay recalls. "Many have spent their lives in places like Detroit but long for the sense of family and belonging that small communities offer. Some of my friends and family moved to Detroit over 40 years ago. Despite all the years in Michigan, they still consider themselves Kentuckians and Kentucky is the place that they call home. It is time for them to return to their roots. It is also the time for small communities to roll out the welcome mat and encourage them."

Auto workers "have a lot to offer" rural areas, McNay argues. "They were making good money and hopefully saved some of it. . . . With a lower cost of living, the displaced auto workers would be upper middle class citizens in any small town. They would have skills that could boost small town economies," to the extent that local government should try to recruit them. "With a well-trained workforce available, small and mid-size employers might be interested in locating in small towns." (Read more)

Expert sees need for changes in groundwater policies; news coverage, too

Excessive use of underground water in some states has created “an environmental catastrophe,” and “significant reform” is necessary to prevent further damage to surface waters, Robert Glennon, the Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of Arizona, said at the Intelligent Use of Water Summit at Pasadena, Calif.

Glennon, author of Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and the Fate of America’s Fresh Waters, said "the legal system has fostered the increasing use of groundwater . . . by developing two sets of rules for allocating rights to divert water from rivers and lakes, and a completely different set of rules for controlling groundwater use," writes Hembree Brandon of Delta Farm Press.

“Laws in most states has not kept pace with advances in hydrology … and have failed to conform with physical reality,” Glennon said, adding that current laws “encourage exploitation of the resource…by permitting the pumping of enormous quantities, regardless of the impact.”

Brandon explains, "Under the doctrine of 'reasonable use,' a landowner may pump as much water as desired, which in many areas has resulted in overdrafting or 'mining' groundwater resources. As water is pumped from deeper levels, well drilling costs increase, energy costs escalate and water quality may decline due to naturally-occurring elements such as arsenic, radon, and fluoride, or increased salinity. Groundwater pumping can have 'minimal to catastrophic' impact on surface water, including lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, springs, wetlands, and estuaries, Glennon said."

Glennon said journalists who cover droughts in some part of the country are missing part of the story: “Drought has prompted the media to pay remarkable attention to water issues — yet none of the stories, to my knowledge, has mentioned the environmental consequences of groundwater pumping.”

In 1995, “Groundwater withdrawals actually exceeded surface water diversions in Florida, Kansas, Nebraska, and Mississippi,” he said. Brandon notes, “In the United States, more than half the population relies on groundwater for drinking water.” (Read more)

Muslim prays for Va. House but only Christians are on Ky. prayer program

On the day a Muslim imam gave the opening prayer for the Virginia House of Delegates, Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher caught hell, so to speak, for a Christian-only, Jesus-invoking prayer breakfast.

Imam Ibrahim Hamidullah, leader of the Clarence Sabree Islamic Center in Roanoke, "said he believes he is just the second Muslim to deliver the opening prayer of a General Assembly session and the first from Western Virginia," reports Michael Sluss of the Roanoke Times. "I think it's a great thing that they [the House] let Muslims come because this is a Christianity country," Hamidullah told Sluss.

Meanwhile, in Kentucky, once a part of Virginia, the speakers at Fletcher's prayer breakfast on Tuesday included no Muslims and no Jews. "Christian songs were sung. Jockey Pat Day shared his born-again testimony. One prayer was offered in Jesus' name," reported Frank Lockwood, religion writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader, who broke the story on Thursday. (Read more)

The Republican governor and former lay minister in the Lexington Primitive Baptist Church told the Herald-Leader on Friday, "I certainly have utmost respect for different faiths. But I think most people knew when they were voting for me they were voting for somebody who held the Christian faith, and I'm not going to be somebody different than who I am." That remark only brought more criticism. Anti-Defamation League officials called it "insensitive and irrelevant," Lockwood reported. (Read more)

The only Jewish member of the Kentucky legislature, Rep. Kathy Stein, who was raised as a Baptist in Wise, Va., told The Courier-Journal, "It was very insensitive, and I'm surprised the governor didn't notice the lack of diversity." Stein tells us in an e-mail, "I sneaked in an imam a couple of years ago to give the invocation. Because his headgear looked so much like he was Jewish, no one gave it a thought."

Some Christians joined in the criticism of Fletcher. Rev. Nancy Jo Kemper, executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches, told the Louisville newspaper, "An event like this held in the name of government ought to be nonsectarian." (Read more)

In Virginia, Hamidullah chose a passage from the Quran that he said orthodox Muslims recite at least 16 times a day and says "we all serve one creator and that we all want to be in peace and live righteous." Del. Onzlee Ware, D-Roanoke, a Presbyterian who is longtime friend of Hamidullah and invited him to offer the prayer, told the Roanoke newspaper, "It's important for people to know that, down here, everybody respects everybody else's religion." (Read more)

Battle Creek paper reminds rural residents of low-interest federal home loans

For decades, the U. S. Department of Agriculture has helped people in rural America buy homes, first through the Farmers Home Administration and now through its Rural Development program. But some places, such as Calhoun County, Michigan, are making little use of the program.

Of the 2,844 Rural Development home loans in Michigan last year, totaling more than $38 million, only five — totaling $465,000 — were in Calhoun County. "That's very low compared to other counties,"Rural Development specialist Coleen Polley told Stacy Hanna of the Battle Creek Enquirer. "I'm confident that it's just a general lack of awareness in the area."

"Rural Development provides home loans to eligible families and individuals with interest rates between 1 percent and current maximum rates," Hanna notes, using as an example a 33-year-old single mother who was able to buy her first home thanks to a Rural Development loan.

The loans can be used to buy or build, "and funds for necessary repairs or renovations can be included in the financing," Hanna reports. The loans are available to buyers who have an income 80 percent or less of the area's median income. "The program was originally designed for farmland development," Polley told Hanna. "Now 'rural' applies to any community with a population of 20,000 or less."

There could be a downside to the program, Hanna writes: "Michael LaFaive, director of fiscal policy for the Midland-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy, said in some instances, rural home loan programs could contribute to urban sprawl. "You get more of what you subsidize, whether it's crops or irresponsibility," he said. "There's a high likelihood that this type of program does spread us out — we've seen a migration to greener pastures over the past 40 to 50 years." (Read more)

University of Kentucky starts scholarship program with tobacco buyout funds

When Congress abolished the federal tobacco program of quotas and price supports, it included compensation for quota holders, including educational institutions that grow tobacco as part of their instructional and research programs. The University of Kentucky is using its buyout money to offer a new scholarship program, writes Terri McLean of the UK College of Agriculture news service.

The college chose to receive its buyout money, about $800,000, as a lump sum rather than in annual payments. It will match donor scholarship contributions in the program for UK agriculture students. The college will match half of every contribution of at least $10,000. To date, the college has received $558,000 in contributions and has matched it with $279,000, reports McLean.

The program could potentially increase money available for scholarships by 30 percent and provide financial assistance to 60 more students, writes McLean. (Read more) For additional details, click here for a story by the Kentucky Kernel, the independent student newspaper at the university.

UK continues to raise about 95,000 pounds of burley tobacco, primarily for research.

Rural Calendar: Entry deadlines for three media contests Tuesday

Feb. 1: Deadline for entries in Inland Press Association non-daily contest

Entries must be received by Feb. 1. Entries should be sent to: Inland Press Foundation, ATTN: Non-Daily Contest, 701 Lee St., Suite 925, Des Plaines, IL 60016. For an entry form, click here.

Feb. 1: Nomination deadline for Eugene Cervi 2006 award, honoring editor

The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors is seeking nominations, justification for nomination, and biographical information for the organization's Eugene Cervi 2006 Award.